Cairo – Forty nine Egyptian engineers completed internships with the Egyptian Group for Engineering Consultation (EGEC) through a two-year project funded by a grant from the U.S. Government.  Of the first cohort of interns, 85 percent have already found gainful employment in Egypt and internationally.

“We believe that Egypt’s peaceful and prosperous future depends very much on creating jobs for its youth,” said Robert Parker from the U.S. government’s Agency for International Development (USAID).  “This project helped create a cadre of skilled engineers and draftsmen capable of competing in the global job market.”

The USAID-funded project provided internship opportunities for 49 new graduates from the Egyptian universities’ faculties of engineering, commerce, law, and humanities.  Through this program, interns worked with engineering professionals to gain hands-on experience and to acquire the skills needed to compete in the international job market.

“This training really put us on the first step of the journey,” said Mohamed Aly, one of today’s graduates.  “It filled the gap between school education and real life challenges. I consider myself very lucky to have been selected and wish everyone could have an opportunity to go through such an experience.”  

The U.S. Government promotes a globally competitive, educated, innovative human resources-based economy in Egypt.  To date, USAID activities in entrepreneurship, antiquities restoration, potable water pipeline construction, agriculture export standards, and vocational school career centers have led to new or better full-time employment for over 40,000 people in the past two years and short-term jobs for another 20,000 laborers. A generation of career-educated graduates who possess the right skills for today’s job market will help bridge the current gap between education and employment needs.