Tunisian government vows to create one million jobs
05/08/2008
In response to alarming levels of unemployment in the country, particularly among university graduates, the Tunisian government has pledged to provide one million new jobs by 2016.
By Jamel Arfaoui for Magharebia in Tunis – 05/08/08
 [Jamel Arfaoui] For many Tunisians, including university graduates, the middle class dream continues to be difficult to attain. The government has promised to create one million new jobs. |
The Tunisian government must create one million new jobs by 2016, said Minister of Development and International Co-operation Nouri Jouini in a press conference last Friday morning (August 1st).
"We have all the required capabilities to realise this goal," Jouini continued. He didn't discuss any specifics, but said the national strategy will employ "clarity of vision that helps in attracting investors; targeting the activities of intelligence and knowledge; reinforcing the middle class; improving purchasing power; and encouraging all Tunisians to rally behind the agreed options".
Unemployment is the number one concern for many Tunisian families, especially among university graduates.
According to Mounira ben Brahim, who obtained a graduate degree in business three years ago, her family's hope has "started to fade away".
"I still constitute an economic burden on my family that has dreamt of my graduation day, so that I may relieve them from poverty, but it seems it has been a dream and nothing else," she said.
Montassar Amdouni, who graduated two years ago with a science degree, had to work in a construction yard while "waiting for the big day". He sent an application to participate in a government-organised job fair, but doesn't think he will succeed. "The tests that we will have to do are outside my specialisation," he explained. "I just hope to be lucky." According to official government statistics, Tunisia has successfully stabilised the unemployment rate at 14%. The number of new additional jobs is estimated at 87,000 jobs a year.
A report issued by the World Bank in March 2008 says that unemployment in Tunisia was rising among people with higher education, due in part to their increasing numbers. In 2006-2007, this group totalled 336,000, up from 121,800 in 1996-1997.
Tunisia's southern mining basin region has flared up recently, with sit-ins and other protests staged by people demanding work, many with university degrees. Two young men have been killed in recent incidents; the first as a result of electric shock inside the mining basin, and the second during a clash with security forces.
On July 3rd, the cabinet approved a series of measures aimed at facing the increasing job demands. These measures include an increase in the budget earmarked for training university graduates to enter the workforce. Six thousand new beneficiaries were added, bringing the total to 36,000 this year.
The training efforts in 2008 will cost the state 38 million dinars after adding 6 million to the initial budget.
One beneficiary of the programme, Amel Hamrouni, said that she is training in a financial institution, and that she hopes the labour market will be open to her. "Business owners usually ask you to bring them a certificate of experience, but how can we get it when they don't give us a chance to acquire experience in the first place?" she asked.
A 2005 survey of nearly 4,800 Tunisian university graduates conducted by the World Bank revealed that 46% had not found work within 18 months of earning their diplomas. Roughly 50% of surveyed master's degree holders and advanced technicians were unemployed, according to the study, compared to just 10% of trained engineers.
The Tunisian authorities give several tax incentives to foreign investors for the purpose of absorbing a part of the increasing job demands. There are 3,000 foreign enterprises currently operating in Tunisia. Foreign investment constitutes 5% of gross domestic product, or a total of $2 billion.