Rand, Tariqi

Rand’s diploma from the Tariqi programme was her passport to opportunity, giving her the chance to prove herself.

‘I’m not waiting for my future to happen, I’m taking steps to make it happen.’

After taking part in the Tariqi programme, Rand (25) landed an HR trainee position with a school. She had never worked in HR previously, but the school was willing to accept her Tariqi diploma in place of experience.

This gave Rand the chance to break out of the catch-22 situation that many young people in Jordan face: they can’t get jobs because they have no experience but can’t get experience because they can’t find a job.

‘In Jordan, if I give people my CV, they say oh you don’t have any experience, sorry unfortunately we can’t take you. But how can I get any experience if you don’t give me the opportunity?’ Rand asks. ‘Tariqi gave us a lot of opportunities. Not just me, my friends too. They are working now too.’

Not too good to be true

The Tariqi programme was originally designed by King’s Trust International and is delivered in Jordan by the Business Development Center, in partnership with the King Abdullah II Fund for Development. It aims to build young people’s employability skills so they can kickstart their careers.

When Rand first saw the free programme advertised with glowing reviews, she thought it sounded too good to be true. But after reassuring herself that it was genuine, she decided to give it a go. Now she too is full of praise for the course.

‘The trainers were more than perfect,’ she recalls. ‘They taught me how to do time management, how to be a more skilful person, a more educated person, how to respect others and have a good work ethic.’

A chance to prove herself

Once Rand had a foot in the door and was able to prove herself, the school soon offered her a permanent, paid job. Rand now works with the HR team each morning, and as an English teacher later.  Her trainee position is unpaid, while her teaching work is paid, enabling her to support herself financially while also gaining valuable experience.

‘Without the Tariqi programme they wouldn’t have given me this opportunity because I didn’t have any skills or any experience that I could show them,’ Rand explains. She describes how she herself knew that she had the skills to thrive in the HR role but couldn’t prove that to a potential employer. Her Tariqi diploma was her passport to opportunity.

From fearful to flourishing

As well as opening doors for Rand, the programme has also helped her to flourish in her new role, despite her social anxiety. ‘I’m an extremely anxious girl who has trouble understanding people,’ Rand explains. Today, she often draws on skills and techniques from the Tariqi programme to help her to manage stressful situations, and to build trust and rapport with colleagues and students alike.

‘I had numerous challenges, but thanks to the abilities I developed via Tariqi, I overcame them,’ Rand says. ‘I still get nervous, but I can control it.’ Rand also credits the programme with rebuilding her confidence after it was shattered by some traumatic personal events.

‘Confidence is something you cannot just talk about building in a few minutes, it runs deep,’ Rand explains. ‘After the Tariqi programme I could feel my confidence coming back. It’s not completely returned but it’s 50% better…. I felt that I was lost, but now I feel like I’m not.’