INJAZ Al-Arab, the regional office of Junior Achievement Worldwide, launched ‘Expand Your Horizon’ to an audience of thousands of entrepreneurs, heads of state and high level government officials, global entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, and young entrepreneurs at the5th Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Marrakech.
Established as an initiative to reduce youth unemployment in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), ‘Expand Your Horizon’ involves a coalition of global entities from growth industries focused on showcasing employment and internship opportunities available in the region. The program will provide information about these key growth sectors with an aim to empower youth to make more informed decisions about their future career paths and to steer them towards viable work experience opportunities.
The pilot program will center on five growth sectors including: aviation, through a partnership with Boeing; hospitality, through a partnership with Marriott; media, through a partnership with MBC Hope; entrepreneurship, through a partnership with Wamda; and logistics, through a partnership with Aramex. Other major supporters include Hill+Knowlton Strategies, Bayt.com, YouGov and McKinsey.
Rachid Benmokhtar, Moroccan Minister of National Education and Professional Training, stated, “It gives me great pleasure to express my wholehearted admiration for INJAZ Al-Maghrib. Its mission to build awareness among young people and prepare them for the business world is unique. It is masterfully filling a gap by bringing companies into the heart of school and universities.”
“Youth unemployment in the Middle East is on the rise and is currently the highest in the world,” said Soraya Salti, CEO of INJAZ Al-Arab. “The results of various studies indicate that obtaining employment is amongst the biggest challenges faced by young people in our region. It was with this in mind that ‘Expand Your Horizon’ was developed. The program will focus on educating youth about the industries with the most potential and linking existing opportunities with capable applicants. Our partners have been instrumental in shaping this campaign that will inevitably encourage youth to think more critically about the industries they should be working in and will connect top students with global industry leaders.”
To gauge youth perception of job opportunities in the growth sectors, a survey was recently conducted by the region’s leader careers site Bayt.com and global research company, YouGov. There were two main highlights from the preliminary analysis. Firstly, the survey demonstrated that the majority of respondents stated they were “not sure” about whether there are available job opportunities in aviation, hospitality or media industries. Secondly, youth are driven by two main factors when choosing their field of study: fit with career goals and perceived career opportunities. To attract more MENA youth to their industries, growth sectors must target youth early on, before they make degree decisions, by demonstrating the wealth of job opportunities available in their respective sectors.
Mazen Hayek, MBC Group’s Official Spokesman and Group Director of Commercial, PR & CSR said: “at MBC, ‘We See Hope Everywhere’, as our corporate motto says. Today, we are embarking collectively on a MENA-wide initiative that inspires, motivates and guides Arab Youth towards their potentials and specific job market requirements. Through sharpening their skills, fostering their talents, and gaining hands-on professional experiences, Arab youth will gain knowledge and become more competitive in the workplace.” Hayek further added: “Youth should believe in merit, hard work and specialization. Subsequently, they will have to do their utmost in order to seize opportunities, earn jobs and deserve them.” Hayek concluded: “It is our role and duty to assure that we contribute to offering solutions for the Youth employment challenges; what we are doing here is creating a path and a platform for them to excel and achieve, whereby they can actualize their goals, reach their full potentials and shape a better future”.
“Working with community, business and private sector partners, Boeing supports education programs designed to develop a globally competitive workforce and strong communities,” said Bernard Dunn, President, Boeing Turkey & North Africa. “By investing our time and resources together with INJAZ into strengthening educator leadership, hands-on experiential learning, early learning and mentoring around the world, Boeing seeks to inspire students and prepare them for the21st century workforce.”
“Marriott International Middle East and Africa has been working towards increasing the nationals who are employed across our continent by promoting careers in hospitality, but we have had challenges and difficulties to recruit and retain these associates, especially in the MENA region. Our partnership within the Expand Your Horizons programme enables a collaborative approach to educate and change the perception of working in our fast growing industry within the Arab youth community. We need their talent and innovative mindset to be our next generation of leaders. It is a business imperative as we continue to develop across MEA as well as globally,” said Alex Kyriakidis, President and Managing Director, Marriott International Middle East and Africa.
“We’re very excited about the ‘Expand Your Horizon’ project,” said Suhail Masri, VP of Sales, Bayt.com. “Our mission at Bayt.com is to empower people with the tools and information to lead their lifestyle of choice, and as the program will equip younger generations with data they need to find a job, it is perfectly in line with our core mission. There is no underestimating the importance of gainful employment to a person’s morale and general well-being and at Bayt.com we are always working to redefine the crucial intersection between technology and recruitment, with state of the art tools, innovative platforms and panoramic career content, to further empower regional professionals to find a better job and lead a better life. Jobs remain one of the most important determinants of living standards around the world and we are delighted to be instrumental in aiding and facilitating employment across the region.”
Raji Hattar, Chief Sustainability Officer at Aramex stated, “Aramex strongly believes that by supporting youth empowerment programs and entrepreneurial ecosystems, it is developing local capacities and improving socioeconomic development. We continuously look for ways to enrich the communities we operate in and recruit local talent in the markets we operate in. This is the cornerstone of our corporate growth strategy. Our partnership with INJAZ and the Expand Your Horizons project strengthens our efforts in keeping with this strategic approach. Sustainable economic development in the MENA region depends on job creation, education and community empowerment. By developing active cross-sector collaborations that empower our youth and communities, companies can become more engaged in creating change.”
YouGov’s UAE Managing Director, Kailash Nagdev, commented, “YouGov is delighted to support such a fundamental initiative to help aspirational Arab youth become the business leaders of tomorrow. With75% of graduates saying they receive little or no help in finding employment, and73% of graduates stating that job opportunities in their home country are low, our research findings only re-enforce the importance of bridging the gap between emerging talent and successful long term employment in the Arab world, by understanding the motivations, perceptions and expectations of the next generation.”
A key component of ‘Expand Your Horizon’ will be the interactive web portal which will contain information about internship opportunities across the Middle East and critical information about growth industries and their skill demands. It will also provide practical information about resume writing, applying for internships and other job search skills.
The Global Entrepreneurship Summit provides a platform for the exchange of innovative ideas, and is central to supporting entrepreneurs and their ability to unlock the economic potential of entire nations. The theme of this year’s summit is ‘Harnessing the Power of Technology for Innovation and Entrepreneurship’.
About INJAZ Al-Arab
INJAZ Al-Arab harnesses the mentorship of Arab business leaders to help inspire a culture of entrepreneurship and business innovation among Arab youth.
Operating in15 countries across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, INJAZ Al-Arab is a confederation of national operations collaborating with corporate volunteers and Ministries of Education to provide experiential education and training to Arab youth in work readiness, financial literacy and entrepreneurship.
One of the only organizations in the MENA region that aims to equip students with practical business-related skills as part of the regular educational curriculum, INJAZ Al-Arab programs offer students an unbroken chain of educational opportunities that will strengthen their innovation, deepen their understanding of the business world, and give them professional qualifications to enable their success in the global economy.
In parallel, it fosters among business leaders a responsibility for investing their resources in the future of the region’s youth and by mentoring and inspiring young people to rise to their true potential. Since its inception in2004, INJAZ Al-Arab programs have reached1,000,000 students and engaged21,000 volunteers.
A National Board of Directors leads each INJAZ country operation, with the INJAZ Al-Arab Regional Board responsible for directing overall strategy and organizational governance. These bodies comprise the region’s top business leaders who share a common ideal for the Arab youth.
INJAZ Al-Arab is a member of Junior Achievement Worldwide (JA Worldwide).
To learn more about INJAZ Al-Arab, please visit: www.injazalarab.org.