CAIRO: Technical and vocational education is Egypt's ultimate answer to unemployment, industrial competitiveness, and illegal immigration, agreed political and business leaders on Sunday. "Egypt has to create every year close to 700,000 new jobs because up to 700,000 new people enter the labor market every year, Klaus Ebermann, European Union Ambassador and head of the European Commissioni Delegation, told Daily News Egypt. "So where do these jobs come from? Many of them are in the manufacturing industry where Egypt has been very successful in the last years. Ebermann sees strong potential in sectors such as ready-made garments, food processing, construction and building material, among others, which come at the core of "Egypt's booming industrial market . In a bid to reform Egypt's ailing technical education, the European Union - in cooperation with the Egyptian government - has earmarked 66 million euros (LE 536 million) towards funding the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) project. Established in 2005, the six-year project seeks to train and upgrade skills of some 15,000 Egyptian workers in five sectors including ready-made garments, engineering industries, food processing, as well as wood and furniture. "There is a shortage of skilled labor in Egypt, Ebermann stated. "The striking thing about this project is that it puts people in the center of the process. It [aims] to upgrade skills that reflect needs of the labor market. Over the remaining years, the project will expand to seven additional sectors including chemical industries, leather and tanning, printing, building and construction material, and tourism. "The project also seeks to upgrade trade-related services, for example, custom reforms, added Ebermann. "Services and logistics is another area where I see enormous potential to upgrade. Under the TVET, training duration lasts two months, whereby trainees receive a monthly salary between LE 150-200. Upon completion of the training, workers get recruited in private industries requiring their qualifications. During an event organized Sunday under the auspices of Egypt's Ministry of Trade and Industry, speakers dubbed vocational education the country's catalyst for reform and growth. "Egypt will not be able to beat global competition unless it develops its industry. . One way to do that is through upgrading vocational education and training, as it reflects on the country's industrial capacity, said Mohamed Farid Khamis, Member of Parliament and chairman of the Union of Investors Associations. "As long as we have skilled labor force, we will be able to pull investments into our country. He clarified that programs such as the TVET offer a practical solution to Egypt's prevailing illegal immigration trends that proliferate among the youth. "To efficiently address unemployment, we need to produce skilled workers that can fill in gaps in the job market in Egypt [on one hand] and be eligible for legal immigration to Europe on the other hand, added Khamis. "The [predicament] in Egypt is not unemployment as much as it is mismatch between [existing qualifications] and skills required by the workforce, explained Fayza Abul Naga, minister of international cooperation. Two thirds of vacancies available on the job market nowadays, she said, demand holders of technical and vocational education, while the remaining one third absorbs holders of bachelor's degrees. "A problem we often [face] with technical education programs is that trainees pursue university education upon completion of training, which minimizes benefits of these programs, the minister pointed out. "It's a social matter. She added that the society should no longer show disdain of technical and vocational education and regard it as inferior to higher education. "We are trying to change the society's attitude towards this sort of education, similarly to what happened in some European countries like Ireland. In order to be globally competitive, experts says that Egypt cannot only rely on its favorable location. It also needs to rely on its trained workforce that can compete with counterparts from Asian countries. "Egypt has made substantial success in its foreign direct investments . which reached 13-14 million euros in the fiscal year 2006/07, Ambassador Ebermann pointed out. "It is true that what drives investment is cheap production, location . but most importantly, quality of labor force and human resources as well as quality of products. The current trend in some European countries, he said, is that some manufacturing industries have moved from China back to their homeland in Europe because they lacked quality of labor force. "Egypt is a large exporter to European markets. The European Union is by far Egypt's largest trading partner, and there is potential for more, stated Ebermann. "Egypt will only be successful in competition with China . if it produces good quality products. And this is how this program [becomes important] because it puts people first.
