Abstract:

INJAZ Egypt addresses the gap between the skills learned from the education system and the needs of the business sector by recruiting business professionals and entrepreneurs to deliver interactive learning-by-doing curriculum on the financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship skills that will prepare students to be leaders in tomorrow's workforce.

Egypt is now facing an unprecedented opportunity for change. Yet the economic challenges are daunting. Every year 265,000 Egyptians graduate from universities and technical schools, most with skills that do not prepare them to be competitive candidates for the job market. Already in order to meet the huge number of graduates entering the job market each year, over 700,000 jobs would need to be created each year, so many of these join the growing ranks of the unemployed.
The departure of President Mubarak ended a thirty-year period in which the population surged, disparity in wealth grew, and youth unemployment soared to 33%. This figure compares to youth unemployment in the broader MENA region, which currently stands at 25%, already double the world average. Labor participation rates are among the lowest in the world with many youth lacking a desire to begin the frustrating search for work. Youth in Egypt wait an average of five years after graduation to find their first jobs, delaying important life milestones and deepening social marginalization.

Until now, the great majority of Egyptian public school and university students receive poor preparation for life after graduation and do not possess the skills and experience needed to find desirable employment, let alone become the entrepreneurial engines of job creation that we so desperately need. Most receive no training in leadership or professional skills, and see little link between their classroom studies and real life implementation or success. And among marginalized and rural students, who are more isolated from opportunities for mentorship or internship, the gap between the curriculum and the needs of the job market only disadvantages them further and discourages them from completing their studies.

The Entrepreneurship Pipeline was developed to address these issues head-on. It was developed in order to provide all the missing skills and coaching needed for any public university student in Egypt to launch and sustain their own business over the course of one year. The pipeline will thus represent an opportunity for a student to skip the search for employment after graduation, to skip the “waiting period” and to being contributing productively to Egypt’s economy immediately, even providing jobs to others.

Following the first year’s success, we also opened up this opportunity to students in 6 vocational schools and youth not enrolled in university. By expanding our target group, we will reach even more marginalized segments of society. Although vocational school graduates often find employment faster and easier than university graduates in Egypt, the low level of payment, terrible working conditions and vulnerability to short or unfair contracts often traps them in instability and economic hardship. The opportunity to become entrepreneurs represents an opportunity to escape the cycle of poverty, establish a fair and safe working environment, and improve their entire social condition.

Keywords:

Egypt, employability, youth development, education.