Quick Facts

• Planned Budget: $40 million
• Regions of Focus: Casablanca, Marrakech, Tangier

Context

Youth unemployment is not unique to Morocco. Worldwide, young people are three times more likely to be out of work than their parents. Morocco fits this pattern with 80% of the country’s unemployed falling between the ages of 15 and 34 years old. This cadre of young people - who make up more than half of Morocco’s total population - represents a pool of untapped talent and a lack of economic productivity. With an unemployment rate over 20 percent for university graduates, and an estimated 300,000 new entrants to the job market each year, USAID and the Government of Morocco share youth employability as not only a top priority for national policy and economic growth, but a wise investment in Morocco’s future.

USAID Response

USAID aims to promote greater economic inclusion for youth with three current programs:

• Providing Moroccan youth with new opportunities to acquire employability skills in Career Centers that are physically located in our focus regions, as well as an online platform.
• Creating new financing opportunities for small and medium enterprises through partnerships with SEAF and OPIC.
• Working with the private sector to create partnerships that result in demand-driven workforce development projects.

Anticipated Results

Through our programming, USAID and its partners expect to see lasting job and economic opportunities for Moroccan youth, particularly for graduates of public universities and vocational training centers. USAID will equip high quality and dynamic pilot Career Centers in a total of six university, OFPPT, and/or Ministry locations. USAID will employ work readiness skills that can be institutionalized into national curricula to assist graduates with transitioning to productive jobs, while improving retention rates. Furthermore, small and medium enterprises will have new financing opportunities emerging from Moroccan investment portfolio companies, where positive returns will allow continued investing and lending. In addition, USAID will engage with the private sector to provide specialized workforce development partnerships. In summary, USAID is fostering systemic changes to enable the Government and the expanding private sector to secure new and lasting entrants to the labor market that will help sustain Morocco’s dynamic economic growth and provide a brighter future for the country’s burgeoning youth population.