Being the eldest of five children, Hanan Khalaf, 22-years-old living in southern Amman, is a role model for her younger siblings.
She had high hopes of gaining the knowledge, skills, and financial independence to enable her to give back to her community. However, while Hanan did not pass her Jordanian high-school certificate (Tawjihi) exams in 2016, she vowed to learn from her setbacks and was determined to grow. “Nothing could stop me from pursuing my education”.
In 2018, she undertook an International Certificate of Digital Literacy and a typing course to broaden her skillset. She then completed a Test of English as a Foreign Language exam for which her high marks earned her an English language certification. However, this was not enough for Hannan.
While watching television with her family, she saw an advertisement from Luminus Technical University College (LTUC) promoting new scholarships for UNESCO’s project “Provision of TVET, On-The-Job-Training and Entrepreneurship Education to Youth Affected by the Syria Crisis in Jordan”.
Funded by the Government of the Republic of Korea, the project contributed to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, particularly Sustainable Development Goal 4 on quality education and lifelong learning’.
Encouraged by her family, Hanan compiled her scholarship application for the Business Discipline training programme. By the time she received the call from LTUC in March 2019, Hanan was ready and she aced the interview. After completing her Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC)[1] Level II course in Business Discipline in February 2020, she started a one-month on-the-job-training at the Intellectual Property Protection Department of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply the following month.
In June, she accepted a job offer at Saba & Co. Intellectual Property where she continues to work full-time.
Mr. Ghazi Tawalbeh, Hanan’s supervisor, shared, “she is a brilliant, hardworking, and ambitious employee, and because we see her passion for work, we have extended her contract by three months”.
“It is liberating to break free from the frightful idea that you are good for nothing if you fail your high-school exam. My next goal is to obtain my Tawjihi and get a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. The journey has yet to start”, said Hanan enthusiastically. “My advice for others is to never lose hope, as I could not have made it this far if it was not for the help of the UNESCO scholarship, LTUC, and the unconditional support from my family”.
[1] BTEC are specialist work-related qualifications that combine practical learning with subject and theory content. There are over 2,000 BTEC qualifications across 16 sectors which are available from entry level through professional qualifications at level seven (equivalent to postgraduate study). Under this project, level 2 is offered to the beneficiary students.