The Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs sees the project as a way of helping MREs to feel invested in the future of Moroccan development.
Rabat – The Moroccan Delegate Ministry to Foreign Affairs launched yesterday, June 24, the MRE Academy. The initiative aims to deploy the expertise of Moroccans Residing Abroad (MRE) in development projects in Morocco.
The MRE Academy is the result of an agreement between the Foreign Affairs Delegate Ministry and the Moroccan Office for Vocational Training and Labor Promotion (OFPPT), following a virtual meeting. Five global networks of Moroccan business people and talents also joined the meeting.
The Minister Delegate for Moroccans Residing Abroad Nezha El Ouafi said after the signing ceremony that the program aims to establish a platform to transmit the expertise of Moroccans residing abroad. She emphasized the importance of development projects in Morocco.
“We are working to convert our traditional approach to a pragmatic approach in order to integrate and institutionalize the experiences of Moroccans residing abroad to enhance and modernize the vocational training in our country.” said El Ouafi.
The Director General of OFPPT, Loubna Tricha, said the MRE Academy is “a distinguished channel for transferring the experiences of Moroccan potential networks around the world and their good practices for the benefit of our country’s youth.”
Tricha also explained that in order to benefit most from this program, the initiative will focus on strategic sectors in Morocco such as aeronautics, cars manufacturers, and artificial intelligence.
The first phase will involve MRE networks including Aeromac Experts for aeronautics, the ‘ACOMS’ organization in Switzerland, ‘AMCN’ for Moroccan talents in the US, ‘C3M’ for Moroccan medical competencies, and ‘DMK’ for Moroccans in Germany.
According to a study by the Delegate Ministry, 17% of MREs possess higher university degrees. The same study revealed that 90% of MREs residing in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries are aged between 15 and 65 years old.
Despite the persistent concerns about the lack of jobs in Morocco, a survey by the e-recruitment website Rekrute, revealed that 74% of Moroccans want “to come back home” and explore employment possibilities.
The survey also revealed that 52% expressed a feeling of patriotism, saying that they have a sense of responsibility to “contribute” to national development, after accumulating wealth and professional experience.