The Vocational Career Center in Casablanca strives to bring youth closer to recruiters in the private sector and smooth their transition from the academic world to the world of work. The Vocational Career Center in Casablanca co-organized with its host institution, the Special Institute of Applied Technology (ISTA) Hay Hassani 1, its first “Internship and Employment Forum" on May 9, 2018.

The forum offered more than a thousand youth the opportunity to interact with potential employers. Thirty-nine companies participated in the event, including PepsiCo, Burger King, Attijariwafa Bank, Axa Insurance, IKEA, Deloitte Nearshore, and Bombardier. They presented a wide variety of opportunities for youth searching for their first employment experiences or internships. Meet-and-greets and preliminary job and internship interviews created an important link between young job seekers and the world of work.

During the month preceding the event, Career Center helped prepare over 500 youth from different vocational training institutions for the upcoming Forum through job interview preparation workshops, curriculum vitae clinics, and cover letter workshops. Additionally, Career Center also provided over 60 individual counseling sessions to youth interested in more tailored support.

Yahya Rafii, a trainee in Specialized Commerce at the Office of Vocational Training and Labor Promotion’s (OFPPT) ISTA Hay Hassani 1 institute, attended the event to increase his skillset.

"I thank Career Center, USAID and OFPPT for this event. It is an amazing opportunity for all the vocational trainees," Rafii said. "I had some interviews with big companies and one of them asked for a second interview. The counselors of Career Center were very supportive and helped me get ready through job interview preparation."

Career Center’s private sector partners also significantly benefited from the job fair, added Fatima Yadine, a recruitment officer at Attijariwafa Bank.

"We had the chance to meet many interesting candidates," said Yadine. "Thanks to Career Center, I see a clear improvement of the profiles this year."

Another private sector partner agreed.

"This event matches IKEA’s HR mission and strategy perfectly. As a matter of fact, we spare no efforts to support the youth. Hence, I thank Career Center for this initiative,” said Badreddine Lakarouf, an HR Development and Recruitment Manager at IKEA.

By working with governmental and private-sector partners on specialized workforce development opportunities, the USAID Career Center activity supports Morocco's efforts to improve youth employability through job skills development. To date, the activity has reached over 175,000 youth and developed more than 250 partnerships with private sector organizations. Work readiness trainings have been introduced into a few universities' curricula as well as into all of the Office for Vocational Training and Job Promotion’s (OFPPT) 360+ vocational training institutes throughout the country. USAID continues to work with the Government of Morocco to assist with their expansion of the Career Center model to all 12 regions of the country.