Egypt Works (Masr Ta3mal)

By July 31, 2019 July 31, 2019 Solution

Challenge

In 2014, according to CAPMAS, the Egyptian population has reached 87 million, growing 18% in eight years.   The male to female ratio is almost equal, with some 45 million of each sex.   With rising population levels, more jobs are needed each year. The official unemployment rate in Egypt reached unprecedented high of 13.3% in the second quarter of 2014. Some of the major causes of unemployment in Egypt are overpopulation, the lack of proper education and sufficient training upon graduation, and the mismatch between the present level of education and the required job skills within the employment market.

Towards a Solution

Masr Ta3mal, meaning “Egypt Works”, is an initiative that focuses on developing the skills of Egyptian youth to increase their chances in accessing decent employment. The focus of Masr Ta3mal initiative targets the largest youth segment which is aged between 15-29.  The main aim of this initiative is to empower Egyptian youth and help them realize their opportunities through capacity building, job placement and entrepreneurship.

This initiative creates institutionalized centers for the online employability portal Masr Ta3mal at the Ministry of Youth centers in Egypt, thus transforming the centers to provide full employability eco-system from career advising, training, job placement and entrepreneurship for the youth population. The project allows the centers to foster the development of entrepreneurial skills and to promote creativity, personal initiative and independent thinking among young people; bridging the gap between the educational system and the job market needs in Egypt. To date, these youth centers cover all the governorates in Egypt making it accessible to a very large number of youth around the country.

Masr Ta3mal offers services through its on-line portal and the youth centres.

The on-line portal offers the following:

  • Career coaching online and offline sessions to define the youth personal skills and professional interest and to create career development plan.
  • Online Diplomas and courses in IT, languages, business planning and other soft skills.
  • Job Matching tool to connect youth with employers.
  • Entrepreneurial online and offline trainings to introduce the entrepreneurial thinking to Egyptian youth and to build the capacity of Egyptian young entrepreneurs.
  • Civic Engagement activities to raise the awareness about extracurricular activities for students and the importance of volunteering for fresh graduates and young professionals through Masr Ta3mal mentorship program and Masr Ta3mal Youth Program.

Masr Ta3mal Proto-type centers (Physical centries) provide:

  • IT centers to provide IT trainings for youth to help them increase their efficiency and productivity.
  • Business & career centers to provide career development and to align their education with demand in the labour market.
  • Entrepreneurship centers to instill problem-solving skills, entrepreneurship and management capacity and the value of self-employment.

To date, this initiative has achieved the following:

  • Establishment of 67 Masr Ta3mal Proto-type centers (physical centers) in 26 governorates
  • Establishment of 80 IT Centers in 27 governorates
  • Reached 1,121,135 youth with over 133,621 candidates in the database
  • Developed the capacities of over 30,976 youth
  • Filled over 16,902 vacancies from December 2013-February 2015
  • Has over 323 career advisors; 850 Digital Literacy Trainers; 230 Build Your Business Trainers benefiting 993 youth entrepreneurs
  • Establishment of Masr Ta3mal Youth Groups in 9 Universities with 350 members
  • Trained 350 students on social entrepreneurship who will be able to raise the awareness of 15,000 Student about Social entrepreneurship

 

Country: Egypt

Supported by: Ministry of Youth and Sports, UNDP, Silatech, Microsoft

Implementing entity: Ministry of Youth and Sports

Project Status: Ongoing

Project Period: 2013-ongoing

URL to the Practice: https://masr.ta3mal.com/en/Pages/Home.aspx

Contact information:

Name: Nelly Bahgat

Title: South-South Development Academy Egypt

Email: n.bahgat@ouda.org.eg