Tunis: The first national forum on vocational training was inaugurated on Tuesday at the Tunis City of Culture in the presence of several ministers and representatives of national bodies and centres working in the field of vocational training.
Organised on the initiative of the Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training within the framework of Tunisian-Swiss cooperation, the forum will last for two days.
Speaking at the event, Lotfi Dhiab, Minister of Employment and Vocational Training, said that the forum is part of the ministry’s strategy to promote and improve vocational training in order to boost the national economy and Tunisian businesses.
He added that the forum includes a number of topics aimed at raising awareness of training and networking opportunities between banks and those seeking financing for the creation of projects, particularly in the fields of information technology, application development and intelligent industries.
In this context, the Minister stressed the importance of vocatio
nal training in the fields offered and the employment prospects for young people in Tunisia and abroad, as well as strengthening cooperation and partnership between various economic sectors and private and public structures in order to promote employability and support graduates of vocational training.
For her part, the Minister for the Family, Women, Children and the Elderly, Amel Belhaj Moussa, stressed that vocational training is a strategic choice as an essential pillar for the economic empowerment of families, women and young girls, especially since 70% of the beneficiaries of the “Raidat” programme have undergone vocational training in order to benefit from loans to launch their own projects.
She added that 57% of the beneficiaries of the Raidat programme are university graduates, pointing out that several diplomas do not correspond to the requirements of the labour market, hence the need to integrate the vocational training system in areas of high employability, in particular agriculture and crafts.
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0% of craftsmen and 70% of workers in the agricultural sector are women, she also noted.
In this context, the Minister recalled the agreement signed between the Ministries of Women, Employment and Vocational Training to launch training programmes in various fields, in particular in the centres for young rural girls in the governorates of Kasserine and Jendouba, with a view to obtaining diplomas.
For his part, the Minister of Tourism, Mohamed Moez Belhassine, spoke of the importance of training in the tourism sector in the light of the current needs of the labour market, in particular the qualification of human capital, especially in the tourism and crafts sectors, given that the tourism sector directly and indirectly employs some 400,000 citizens and the crafts sector has almost 350,000 artisans.
He pointed out that human resources need to be constantly rehabilitated in order to strengthen their capacities in the various related specialisations, and highlighted the existence of the Training Agency for Tour
ism Professions in its various branches to ensure continuous training.
In the course of this year, around 1,700 employees and workers will receive basic training in eight centres, and another 2,000 will benefit from continuous training as part of the overall quality system and the training of workers in the tourism and crafts sectors,” he said.
This first forum will include interactive panels bringing together experts, government representatives, business leaders and young talents to discuss the strategic challenges facing vocational training in Tunisia.
Key issues to be addressed include the evolution of the labour market and the need for trades and skills in the context of the energy and environmental transition, public-private partnerships to increase the effectiveness of training programmes, the promotion of entrepreneurship and digitalisation in vocational training.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse