With around 1.4 million Syrian and 75,000 Iraqi refugees living in Jordan, unemployment rates in the country are high. Despite this, around 70% of the workforce is employed by small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which means the potential for growth is strong. With help from local partners, SPARK provides higher (vocational) education opportunities to Syrian and Jordanian young people, and is bridging the employment gap for graduates with a strong internship programme connected to private sector companies. SPARK is also supporting SMEs to grow and expand, creating jobs for the next generation of youth.
Programmes in this location
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active programme
Access to Education for Employment
SPARK, the Islamic Development Bank and the Sheikh Abdullah Al Nouri Charity Society support Syrian youth in Syrian Interim Government…
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active programme
Economic Resilience through COVID-19
In order to safeguard jobs, during and after the coronavirus crisis, SPARK and the Qatar Fund for Development are extending…
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active programme
Higher Education Services (HES)
SPARK is the largest provider of scholarships for Syrian refugees in the Middle East. The HES programme started by responding…
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active programme
Improving Employment Opportunities (IEO)
Jordan hosts the second highest share of refugees (per capita) in the world. Therefore, SPARK promotes job creation in Jordan…
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active programme
Internships and work for Syrian youth
SPARK and the Dutch Nationale Postcode Loterij are creating new routes for youth to enter employment or entrepreneurship.
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active programme
Jobs and Perspectives
Finding a stable job or starting a business is a huge challenge for young people in the Middle East, especially…
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inactive programme
Entrepreneurship and Business Development Activities (EBDA)
EBDA, meaning ‘begin’ in Arabic, supports Syrian entrepreneurship in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan by guiding young Syrian refugees to start…

“I invested in myself so that doors would open, eventually.”
“It never crossed my mind that I’d be leaving Syria,” said Noor Jouma’a. At 24, she could not anticipate having to leave her country in the middle of her university studies to start a new life in Jordan, along with more than 600,000 others.
- Location
- Jordan
- Services
- Scholarships
Opening pathways to employment
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300MSMEs Supported
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832Scholarships Provided
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1034Internships Offered
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4693Youth Trained
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620Graduated