GIZ Egypt, on behalf of the German Government, and Enactus Egypt have signed an agreement to address the skills gap between the private sector and university graduates over two years. The agreement is part of their joint efforts to analyze the training needs of more than a hundred private sector companies in various fields, and design training programmes that match the job market needs. Moreover, a special competition will be launched to find innovative and sustainable solutions for the challenges facing the agro-processing and food industries. These solutions will be adopted and implemented by private sector companies in one of the industrial zones supported by GIZ Egypt. The Ministry of Finance said in a statement that Mohamed Maait, the Minister of Finance and Egypt's Governor at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), and Ahmed Kjouk, the Deputy Minister for Financial Policies, visited the venue of the AIIB Board of Directors meeting in the New Administrative Capital. They also visited the Sharm El-Sheikh International Convention Center, where the annual meetings of the AIIB will take place on 25 and 26 September, in their eighth edition. The statement added that Maait and Kjouk reviewed the logistical efforts to host the global event and met with Khaled Fouda, the Governor of South Sinai, who confirmed Sharm El-Sheikh's readiness for the event. The Minister of Finance also held a meeting at Cairo International Airport with Al-Shahat Ghatouri, the Head of the Customs Authority, and Maged Moussa, the Head of the Central Administration of Cairo Airport Customs. They discussed the preparations to facilitate the procedures for the guests of Egypt who will participate in the global event. Maait instructed them to simplify the customs procedures and assist the international media representatives who will cover the AIIB annual meetings and highlight the investment and development opportunities in Egypt, as well as its role as a regional and global hub for production and export. The signing ceremony was attended by several local and foreign companies operating in Egypt. A panel discussion was also held on the labour market needs, with the participation of elite private sector companies in various fields, such as telecommunications and information technology, construction, petroleum, food industries, and international development. Younes Naguib, the Director of the Private Sector Development Programme at GIZ Egypt, expressed his satisfaction with collaborating with Enactus Egypt to create job opportunities for youth in various fields. He said that the agreement was a significant step in the fruitful cooperation between Egypt and Germany in empowering and training youth to drive development. Sameh Hamad, the Manager of Industrial Zones and Clusters Development at the Job Partnerships and Small and Medium Enterprises Support Project (JP-SME) at GIZ Egypt, said that this collaboration will create 1,200 new job opportunities over two years, with 50% of them for females. It will also establish a sustainable solution that will be implemented by a private sector company in the agro-processing and food industries in one of the industrial zones targeted by the project. Fatma Serry, the CEO of Enactus Egypt, said that she was delighted to collaborate with GIZ Egypt for the first time to launch the "NextGen Onboard" programme. She said that this programme aligns with Enactus Egypt's vision of developing the skills and capabilities of young people to prepare a new generation of leaders who can create a better world for everyone. She added that Enactus Egypt has helped over 175,000 university students develop their skills and implement nearly 180 projects that serve the sustainable development goals since its establishment in 2004. The programme will be implemented over two years and will provide comprehensive support and guidance to students with the help of a selected group of top trainers in Egypt and the Middle East. Its goal is to develop the skills of young graduates and integrate them into the job market by connecting them with private sector companies in various sectors. The programme will also utilize the United Nations platform under the "Youth of the Nation" international initiative, which has been launched in more than 54 countries worldwide. It aims to support and empower youth to acquire the necessary skills to find decent job opportunities. The programme will also include a career fair for the first time exclusively, with the participation of a large number of private sector companies, as part of the annual local competition by Enactus Egypt.
