Leading aviation companies are building increasingly sophisticated factories in Morocco. Boeing, national carrier Royal Air Maroc and the French electrical-wiring company Labinal opened Matis, pictured, outside of Casablanca in 2001. The operation prepares cables for jetliners.
A portrait of Morocco’s King Mohammed VI hangs over the entrance to the Matis plant.
The upheaval of Arab Spring has put new urgency on showing that Morocco’s aerospace gambit can deliver.
King Mohammed VI last March neutralized protests by offering a more democratic constitution and fresh elections, which proceeded peacefully in November. But for Morocco to remain calm, analysts say, it must create jobs.
Here, workers at the Matis plant in February.
Matis staff prepare wires not just for Boeing but also General Electric engines, Dassault Aviation business jets and even Airbus jetliners.
The aviation industry employs almost 10,000 Moroccans who earn about 15% above the country’s average monthly wage of roughly $320. Morocco is betting that by leapfrogging into advanced manufacturing like aerospace and electronics, the country can attract more basic industries.
To ensure aviation companies have qualified staff, the government and an industry group in May opened the Moroccan Aerospace Institute, or IMA.
The vocational school is on course to graduate several hundred students annually.
Within three months of the institute’s opening in May, roughly 1,200 aspiring students had delivered resumes to the front gate, and more had sent in applications, said IMA Director Annie Lagrandeur.
The center is a partnership between the government, which contributed the land and buildings, and the industry group, Gimas. Its members organize and sponsor training, modeled on French standards, for their new hires.
Students spend up to 10 months alternating two-week stints at IMA, where many live in dormitories, and on their new jobs.
Le Piston Français, pictured, a French aerospace component producer, was one of the first contractors to arrive in Morocco. Director Vincent Fontaine said the company was drawn to Casablanca in 1999 by sales opportunities and government incentives, such as tax breaks.
Here, workers at Le Piston Francais in Morocco. The plant has grown to 110 employees from about 25.
