USAID Career Center Quarterly Report (October 1 – December 31, 2015)

In collaboration with the Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Executive Education and the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, the program targets youth with specific soft skills training to prepare them for the world of work. The program also engages private sector employers to offer them a value proposition that relates directly to the performance of their businesses through work-based learning strategies and services. Component One: Establish Career Centers, focused on operationalizing university Career Centers and advancing the hiring of Career Center staff. Spaces were identified to host the university Career Centers in the three pilot regions: the University Library at Hassan II University in Casablanca; the Faculty of Science and Technology at Cadi Ayyad University in Marrakech and the University Abdelmalek Essaadi in Tangier. Content development advanced substantially in regards to the services to be provided at the Career Centers, including on-the-spot CV review, which was tested out and delivered to target youth in pop-up events at the Hassan II University in Casablanca. The program finalized the scopes of the staff at Centers, including the Career Center director position and two Career Center Advisors. University partners in all three regions were enthusiastic about the hiring of the Career Center director position. The project also advocated for an office space for the Regional Coordinators in Casablanca and Marrakech. Next quarter, the hiring and training of staff will proceed in advance of the Career Centers' opening in April-May 2016. With regard to advancing the implementation of the Career Center model in Moroccan vocational training institutions under the Ministry of Education, a highly successful call for interest was held among vocational training institutions in the three regions to host vocational Career Centers in each region. In collaboration with USAID Career Center, representatives from the vocational training department of the Ministry of Education and the COR for USAID selected three training institutes based on expressed interest, location, space availability, number of students, and ability to provide staff. Scopes for the director position at the Career Centers were shared with officials at each institute. Next quarter, hiring of the directors will be completed. Soft skills information sessions in each of the selected vocational training institutes will take place to discuss the findings of the soft skills review and how soft skills can be used in the current curricula. This quarter, USAID Career Center obtained buy-in from regional authorities through meetings with the Walis of each pilot region. The program continued to engage private partnerships. Next quarter, USAID Career Center will continue to develop partnerships by meeting with employers to gauge interest in partnering with the Career Centers. Component Two: Work Readiness progressed on its Rapid Industry Analysis with five leading industries in Morocco, with the objective of identifying the skills and competencies required by the private sector. The analysis will inform the development of work readiness training programs for youth.