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Rabat – Morocco’s Minister of Employment Mohamed Amkaraz has addressed Morocco’s “brain drain.”
Acknowledging the problems posed by the exodus of Morocco’s talent, Amakraz said that it is “difficult” to control the number of people who choose to leave the country for economic reasons.
He argued that the reason why the government cannot provide statistics on the number of qualified Moroccans leaving to work abroad is due to the freedom of movement guaranteed by the constitution.
“It is impossible to close borders for those who want to emigrate or travel,” the minister said.
The minister said that the people who choose to leave the country have their own reasons.
“But they know that a Moroccan doctor can work in the country in very appropriate conditions,” however, they still prefer to emigrate.
However, Amakraz said that many foreign professionals have “emigrated to Morocco to work in businesses, entrepreneurship and to settle in the country.”
Like other countries in Africa and the Middle East, thousands of Moroccans, with or without higher education qualifications, dream of leaving to find better employment opportunities.
Officials from the government and academics addressed the issue of the brain drain last year. Morocco’s Minister of Education Said Amzazi estimated that 600 Moroccan engineers leave the country every year.
Moroccan MP Omar Hijra of the opposition party of Al Istiqlal argued that the phenomenon has become an alarming issue in recent years.
In a speech at the monthly plenary session in June 2019, the MP said that more than 10,40 administrative and technical executives left the country in 2018.
He added that the number included more than 8,000 administrative employees, technical executives, 1,200 businessmen, 600 engineers, and 630 doctors.
The issue of the brain drain in the country is of no surprise as the number of Moroccans who hope to emigrate is increasing alarmingly.
A recent national survey from the High Commission for Planning (HCP) shows that nearly a quarter or 23.3% of Moroccan non-migrants want to leave the country.
The HCP conducted its survey between 2018 and 2019.
The study finds that more young people want to leave the country than older generations, with 40.3% of individuals aged between 15 and 29 wanting to emigrate and only 10.3% of those aged 45-59 having the same wish.
Non-migrants with vocational training represent the demographic with the most people hoping to emigrate, with 40.6%. A quarter (25%) have reached high school or higher education, while 12.4% have no formal education.
While the survey shows a significant increase of Moroccan seeking migration, the minister of employment believes that many foreign qualified experts seek jobs in the country.
