IFC, CEFAC Boost Youth Employability in Tunisia
IFC is helping CEFAC, a training organization in Tunisia, provide business skills training to Tunisian youth, increasing their employability and supporting business growth.
As part of the program, CEFAC will deliver daily workshops to students from ESSEC Tunisia June 2-5, focusing on management and communication skills often ignored in academic courses.
“In Tunisia, there’s a gap between the skills expected by companies and the skills job-seekers have,” said Mehdi Chahed, Director of CEFAC. “This is often due to the lack of emphasis on soft skills at school or university. Our partnership with IFC helps us ensure that people – particularly young people – know how to interact effectively in the workplace.”
IFC first partnered with CEFAC in mid-2014 when it instructed CEFAC trainers in its Business Edge training program, to help youth communicate efficiently, motivate teams, and manage change. CEFAC trainers have since delivered nearly 50 Business Edge workshops to more than 430 Tunisian participants, of which one third are women.
“Ensuring that youth skills match the needs of the job market is critical,” said Antoine Courcelle-Labrousse, IFC’s Country Officer in Tunisia. “By developing these soft skills among young people in Tunisia, we boost their chances of finding a job and contributing to regional stability and economic growth.”
Businesses and organizations around the world use IFC’s Business Edge to strengthen management and communications skills. Globally, 65 training providers have used Business Edge to train more than 200,000 people.
This project was made possible through the support of the Islamic Development Bank, the Government of the Netherlands, the Swiss Secretariat for Economic Affairs, and UKaid.