Annual Progress Report – Year 1: Operations and Maintenance Training Project

The project's key capacity building objective was to determine the institutional framework required to implement and sustain the certification and training program. After defining the required framework, roles were proposed to appropriate partners within the Jordanian institutional environment. The project identified key institutional partners necessary to effectively populate the certification program institutional framework. These partners included the Center for Accreditation and Quality Assurance as the certification body, the Water Sector Board of Certification, Al Balqa' Applied University as the program administrator, Miyahuna and Aqaba Water Companies as training providers, and the Arab Countries' Water Utilities Association as the regional training marketer. A Capacity Building Action Plan was completed in Quarter 6 to ensure the smooth development and transition of the overall Water and Wastewater Operator Certification Program in Jordan. The three-year plan is broken down by institution and identifies the integrated actions and schedules to build effective capabilities and efficient relationships among the partners. The project also finalized the Certification Policy for Operators in the Water and Wastewater Sector. The policy document is linked to Law 46/2008 establishing the Center for Accreditation and Quality Assurance and derived from the associated regulation being prepared by the Employment, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (E-TVET) Council chaired by the Ministry of Labour. The certification policy takes a comprehensive approach and seeks to define all major guidelines required to implement, operate, and sustain the Water and Wastewater Operator Certification Program in Jordan. The project also designed detailed curriculum outlines for all levels of pilot water and wastewater operator certification programs, including course objectives, content, and durations. The curriculum outlines were based on the program conducted by Delaware Technical and Community College, the Water/Wastewater Operators' Need-To-Know as defined by the Association of Boards of Certification (ABC), and valuable input of experts like Dr. Ken Kerri and Ms. Debbie Horton. The project has implemented a highly inclusive process to engage key governmental, private, and professional institutions. A summary of key stakeholders through Quarter 6 includes the OMT Project Steering Committee, Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Water Authority of Jordan, Miyahuna and Aqaba Water Companies, Ministry of Labour, Center for Accreditation and Quality Assurance, Vocational Training Corporation, and several other institutions. The project has also attended several major meetings, including the E-TVET Council meetings to define occupations with the water sector and the Center of Accreditation and Quality Assurance meetings to discuss the Operator Certification Policy Framework and the requirement to create the Board of Certification.