Women school to work transition in the MENA Region. Jordan, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Lebanon, Egypt

Transcription

1 Women school to work transition in the MENA Region Jordan, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Lebanon, Egypt

2 Presentation Plan Executive Summary What the paper aim at Status of the school-to-work transition in MENA gender, education & employment Policies in the MENA The National Gender Equality Strategies Job entry skills for better access to labour market Background Information Challenges encountered during the transition Definition of the Policy Problem Conclusion and Recommendation

3 School-to-work transition in the MENA Region Young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) is the highest in MENA, especially among young women (OECD 2015). Two fundamental aspects used to problematize this reflection on the transition from school to work in MENA: Institutional decline: the training system, and the school-to-work transition mechanisms are failing. Paradox: unemployment, lack of Job entry skills, especially among women. Gap between educational system and labor market Decline of institutions: the state, school, business, Skills crisis

4 The institutional decline Preparation for professional life requires the involvement of several institutions having the role of the socialization of individual for the professional life. Two unifying principles characterize these different institutions (family, school, vocational training institutions, professional institutions, etc.) that are related to the state: 1- Working with one another (the socialization, the action); 2- The existence of an "institutional program".

5 The vocations crisis, the skills shortage The vocations crises The skills shortage - Decline of institutional program (in terms of providing job entry skills ) - Young insufficiently prepared for the labor market - Devaluation of diplomas Identity turbulence whose extent and consequences vary according to the persons concerned

6 Gender, education & Employment Policies in MENA MENA continues to rank lowest in women s economic participation & opportunities (GGGI 2014) Morocco: Urban, educated females face a 50 percent unemployment rate Algeria: youth unemployment rate is over 50 percent, and women in labour force was as low as 9 percent Tunisia: Young women have much lower employment rates than men, 13.3 percent versus 30.3 percent Jordan: More women in education, yet, labour force participation is 18.2%, and for men 64.7% Egypt: unemployment rates among males 9.2%, and among females 25 % (CAPMAS 2014)

7 National Gender Strategies National gender equality strategies focus on preventing genderbased discrimination, and strengthening the economic empowerment of women: Egyptian National Council for Women (NCW) Strategy for Gender Equality; The National Strategy for Women in Egypt ( ); National Strategy for Women in Lebanon ( ); Strate gie de la lutte contre la violence a l e gard des femmes au sein de la famille et de la socie te in Tunisia The strategies lack specific gender equality standards, principles and objectives, narrowing women s role in the society and constraining women s empowerment in economic and public life.

8 Bringing in new alternatives To strengthen education as a path to enhance women's economic participation and opportunity, there is a need to: Focus on improving education quality, and Targeting girls from secondary and technical education as they are more vulnerable to unemployment and engagement in the informal sector. Improving the poor quality of the education systems contribute to high level of economic inequality, and raise concerns about social justice

9 School system reforms Egypt: providing education to all citizens expressed in the MOE National Plan for Education for All Morocco: educational improvement a national priority to match the high enrolment rates with access to the market, Jordan: provided every village and community with 10 or more school-going children with a school. Tunisia: launched a National dialogue on the Education System s Reform in cooperation with national partners

10 Labour market characteristics -MENA continue to show by far the highest youth unemployment rates, 28.2% (2012) and 30.5% (2014), rates continue to worsen, especially for young women. - More young women and men in education but still facing a difficult labour market transition -The gender gap is persistent, with the rates of young women s participation in the labour market being significantly lower than those of young men Source: ILO;

11 Labour market characteristics Policy problem - women from under-privileged backgrounds, even with a degree, face additional challenges to access the labour market. They do not possess the personal network and relations to access decent jobs in the formal labour market. - Little ethnographic research work on the impact of education in improving the socio-economic livelihood of women conducted, - lack of research on the impact of Job entry skills on increasing women s access to better job opportunities, -School-to- work transition researches stated that women face both social and technical obstacles, which is a main characteristic in the MENA Region.

12 Transition School / Jobs Despite the efforts to enhance the level of education That has a limit effect on labor markets (rate of unemployment remains high and twice for women). There s an inverse correlation between education and employment where the unemployment rates tend to increase with educational level, particularly for women Tradition and social norms remain major obstacles as restricted mobility and lack of social network are major factors to women s limited access to the labour market

13 Challenges encountered during the transition A skills mismatch between the employment applicants profiles and the created jobs - Work and employment characteristics are changed. -Specific skills are required to enter the labor market. Educational and training systems do not provide soft skills and job search skills which are needed to increase the chances of getting a job. Formal school system faile to follow changes and developments in the labor market.

14 Challenges encountered during the transition Low level of qualifications due to weak adherence in vocational training -Despite the high rate of school drop out, low proportion of young people are opting of technical and vocational training. The available specialization do not fit with the young women expectation that they have for their future employment A gender segregation in vocational trained occupation.

15 Challenges encountered during the transition Lack of relevant experience As the labor supply exceeds the labor demands Employer tend to reject youth without relevant work experience, regardless of their level of education. Thus, the majority of unemployed women are first job seekers with no previous work experience.

16 Challenges encountered during the transition Unequal job search opportunities Most jobs are found through personal contacts (17% of employed young women have found their actual work through a personal or family contact SAHWA 2015). Transparent and merit-based recruitment mechanisms involving open competition are not the reliable way to obtain a job. Young women with no social contacts find more difficulties to obtain her first job.

17 Challenges encountered during the transition Territorial disparities and weak geographical mobility Job availability is very diverse across the countries (a large concentration of job vacancies are in the Urban areas, compared to the rural area). => Young job seekers and specially women are not always able to leave their home towns to seek employment or even to bear the costs of the employment away from their home especially when it is likely to last for a good long time.

18 Statement of intent women from under-privileged backgrounds, even those with a degree, face the most challenges when seeking to access the labour market. Hence, they need extra job entry skills techniques to help them access the labour market.

19 Conclusion and Recommendation Abridge the social gap between youth in general, and for young women from poor background in particular, via providing fair chances in applying for jobs opportunities; The need to provide education opportunities that the poor can afford, and where the quality of education is competitive in the market; Effective Job entry skill programs that can enhance young women s opportunities, increase their competiveness in finding a good job opportunity, and compromise for the lack of quality education for young female public university graduates;