Qatar-based regional social initiative Silatech, founded in 2008 by HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, has partnered with AIESEC, the world’s largest student-run organisation, to support thousands of young job seekers in Tunisia.
The two leading non-government organisations will join efforts to connect job seekers with the tools, resources, training and job opportunities provided through the online Tounes Ta3mal platform.
Youth unemployment is a pressing problem in the Arab world as it has the highest youth unemployment rate (28%) for any region in the world. The problem is especially acute in Tunisia, which, according to its government, has a youth unemployment rate of 42.3%.
Tounes Ta3mal (www.tounesta3mal.com) helps young job seekers through links to career guidance, soft skills and entrepreneurship training, eLearning as well as internships and entry-level job opportunities.
Tounes Ta3mal is part of the regional Ta3mal network, which now has localised country portals in Qatar, Egypt, Iraq, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Palestine. Silatech and Microsoft are regional co-partners, while at the local level, 64 partners from the non-profit, education, government and private sectors provide specialised content, job opportunities and access to services appropriate for each country.
Tounes Ta3mal was founded by Silatech and Microsoft in October 2013 in partnership with Edupartage, a Tunisian social network dedicated to education and society.
Formally announced in front of 700 students during AIESEC Tunisia’s recent “Get Ready” conference, the partnership kicked off with a one-day training of 12 AIESEC Tunisia members to discuss employment challenges in Tunisia and how Ta3mal can help young job seekers. Trainees also brainstormed outreach approaches to implement Tounes Ta3mal in over 20 universities throughout the country.
Ali Mnif, Silatech country representative in Tunisia, stressed the complementarity of the Silatech-AIESEC relationship.
“This is a natural partnership between two leading youth-focused organisations. Through AIESEC’s extensive access to the student community, Tounes Ta3mal will reach more of its target audience, and thousands more young Tunisians will benefit from the resources it provides.”
Affes Chahine, national board president for AIESEC in Tunisia, expressed strong commitment to the success of the partnership, saying “Silatech is a partner of choice for a youth-led organisation like AIESEC. Our dedication to solving unemployment issues through our career development programmes means
our organisation naturally supports promising initiatives like Tounes Ta3mal.”
Silatech is focused on helping improve employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for young people throughout the Arab world. AIESEC is active in over 124 countries and territories, with an international platform that enables young people to be global citizens and explore and develop their leadership potential.
Direct job placement is a core offering of Ta3mal and its primary focus on entry-level positions distinguishes it from other job search platforms. To strengthen this capacity further in Tunisia, AIESEC will both promote Tounes Ta3mal’s job functionality among its partner employers and business associations and assist them in the process of creating accounts on the platform and listing job vacancies.
Since its inception, Silatech has financed over 78,000 youth-owned businesses, created or sustained over 134,000 jobs and trained more than 3,800 youth-focused NGO staff. Silatech currently has programmes in 15 Arab countries, including Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia and Yemen.
Some of the participants in a recent event supported by Silatech, AIESEC and Tounes Ta3mal.
