Morocco Career Center

Background

In Morocco, 80% of the unemployed are young people. Surprisingly, the unemployment rate increases with the level of education, from 1.6% for people without any degree to more than 22% for university graduates. While economic growth can not absorb the number of young people entering the labor market each year, many graduates do not have the skills to communicate effectively with employers and find work that matches their qualifications. . In addition, employers complain about the lack of competent profiles. Without vocational guidance in higher and vocational institutions, young people do not have the opportunity to make informed choices about their careers.

Project Objectives

Enhance youth employability in Morocco by:

• Creating a sustainable Career Center model for Moroccan public universities and vocational training centers
• Integrating work readiness training into the Moroccan tertiary education system

Project Delivery Approaches 

• Working with all labor market actors to help youth build the skills they need to successfully enter the labor market
• Youth Mobilization: the program uses communication and outreach to accelerate change and position the USAID Career Center as a platform and leading point of access for youth employability. Other than using social media intensively to outreach, the project uses Youth Ambassadors to conduct peer-to-peer outreach to raise awareness about the importance of soft skills training. Outreach activities included summer camps, employment forums and special events
• Strong engagement with the Private sector through building trusted relationships in a progressive approach. This included
  1. Understanding the Private Sector Employment Needs and Issues
  2. Introduce the private sector partner to the activities of the Career Centers
  3. Plan joint activities such as company visits and guest speakers
  4. Sourcing applicants
• Model Sustainability
• Model Scaling-up

Project Activities 

• Establish and support replicable Moroccan university career centers: The career centers prepare students for real-world employment by equipping them with job search and preparation skills. The career centers support students as they explore career options and interact with employers through internships and job shadowing experiences.
• Deliver training to youth including soft skills training and work-readiness workshops
• Deliver individual counseling services, special events such as employment fairs, summer camps, debate competitions among others
• Facilitate dialogue between industry and academia: through supporting mutually beneficial relationships between universities and the labor market, focusing particularly on the private sector.
• Build understanding about the concept of career preparation and planning: The project engages and builds relationships among students and their families, educators, government counterparts, the private sector, and civil society organizations.
• Delivered training to youth

Impact and results

1. Over 100,000 youth have benefitted from Career Center services.
2. 170 partnerships have been established with the private sector.
3. Over 620,000 visits to the Virtual Career Center and more than 32,000 registered users.
4. 92 percent of employers are satisfied with youth employees recruited through Career Center.
5. Over 33,000 youth have received work readiness training.
6. Over 45,000 youth have joined the Virtual Career Center (link is external).
7. 63 percent of centers' operating costs are contributed by host institutions, which helps ensure program sustainability.