The Moroccan government plans to improve vocational education to meet the labour market’s needs and boost employment prospects for young people.
By Siham Ali for Magharebia in Rabat
![[AFP/Abdelhak Senna] Morocco hopes job training programmes can solve the lingering problem of youth unemployment.](http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/images/2012/10/17/121017Feature3Photo1.jpg)
[AFP/Abdelhak Senna] Morocco hopes job training programmes can solve the lingering problem of youth unemployment.
Morocco hopes that job training centres will better career opportunities for the young.
Vocational training programmes witnessed a 19% increase in enrolment this year, bringing the total number of students to 390,000. The goal is to have one million graduates by 2016.
At a press conference (October 2nd), Employment and Vocational Training Minister Abdelouahed Souhail spoke of his desire to speed things up in order to address the needs of companies as well as those of young people.
For economist Mehdi Jenbouri, gaining ground in the professional world is just as crucial as increasing the number of job-trained graduates since many students have had a hard time finding work once they have their diploma in hand.
Official statistics show that 61% of the graduates successfully enter the workforce after nine months and 77% are employed after three years. For Jenbouri, the figures should improve as these professionally trained graduates should technically be operational as soon as they get their degree. He said these programmes should be in a position to deal with the companies’ requirements and Morocco’s economic development.
For Larbi Bencheikh, General Director for the Office of Vocational Training and Employment Promotion (OFPPT), the goal is to achieve quality by co-operating with the different economic entities, based on the actual needs determined by ministerial department studies.
Souhail admitted that there were problems to address, especially with the lack of support involving the sector strategy and the country’s structuring projects as well as the response to the growing demand for job training programmes very popular with the younger crowd and businesses.
He said that a plan was in place “to better establish the job training system in a professional setting and address the needs of socio-economic development”.
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Information and orientation sessions have been providing support for young people before they enter these programmes so they are able to choose the right career path. Supervision of private training institutions will be reinforced to ensure that private education meets the new requirements.
More and more young people turn to job training as a way to avoid unemployment. The only issue is finding a job. After getting her degree in business management, Fattouma Touizi needed over two years to get hired.
“Looking for a job was pretty much a nightmare. I almost gave up,” she told Magharebia. “But after two years, a company hired me and two years after working there, I got a promotion.”
She admitted however that most of the time, graduates who have a difficult time finding work are the ones who do not have a good grasp of the French language. And since most interviews are conducted in French, even if the candidate is technically brilliant, they can’t get the job, Touizi said.
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