Literacy Rate: 86.6% [2]
Number of graduates per year in IT related fields: 2,400 [3]
College Graduates (undergraduate, postgraduate): 8.6% [2]
English Fluency: 90% of Literate population [10]
Labor force: 1.2 million [10]
Unemployment: 15% (30% unofficial rate)[10]
People working in IT firms: 5000 (2,865 were classified as technical personnel) [3]
People working in Software/Hardware development: 10,000 [12]
Number of engineers: 33,000 [19]
A law was passed recently which will require teaching computer skills and the English language from the second grade. English and computer skills will also be required at the university level. Computer skills as well as C++ programming are required courses are the university level for science majors. For other majors Visual Basic programming and Computer Skills courses are required. The main challenge is to supply the schools with PC's and teachers who are trained to teach computer skills. Currently the Jordanian government has "secured from various sources, including the World Bank and Spanish government, to install computer labs in 1,320 public schools"[11]. The government is also trying to secure loans to equip the rest of the schools in the kingdom. Training is also required for the 56,738 teachers in the country [11]. Only 1.4% of those teachers have been trained [11].
About 42.96% of the IT workforce is classified as experienced and 56.56% of the IT workforce is classified as Non-experienced [3]. The figures indicate that the majority of the IT workforce is not yet employed in the industry. Currently Jordan has "80 to 100 value adding companies, employing approximately 3,000 employees, in addition to 400-500 Software and Hardware resellers, employing around 10,000 people" [12].
The main concern for developing a viable Jordanian IT force is the fact that almost 50% of the schools currently do not have computer labs. Many of the areas where these schools are located are very poor and underdeveloped. The government will need to develop these areas economically and technologically.