FHI 360 is opening six career centers at universities and vocational training centers in Morocco — two per region in Tangier, Casablanca and Marrakech — to enhance the employability of 100,000 young students and recent graduates by 2019. The project, called the USAID Career Center, will provide onsite and online resources to enhance youth employability while also helping participants identify and gain access to opportunities within potential high-growth sectors. Career center staff include university employees, volunteers and students. Offerings include workforce readiness training, orientation services, internships, among other opportunities. The project is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and FHI 360 developed the project in collaboration with the International Resources and Exchanges Board (IREX), Education for Employment (EFE) and Golden Resources.

At present, unemployment among university graduates in Morocco exceeds 20 percent. FHI 360’s approach to enhancing youth employability in the region is to develop, evaluate and offer relevant training curricula, work-based learning strategies and services that will directly relate to the students’ career interests. While developing the career centers, FHI 360 conducted industry-specific sectoral analyses and will continue to draw upon research data to tailor center offerings to industry needs and build in program sustainability. The aim is to make linkages between the private sector and educational institutions.

The opening of the first center took place at Cadi Ayyad University in Marrakech and attracted participation from students; the U.S. Ambassador to Morocco, Dwight L. Bush Sr.; the Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Executive Training, Lahcen Daoudi; and the President of Cadi Ayyad University, Abdellatif Miraoui. At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Ambassador Bush noted the centers “have serious potential to become a model that can be replicated and scaled.” The second center opened June 3, 2016, at Abdelmalek Essaadi University.

FHI 360 engages partners to design and implement contextually appropriate, effective workforce development initiatives that are grounded in evidence-based programming. Its global workforce development programs create economic opportunity for youth and adults by driving industry innovations and employment solutions around the world.