By Siham Ali in Rabat | Magharebia
Young Moroccans flocked to "Employment Week", which has been concluded today, Saturday (March 15th).
At 400 sites in multiple cities, thousands of university students learned about the labour market and gaining practical advice on how to enhance their appeal to employers.
According to the head of the National Agency for the Promotion of Employment and Skills (ANAPEC), the 5-day programme focuses on business needs.
"Technical skills are not enough on their own," Hafid Kamal said Monday about the initiative organised by his agency and the employment ministry.
"Businesses require other skills such as communication and languages," the ANAPEC director added.
Also speaking Monday at the Rabat kick-off event, Employment Minister Abdeslam Seddiki said that ANAPEC would become the go-to resource for any Moroccan seeking a job, not just for those with degrees.
ANAPEC would assist all young people seeking to enter the labour market, the minister pledged.
"We don't need training, which has proven to be a failure, when there are promising and key sectors that already aspire to make use of skills," Seddiki said.
In addition to opening the services of ANAPEC to all jobless young Moroccans, a national monitoring centre will soon be created to examine the Moroccan market, analyse employment opportunities and devise a system that responds to the demands, Deputy Minister of Higher Education Soumia Benkhaldoun said.
She pointed to successful programmes already in place, including one for 10,000 primary and secondary school teachers and another for 25,000 graduates in sectors related to Morocco's development programme.
For Karima Chahi, a second-year student of French literature, this week's employment event is proving informative. "It's important to understand what businesses are looking for, so that we can prepare ourselves by acquiring the necessary skills," she told Magharebia.
"I speak French, which is in great demand in the labour market. But I've just found out that this skill is not enough on its own. I also need to master the art of communication," she added.
The programme also came at the right time for Zyad Mahidi, an economics student,
"It's helpful to learn about your strengths and weaknesses during higher-level education, so that you can fill in any gaps and know how to sell yourself to employers once you've landed a degree," the student said.
