Rabat- The unemployment rate of students with higher education degrees has doubled since 2013, according to Government Spokesperson Mustapha El Khalfi.
Rabat- The unemployment rate of students with higher education degrees has doubled since 2013, according to Government Spokesperson Mustapha El Khalfi.
As the number of higher education students increases each year in Morocco, unemployment remains a challenge.
According to El Khalfi’s recent press statement, the percentage of unemployed university graduates is over 22 percent, a figure that has doubled over the last five years and is expected to keep increasing in the coming years to reach 50 percent.
“The number of degree holders increased from 43,000 in the last five years to 120,000 this year,” El Khalfi said.
El Khalfi argued that the kingdom is facing a sizeable problem of unemployed higher degree holders that cannot be ignored.
To find a job, many Moroccans believe that it is necessary to have money or connections.
One unemployed Moroccan holder of a master’s degree in economic studies, named Nesrine, told Morocco World News: “I could easily find a job if my parents were rich or had rich friends but unfortunately they don’t.”
Will Morocco solve the problem of unemployment?
Morocco’s High Commission for Planning (HCP) reported that the higher levels of general education—which typically ranges from elementary school to college—correspond with lower likelihood of employment.
Half of the actively employed population (estimated at 52.2 percent) are not degree holders, compared to 34.2 percent of workers who hold degrees, according to HCP.
Meanwhile, the research group BMI has forecasted that high unemployment will prevail throughout the next decade due to the expanding workforce, unmet demand for technical positions, and decline in traditional high employment sectors.
For unemployment to decline, Morocco would need to create 115,000 additional jobs each year and maintain all current employment opportunities in order to maintain a workforce participation rate of 47 percent.
The worrisome unemployment figures have prompted the government to adopt a national program and relevant trainings for young graduates in several spheres to increase the possibilities of employment.
Financial support for young unemployed graduates?
The Moroccan Party of Progress and Socialism has proposed in Parliament that the government create a fund to support Moroccan undergraduates and postgraduates from universities across the country.
The proposal suggest that unemployed graduates will benefit from a one-year fund of MAD 1,200 monthly, valid for a six-month extension.
Throughout the extension period, beneficiaries will only benefit from MAD 600 a month.
