ammonnews.net

Ammon News - Jordan Pharmacists Syndicate (JPS) President Mohammad Ababneh said Saturday that unemployment among pharmacists currently runs at 30 percent as pharmacy is a stagnant and saturated job sector, according to Civil Service Commission (CSC) statistics.

He said in press remarks that the number of pharmacy graduates applying for jobs with the CSC far exceeds the number of vacancies available now or in the near future across the Kingdom.

Ababneh said despite the high unemployment rates among graduates, about 4,000 pharmacists and pharmacy doctors graduate from universities annually, only a quarter of whom find jobs in the country, adding that 17,000 pharmacy students currently study in universities.

Furthermore, job opportunities for pharmacists abroad are "very limited", as many countries adopt workforce nationalization policies, according to the Pharmacists Syndicate head.

Ababneh urged students who passed the General Secondary Education Certificate Exam (Tawjihi) and their parents to "consider the reality of the labor market before choosing any of the pharmacy disciplines."

A total of 30,000 pharmacists are registered with the JPS, while 20 public and private universities in the Kingdom offer majors in pharmacy, added to that are graduates of foreign universities and community colleges, which offer pharmacy assistant diplomas.