CAIRO: "It will take much more time to solve a cultural problem than to solve an economic problem, Mohamed Zaki El-Seweedy, head of the Industrial Training Council (ITC) told Daily News Egypt. According to El-Seweedy, the media has for a long time glorified becoming a doctor or engineer, while technical jobs have always been looked down upon. This has led to a shortage of students interested in technical universities, which is "a problem because Egypt has always been dependent on the industrial and agricultural domains, said El-Seweedy.Coupled with the prevailing problem of an educational system that has not been upgraded since 1990, the low salaries teachers receive as well as the overload of students in each classroom, the result has been an unemployment level of around 9 percent. In many ways, the ITC was formed to tackle these very deep-rooted problems: upgrading the skills of new and existing workers as well as modifying cultural conceptions dominating Egyptian society. The executive board consists of 15 members - five of which are businessmen - and reports directly to Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid. To get the ball rolling, the ITC began by tackling the core of the cultural problem head-on through a vigorous advertising campaign that spoke directly to the youth. One television ad juxtaposes two young graduates: The first gets on the train to work in a factory; the other stays behind, wiling away the hours in a coffee shop playing chess as he waits for a government job to come knocking at the door. The worker eventually gets promoted to a managerial position, while the chess player runs after the train but is unable to catch it. At the end, the narrator asks: "Which one are you? Then, youth were urged to call a hotline to apply for jobs and training. ITC received 550,000 calls as a result of the campaign, 70,000 of which accepted blue-collar jobs. The rest of the calls were by people seeking government jobs or were pranks. Around 6,500 have been recruited so far and the remainder are to be employed by the end of the first quarter of 2008."The availability of skilled labor is a problem. People don't want to work as laborers, they all want to be managers, although laborers get paid LE 500-700 in industry, which can easily increase to LE 3,000, El-Seweedy said. El-Seweedy believes that cultural attitudes lead to the belief that youth, as well as their parents find it debasing to work as a laborer after spending so much on a college education. A bride's parents would never accept a worker as a suitor for their daughter and will hold out for the "more suitable doctor or engineer. With increasing investments in Egypt, especially in industry, the ITC is there to addresses the shortage of labor and to enhance their skills set, "all driven by increasing demands of the industry, he said."We coordinate the training funds coming into the country and provide training to companies that ask for it, he said. ITC receives LE 500 million from the Egyptian government, ?64 million from the European Union and $12 million from the World Bank. "Egypt has always been known as the tomb of funds, we now want to maximize the usage of funds and direct them towards specific goals, he explained. The council has called on the expertise of a Scottish firm to coordinate the curriculum and certifications as well as the trainer and trainee standards. A committee of experts has been established in each sector to determine what trainings are needed, jobs, courses to be given to trainers and the preferable geographic location for training centers to be established. These committees will coordinate with the Scottish firm to produce the best results, "all conforming to international standards. "In the end, the trainee will receive an accredited certificate that [enables] them to work in Egypt or abroad, El-Seweedy said. This, in turn, should also alleviate the problem of illegal immigration, he added, as certified workers are needed in neighboring countries and these "certificates should make it easier for them to get a visa and enter the country legally. There is currently a shortage of trainers and ITC is working on training-the-trainer programs for 10,000 people, half of which will be sent abroad to Arab countries. The first phase of ITC's vision entails training of 250,000 laborers. More than half of that number has been trained including existing workers and new labor. Also, 43 new training centers were established and 4,300 companies have now satified their labor needs. "ITC funds 80 percent of the cost of tailored trainings given to industry, while the remaining 20 percent are paid by the company, he said. After this phase, ITC aims to revamp the technical education system. "The government has given us the upper hand, which is a great step, he said. A total of 100 technical schools will be upgraded to meet the needs of industry and the job market, equipped with computers, trainers and specialized courses. "These schools will be managed by industry, not the Ministry of Education, he said. A second advertising campaign will be launched soon, but with different figures and a "different attitude, he said. This campaign will focus on the process of matchmaking the unemployed youth with companies in need of labor. Another hotline will be set up for those seeking workers to call. Several private-sector companies have also collaborated with ITC in their training initiative. Siemens has equipped 50 training centers in different universities across the nation with automation systems to train engineers and technicians on "automation and drive techniques. Also, the General Motors Academy and the Carrefour Retail Academy have been established for the same purpose, training labor for their respective domains. "All academy graduates are certified and accredited by the companies that provide the training, he said. "Government jobs are not the solution now. The notion that you can't be laid off if you enter the system has ended. People are asking for rights without performing their duties and the youth has to understand that this culture has changed, he said.
