By Hassan Benmehdi in Casablanca
for Magharebia
An employee works at an aeronautical factory in Nouaceur, Morocco. The demand for aviation jobs will be high in 2015, according to a study on employment
The demand for workers will be high in multiple sectors, a new study finds.
More than 103,000 new jobs will be created in Morocco’s private sector in 2015, according to a new study released on Thursday (December 25th).
Offshoring, the automotive and aviation industries will account for around 40% of the private-sector jobs, the employment ministry’s diagnostic report found.
Just behind them will be tourism, trade and distribution, and agri-food. Information technology is also on the list of sectors that will be recruiting in 2015.
Traditional sectors, such as textiles, real estate, agriculture, construction and public works, will still offer jobs.
There are several reasons for the high demand for labour that will be seen in 2015, according to economist Abdelali Narjissi.
In agriculture alone – a key sector of Morocco’s economy – the recent heavy rain laid the foundations for a good year to “create jobs and wealth”, he told Magharebia.
And in the 2015 Finance Law, the government significantly increased its investment budget.
“There are also a large number of Moroccan companies which will be able to benefit from the recovery of European economies,” Narjissi pointed out.
Economy Minister Mohamed Boussaid said last month in parliament: “Despite the difficulties in relation to the state budget, public investment effort has been maintained in a determined and resolute manner.”
“The overall public investment budget will increase to more than 186 billion dirhams for the 2014 budget, which is 6 billion dirhams more than in 2013,” he added.
For young graduates and those looking for work, the new study suggests there is hope on the horizon.
“It’s certainly good news, and I hope that recruitment will increase over the coming months,” said Kader Al Aoufi, a young graduate from a private management college in Casablanca.
His friend Hamada Boujanbi, who graduated from the same college, said: “I’ve been looking for months already… I’ve been able to land a one-month internship at an insurance company, but until better days come along, I have to keep knocking on every door.”
Safaa Allouzi studies tourism and food at a state-run institution in Casablanca. “The ANAPEC study reassures me about my decision to get into tourism, which is still an industry with a secure future,” she said.
Hafid Kamal, the head of ANAPEC, said on December 5th that Morocco’s labour market relied on a healthy economy and a labour supply in tune with employers’ needs.
Employment Minister Abdeslam Seddiki has said that the National Employment Strategy, expected to be launched by the end of the month, focused on tailoring training to employers’ needs.
“This strategy also hinges on labour market governance through horizontal and vertical reform of ANAPEC so that its network can make employment a national priority to which all stakeholders must contribute,” Seddiki announced in parliament last month.
The study shows that more than 40% of the jobs to be added will be located along the Casablanca-Tangier corridor.
