Tunisia Jobs, Opportunities, and Business Success (JOBS) is a five-year activity to support small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to create sustainable employment for Tunisians throughout the country. The project delivers targeted firm-level assistance to businesses to accelerate growth and create jobs. Additionally, JOBS improves the employability and skills of Tunisian job-seekers based on demand-driven enhancements of Tunisia’s vocational training system.

PROJECT OBJECTIVES

• Create jobs by increasing the competitiveness of Tunisian SMEs.
• Improve the match between skills demanded by the labor market and the training provided by education and vocational institutions.
• Improve Tunisia’s business enabling environment.
• Communicate the initiatives and impacts of JOBS as well as the importance of market-led growth, with a particular focus on youth.

KEY ACTIVITIES

Objective 1:

• Identify SMEs to receive project assistance and develop firm-specific Growth Plans outlining target improvements to business processes leading to the creation of sustainable demand-driven jobs.
• Identify target markets for increased exporting in key sectors such as agro-industry, light manufacturing, and technology.
• Improve access to finance for client firms by developing partnerships with the banking sector.
• Increase foreign direct investment.

Objective 2:

• Identify major educational/workforce skills gaps and assist vocational, technical, and higher education institutions to develop new curricula to address prioritized reforms.
• Assist in establishing additional career counseling centers and in upgrading existing ones that will serve all regions to ensure they are efficiently providing career counseling and other relevant services to job-seekers.
• Improve vocational training centers’ capabilities to provide technical trainings based on market needs.

Objective 3:

• Identify priority reforms that will have the most direct impact on SME growth.
• Assist client firms to participate in the business environment reform process.

Objective 4:

• Establish benchmarks of youth attitudes covering youth marginalization, unmet youth expectations around economic expectations, perceived employment opportunities and challenges, and expected areas for job growth.
• Conduct a media outreach campaign targeting youth and entrepreneurs to widely communicate business opportunities and areas for growth.

CONTACTS

MISSION USAID/TUNISIA

U.S. Embassy Tunis, Tunisia

Email: TunisiaDesk@usaid.gov