The Altazir project enables 120 young school dropouts in Morocco to complete vocational training to become industrial electricians or air conditioning technicians. The first cohort started in Casablanca in September 2022. Now 29 graduates have completed their training with a certificate. The IB manages the project as a member organisation of the Bundesverband Berufsbildung International (BVBBI). The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) via sequa gGmbH. Local partners are the employers' umbrella organisation CGEM and the vocational school l'Heure Joyeuse, which has been active in vocational training in Morocco for many years.
Altazir addresses several UN Sustainable Development Goals, including SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) and SDG 13 (Climate Action).
The first 29 Altazir graduates - including two women - received their graduation certificates on 14 December 2023 at a ceremony at the Centre for Employability for Gender and Social Inclusion of IB partner Association l'Heure Joyeuse in Casablanca.
This marked the end of the first year of the "Industrial Electrics" and "Air Conditioning Technology" degree programmes of the Altazir project, which began in September 2022. A third year of training for both degree programmes began in October 2023.
The ceremony was attended by the governor, the president of the l'Heure Joyeuse vocational school, as well as representatives of government agencies, the private sector and the education community. They all celebrated the young people for successfully completing their vocational training, a very special moment in their lives - and for their future.
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What is Altazir?
Altazir ("synergy" in Arabic) - is a project to promote vocational training for Moroccan young people in order to increase their job opportunities. This is done by closely involving the country's companies.
120 young men and women who have dropped out of school can train to become industrial electricians or air conditioning technicians. Both training programmes were developed by German experts and coordinated by the IB. They are practice-orientated and have a dual structure - so-called partial qualifications are supplemented by work placements. This means that there is a close connection to the companies right from the start.
The training programme to become an industrial electrician lasts 12 months and the training programme to become an air conditioning technician lasts 10 months. It is divided into partial qualifications, each of which includes a work placement. It is possible to leave the programme after each partial qualification. For various socio-cultural reasons, not everyone can complete a training programme lasting several months. However, the aim is to activate people professionally - for example by offering them a job during the internship or through self-employment.
Two job coaches support and accompany the young people from the moment they choose their training programme and throughout the entire course. They (and the four lecturers) were trained by German experts - also coordinated by the IB. They advise and motivate, but also build a bridge to the companies.
Additional information:
IB en: ALTAZIR - Improved Employability of Moroccan Youths#
https://www.heurejoyeuse.ma/fr/agenda/inauguration-officielle-du-projet-altazir/
https://www.sequa.de/projekte-programme/partnerafrika/
www.bmz.de/de/themen/sonderinitiative-gute-beschaeftigung-sozial-gerechter-wandel
