He clarified that the role of the Authority in ensuring the quality of education is linked to evaluating the clarity of learning outcomes and their suitability and developing foundations and standards that ensure graduates possess the necessary knowledge, skills, and competencies, which enhances the quality of education and training institutions' outputs and their ability to respond to the rapid changes in the labor market.
Al-Abdellat explained that reducing the gap between education outputs and labor market needs cannot be limited to updating curricula but requires building an integrated system based on the clarity of learning outcomes, developing evaluation mechanisms, ensuring quality, enhancing practical training, and linking education to the actual work environment.
He touched upon the importance of modern learning tools and pathways, including micro-credentials, recognition of prior learning and experience (RPL), and work-based learning (WBL), as pathways that allow individuals to develop their skills, build on their previous knowledge and experience, and respond more flexibly to the rapid changes in the labor market.
He emphasized the importance of having clear and reliable mechanisms and standards for evaluating skills and competencies and verifying them, to ensure that qualifications and certificates accurately reflect what an individual possesses in terms of learning outcomes, which is directly linked to the responsibilities of quality assurance and accreditation and enhancing the credibility of education and training outputs.
He also emphasized the importance of strengthening partnership with the private sector, as a key partner in determining labor market needs and contributing to the development of programs, curricula, training, and evaluation, pointing to the importance of sectoral skills councils in determining the required skills and competencies and providing feedback on educational and training programs to enhance the alignment of education and training outputs with the needs of economic sectors.
The dialogue sessions held by the Jordan River Foundation discussed a number of topics related to the development of the education and training system, including the national framework for micro-credentials, recognition of prior learning and experience, work-based learning, and the role of the private sector in designing curricula, training, and evaluation, in addition to exploring the challenges that prevent the expansion of private sector participation in the training and employment of graduates.
Participants confirmed that reducing the education and employment gap requires the integration of roles of educational and training institutions, the private sector, regulatory authorities, and providing a supportive environment for continuous learning and skill development to enable individuals to keep up with the rapid changes in the labor market.
