Training for development

Emphasizing the needs of the private sector, the project will work to improve the training capacities of Moroccan training institutions and will provide direct opportunities for U.S. or third country managerial and technical training. The project will undertake 4 types of activities to strengthen in-country training infrastructure: (1) 20 diagnostic studies to assess in detail the training needs of the private sector, identify existing training programs, assess their capabilities, and plan improvements; (2) TA to ten training institutions (at least six will be in the private sector) to improve management, faculty skills, curricula, training materials, and facilities, all geared towards meeting market demands; (3) development of four formal linkages between U.S. and Moroccan training or professional institutions, possibly financed through a cost- sharing arrangement with project 9365063; and (4) seminars and roundtables for public and private employers to raise their understanding of the importance of human resources development in Morocco, complemented by research on topics particularly relevant to Morocco"s situation. Training interventions will be of 4 types: (1) Tuition support will be provided to 4,800 persons, 80% from the private sector, for short-term management and technical training at the ten Moroccan institutions that will receive TA. (2) Short-term management and technical U.S. or third-country training will benefit 420 participants, 60% from the private sector; 130 more will attend conferences or participate in tailor-made study visits. (3) The project will finance U.S graduate-level training for about 240 Moroccans, drawn equally from the public and private sectors; about half will pursue Masters degrees, and half will participate in accelerated executive training programs. (4) The project will also finance English-language training for about 400 project trainees, and also for about 1,800 A.I.D. counterpart personnel and 100 English language instructors. Women will comprise at least 30% of the trainees in all the above categories. When beneficiaries from training courses developed as a result of the project are included, the project will benefit about 15,000 Moroccans. Policy dialogue with the Government of Morocco will reinforce the project interventions. In particular, three areas of governmental responsibility will be addressed: accreditation, curriculum and educational standards, and degree equivalency requirements. Amendment (1995) adds a basic education component to the project. On the basis of a strategic training plan developed by USAID and the Ministry of National Education (MNE) for improving primary education in rural Morocco, the project will conduct workshops for teachers and inspectors on the sociology of rural life, with a focus on classroom organization and specific techniques for addressing girls" distinct learning needs, acquisition of teaching materials, and management training. Efforts will be implemented in selected schools in five pilot areas. (Abstract taken from SOAG for the Moroccan Education for Girls [MEG] Project: PD-ABP-147).