Morocco’s Biggest Resource is Being Flushed Down the Drain

The youth has enormous potential demographically in Morocco that is being wasted. Which is typically a source of economic growth and innovation, but unfortunately nearly half of the youth population in Morocco is being squandered. There are more than 100 million people from the ages of 15-29 in the Middle East and North Africa that are unemployed, which accounts for a third of the region's population, says the World Bank.

According to the World Bank, (an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programs), unemployment is a Global issue affecting 6% of the world's population on average. The level of unemployment in Northern Africa is a serious concern. The Youth Unemployment rate in Morocco is 49%. This is a particularly scary thought considering that it comprises 30% of Morocco's population.

“There are many young adults living with their parents from which they receive financial help,” reveals Badr Morsadi, a successful musician from Rabat. “Lots of my friends just stay at home and live their life as if they will never find a job, and they barely search for one.They would try to apply for several positions at once, and if they don’t receive interview calls, it would be the end of it.”

Since 2003, the youth unemployment rate has doubled in size, which was 19.3% at the time, with the total Unemployment rate being 9.2% and currently sitting at 20.2%, World Bank. There is deviance between men, women, age, residence and education. Urban youth are more likely to be unemployed than rural youth, and women are even worse off than men in this scenario.

The long term consequences of such a waste of potential is driving up the poverty rate, inequality and political unrest. Unemployment is a fundamental issue in every economy. The Moroccan population is rising at a much higher rate than jobs are being generated for this influx of people.

Morsadi claims that poverty “leads to a lack of good educational system and corruption of the country.”

As mentioned by Morsadi, the education system is also partly to blame for this, as there is a lack of the necessary skills. This evident in public schools, which fail to provide these individuals with the necessary knowledge. However the education in Morocco has become more accessible with the attendance rate rising as well as the literacy rate improving, even so the return on this investment is very low. University graduates tend to have a lower rate of employment than mid level or high school education.

“Another factor, which I think is important, is the studies they major in. In Morocco, you have to be smart about choosing your major because you cannot pick the major you love and make a living out of it,” Morsadi continues, “People who study law, economics, Islamic education, Arabic studies, history and geography, are most likely to be found protesting in front of the parliament begging for a job.”

A notable issue with the education system is that the labor market requires French language skills. The majority of public schools in Morocco are taught exclusively in Arabic, and French is only taught in private schools, which have become exceedingly expensive. This essentially excludes graduates from the public schooling system.

Another concern is that there are very few government or social programs that are meant to help young people either find a job, remain socially and physically active. The few that are present offer limited programs with technical skills.

Generating Jobs in the next decade will be a priority for Morocco if it intends to further develop its economy. The government should make investments into the youth and integrating them into the economy, a primary goal should be restructuring the public schooling system to include some basic skills needed to further develop end offer more opportunities.

“As a solution, I believe that we can’t put the blame only on the system. People can have good education if they want to. Also, the king has money. He CAN create programs or projects to help overcome joblessness,” says Morsadi

Youth Unemployment remains the biggest issue facing Morocco currently and in the next decade. Generating jobs in proportion to the growing population will be one of the biggest and most important challenges to overcome to advance the Moroccan economy.

works cited:

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2014/aug/20/youth-unemployment-interactive-abdeslam-seddiki-morocco

http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.UEM.1524.ZS?year_high_desc=true

http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2012/05/14/challenge-of-youth-inclusion-in-morocco

http://www.voicesofyouth.org/en/posts/morocco-struggles-with-growing-youth-unemployment

http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_443500/lang--en/index.htm