USAID Career Center officially opened its sixth and final pilot Career Center, hosted by the Specialized Institute for Applied Hotel and Tourism Technology (ISTAHT) in Marrakech, on February 14^th, 2018. The opening event provided an opportunity for newly-trained Career Center staff and Youth Ambassadors to introduce youth and faculty to the Career Center and promote Career Center services.

Official representatives at the inauguration ceremony for the Career Center included Mr. Mohamed Sajid, Minister of Tourism, Air Transport, Handicrafts and Social Economy; Mr. Mohammed Sabri, Acting Wali of the Marrakech-Safi Region; Mr. Abdellatif El Bouch, Acting Secretary General of the State Secretariat for Vocational Training; and Mr. Brian George, Director of Public Affairs at the American Embassy in Morocco, as well as the heads of the training departments at the host institution, representatives of the General Confederation of Moroccan Companies (CGEM) and representatives of the Marrakech-Safi region. A network of 19 Career Center Youth Ambassadors, acting as peer coaches promoting the Career Center to students, also played a crucial role in preparing for the event and delivering speeches alongside officials at the inauguration ceremony.

After the inauguration ceremony, students had the opportunity to benefit from Career Center services provided by Career Center staff in booths set up for the occasion. Staff and Youth Ambassadors provided information on the services offered by the Career Center. Students lined up throughout the day to benefit from services relating to several topics, including “Discover the industries that are recruiting,” “Boost your resume,” “Introduce yourself in 60 seconds” and “Get noticed online”. By the end of the day, more than 70 students benefited from these services.

The event was covered by 24 national media outlets, and 14 articles were published in several online Moroccan newspapers. The event was also broadcast on three national TV channels.

The inauguration of the sixth pilot Career Center follows the successful launch of five pilot Career Centers, three hosted by universities (Cadi Ayyad University in Marrakech, Abdelmalek Essaadi University in Tangier and Hassan II University in Casablanca), and two hosted by vocational training institutions.  To date, more than 79,000 youth have benefited from USAID Career Center services.

With the launch of this Career Center, the USAID Career Center program successfully accomplished its objective of opening six pilot Career Centers in Morocco. Following this successful opening event, staff and Youth Ambassadors at the new Career Center will advance the program’s mission of promoting youth employability by providing quality career services to youth in Marrakech.

For more information:

www.careercenter.ma

USAID Career Center