Gates Foundation and Partners Launch Initiative to Create 700 Jobs for Moroccan Youth

In total, 700 jobs in various sectors, including education, sales, food and beverages, and the automotive industry, are being offered to young Moroccans by Silatech, a non-profit international development organization, and its partners, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and EFE-Maroc, reports The Peninsula. Called "A Chance to Reset: Reskilling, Empowering Towards Sustainable Employment to Thrive," the project aims to address the skills mismatch and tackle the high youth unemployment rate in Morocco, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic. A total of 8,175 young people will obtain high-demand jobs as part of this four-year project.

"The pandemic has been catastrophic for young people around the world, but it has accelerated the pace of change for organizations like Silatech to come back stronger than before. We believe that partnerships and innovative solutions are the ultimate path to tackling the growing global problem of youth unemployment," said Hassan Ali Al Mulla, CEO of Silatech. "Since September 2021, and thanks to the ’RESET’ project, EFE-Maroc has been able to train thousands of young people across Morocco and find employment for more than 700 applicants. Our goal is to reach 2,000 placements per year, which is achievable when we have a strong and agile ecosystem like Morocco’s, thanks to its 4 main pillars: committed public partners, a motivated private sector, high-potential young people, and an engaged civil society," said Houda Barakate, CEO of EFE-Maroc.

James Carty, Deputy Director for the Middle East and East Asia at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, said he is proud of what has been accomplished by this partnership with Silatech and EFE-Maroc in its first year. "Programs like ’RESET’ are extremely important, especially in a country where 43% of the population is under 24 years old," he said. "The pandemic is the most severe health crisis the world has seen in a long time, and there has never been a greater need to address employment with focus and innovation."