Trade Minister Ahmed Reda Chami is encouraging foreign firms to invest in the technical know-how of the Moroccan workforce.
By Sarah Touahri for Magharebia in Rabat – 12/04/10
Morocco is working to attract investors in four technical fields in order to spur employment among youth.
Investors in the off-shoring, car manufacturing, aeronautical engineering and electronics industries will be recruited to boost Morocco's economy and create thousands of work opportunities, Trade Minister Ahmed Reda Chami announced on Wednesday (April 7th) at the first conference held for such industries.
"A number of promotional activities have been undertaken by the new Moroccan Agency for Investment Development in the target countries," Chami said at the Casablanca event.
The government is offering incentives packages to corporations that set up shop in Morocco, he said. The benefits on offer include rebates of some profit taxes and a five-year exemption from corporate taxes. Chami also highlighted Morocco's high-performance infrastructure and competitively priced labor.
Mourad Laâouni, a young aircraft engineer who has been working for an aeronautical maintenance company for the past year, welcomed the news.
"I've chosen training, which will guarantee me work in a growth sector where there's a lack of human resources," he told Magharebia. "It's only recently that the state has started showing an interest in training."
New graduates are also taking notice of the shift in the economy.
Fatima recently graduated university with a political science degree, but is concerned about getting her foot in the workplace. This summer, she may enroll in a six-month off-shoring course offered by the Office for Vocational Training and Promotion of Employment.
"With my degree, it's difficult to break into the job market. But that doesn't mean you can just sit back and do nothing," Fatima said.
"I'm only 22, and my plan is to get into this training course, which will help me find work."
The Trade Ministry expects strong job growth in the four technical sectors. The ministry projects that by 2015, 70,000 jobs will be created in the off-shoring and automobile sectors, 15,000 in the aeronautics field and 9,000 in electronics.
Morocco has seen tremendous economic success in these targeted sectors, said Moroccan General Business Confederation chairman Mohamed Horani.
The off-shoring sector now accounts for 30,000 jobs and generated 4.5 billion dirhams in revenue in 2009, Horani said. In the automotive sector, Morocco joined the ranks of car producers with a major new assembly plant that can turn out 400,000 vehicles. As for the aeronautical and space industry, Morocco now boasts over 60 companies which support a workforce of 7,000 and generated 6 billion dirhams in revenue.
Another business leader predicted that Morocco's economy will flourish in the next five years.
"Thanks to Morocco's global trade, improved competitiveness among SMEs and greater human capital resources, Morocco's economy will have emerged by 2015 as a regional platform for production and export to Europe, Asia, the Americas and sub-Saharan Africa," said Moroccan Professional Banking Group chairman Othman Bejelloun.
Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2010/04/12/feature-01.
By Sarah Touahri for Magharebia in Rabat – 12/04/10
Morocco is working to attract investors in four technical fields in order to spur employment among youth.
Investors in the off-shoring, car manufacturing, aeronautical engineering and electronics industries will be recruited to boost Morocco's economy and create thousands of work opportunities, Trade Minister Ahmed Reda Chami announced on Wednesday (April 7th) at the first conference held for such industries.
"A number of promotional activities have been undertaken by the new Moroccan Agency for Investment Development in the target countries," Chami said at the Casablanca event.
The government is offering incentives packages to corporations that set up shop in Morocco, he said. The benefits on offer include rebates of some profit taxes and a five-year exemption from corporate taxes. Chami also highlighted Morocco's high-performance infrastructure and competitively priced labor.
Mourad Laâouni, a young aircraft engineer who has been working for an aeronautical maintenance company for the past year, welcomed the news.
"I've chosen training, which will guarantee me work in a growth sector where there's a lack of human resources," he told Magharebia. "It's only recently that the state has started showing an interest in training."
New graduates are also taking notice of the shift in the economy.
Fatima recently graduated university with a political science degree, but is concerned about getting her foot in the workplace. This summer, she may enroll in a six-month off-shoring course offered by the Office for Vocational Training and Promotion of Employment.
"With my degree, it's difficult to break into the job market. But that doesn't mean you can just sit back and do nothing," Fatima said.
"I'm only 22, and my plan is to get into this training course, which will help me find work."
The Trade Ministry expects strong job growth in the four technical sectors. The ministry projects that by 2015, 70,000 jobs will be created in the off-shoring and automobile sectors, 15,000 in the aeronautics field and 9,000 in electronics.
Morocco has seen tremendous economic success in these targeted sectors, said Moroccan General Business Confederation chairman Mohamed Horani.
The off-shoring sector now accounts for 30,000 jobs and generated 4.5 billion dirhams in revenue in 2009, Horani said. In the automotive sector, Morocco joined the ranks of car producers with a major new assembly plant that can turn out 400,000 vehicles. As for the aeronautical and space industry, Morocco now boasts over 60 companies which support a workforce of 7,000 and generated 6 billion dirhams in revenue.
Another business leader predicted that Morocco's economy will flourish in the next five years.
"Thanks to Morocco's global trade, improved competitiveness among SMEs and greater human capital resources, Morocco's economy will have emerged by 2015 as a regional platform for production and export to Europe, Asia, the Americas and sub-Saharan Africa," said Moroccan Professional Banking Group chairman Othman Bejelloun.
Source: Magharebia.com
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2010/04/12/feature-01.
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