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This week's NOW on PBS: Jobs for Jordan
One of the most interesting and troubling parts to me was the relationship there between employment and marriage. All these young men, even college-educated, are struggling to find work. Because the groom typically covers most of the costs of marriage (one guy in the show said he'd need $20,000), they cannot get married until they have a job and save enough money. Marriage and the stability of employment play a huge role in social status and perceived self-worth. Also, even more than here in the West, there is an aversion to taking on blue-collar jobs considered to be beneath their dignity. It was clear that many of these young men are very frustrated.
An unemployment epidemic in the Middle East: what does it mean for America?
NOW travels to Jordan to explore the implications of - and possible solutions to - having millions of young people out of work in the Middle East. Staggering unemployment rates among the region's massive youth population is fueling anger, frustration and resentment.
To combat the problem, Jordan's Queen Rania has made job creation a top priority. "To me the Middle East is about young people. And if we fail to create opportunities for them then you're going to see a lot of frustrated hope," she tells NOW.
Another initiative comes from an unlikely source: a Brooklyn, New York businessman who has set up programs across the region to give young people the real world skills they desperately need to gain employment. Both have their work cut out for them: nearly 70 million jobs are needed in the Middle East by the year 2020, according to the World Bank.
Can these training programs work to stem the tide or are they just a drop in the bucket?
NOW travels to Jordan to explore the implications of - and possible solutions to - having millions of young people out of work in the Middle East. Staggering unemployment rates among the region's massive youth population is fueling anger, frustration and resentment.
To combat the problem, Jordan's Queen Rania has made job creation a top priority. "To me the Middle East is about young people. And if we fail to create opportunities for them then you're going to see a lot of frustrated hope," she tells NOW.
Another initiative comes from an unlikely source: a Brooklyn, New York businessman who has set up programs across the region to give young people the real world skills they desperately need to gain employment. Both have their work cut out for them: nearly 70 million jobs are needed in the Middle East by the year 2020, according to the World Bank.
Can these training programs work to stem the tide or are they just a drop in the bucket?
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