UNIFEM/Cisco Initiative Made a Turning Point in Fadiya’s Career

	Fadiya Ali Shakdih is a student who benefited greatly from completing four semesters of a Cisco training program. After attending the training, Fadiya was able to secure a position in a leading IT solutions provider company in the Middle East.

“The training I took distinguished me from many of my colleagues as I had practical experience to match my knowledge. Furthermore, I gained great confidence by attending the soft skills training workshops because I knew that I could present my ideas in a clear and professional way and more importantly communicate with co-workers effectively." Fadiya Shakdih.

USAID funds the UNIFEM/Cisco initiative, which aims to improve the information technology skills of young women in Jordan. This initiative prioritizes training for Jordanians who are low-income and who would not normally be able to access this type of capacity building, in order to enable them to become more competitive in the dynamic local high-tech job market. This initiative also promotes greater inclusion of women in the IT workforce – a segment of the labor market dominated by men. To date, the program has trained 600 Jordanians on information technology skills, of which 50% are women. 400 trainees got jobs in leading IT companies.