Revamping Tunisia's Economy Requires Overhauling Education and Training Systems
12 March 2012
Read by 1423 persons
Cyril-Grislain Karray, author of the book “The Next War in Tunisia”, wants to contribute to the national reconstruction effort through consulting and supporting businesses and young entrepreneurs.
As the first Tunisian to become a shareholder at McKinsey & Company, the prestigious global consulting firm for government leaders, businesses, and NGOs, Mr. Karray discussed in an interview with the TAP agency the projects to undertake to “cut short all the systems that have shown their limits in the past and are doomed to fail,” particularly those concerning education, training, tourism, and employment.
The Courage to Start Over on a Solid Foundation
The weapon he recommends for winning these battles is above all “the courage to change and take risks.”
“Beyond short-term measures, Tunisia needs real fundamental reform,” he believes. Because the old regime not only managed to spread financial corruption, it also managed to “stop the intellectual clock” through “mind corruption.”
That is to say, the world is changing, so are development strategies, while the mentality encouraged by the old regime was to reject any real modernization initiative and to “sabotage any innovative action.”
It is not only a matter of mobilizing financial resources today; it is also imperative to “liberate the capacity to undertake” and to “have the courage to start over on a solid foundation” through the overhaul of two vital systems: “education and training.”
For this international consultant, it is imperative to transform the entire Tunisian education and training system. “These two sectors should produce employees and entrepreneurs with know-how, rather than graduates with only knowledge.”
The system in place is, according to him, failing because it has always been praised for its quantity and volume criteria rather than its quality. As proof, the Shanghai ranking of universities places the University of Sousse in 6719th place worldwide and that of Jendouba in last place (8887th).
The approach recommended by Mr. Karray for reforming these sectors is “a less academic and theoretical approach and much more ‘professionalizing,’ that is, focused on concrete ‘job opportunities.’”
Trainers should, to this end, be reformed to be able to transmit to trainees the practical reality of working life, particularly in companies.
Reviewing the Entire Social System
Returning to the subject of social demands, which sometimes block businesses and hinder economic recovery, Cyril-Grislain Karray believes that “it is first of all unfair to ask people, repressed and frustrated for more than 40 years, to stop protesting so that we can invest.”
“What would be more effective is to get closer to these people, create spaces in their regions where they can express themselves and transmit their concerns to those in charge and decision-makers,” he recommends, also recommending that credible programs be presented to them and that “bureaucracy be stopped so that the local entrepreneurship machine can function.”
To identify “the root of the evil,” the author of “The Next War in Tunisia” insists that the entire social system must be reviewed to renew a more effective social dialogue involving all parties (governments, unions, businesses).
For this, “we must review priorities, long oriented towards the economic and redirect them towards the social to balance and allow the socio-economic machine to continue its functioning.” The elite must help in this sense, to raise awareness and show generosity, believes Mr. Karray.
In this respect, the former associate director of McKinsey & Company praises the experience of social policy in Brazil, where he spent 12 years witnessing and participating in the restructuring plans that led to the socio-economic boom we know.
Rethinking Tunisian Tourism
Regarding the tourism sector, Cyril Grislain Karray argues that the problem is structural. “It is palpable at all levels and lies in the product itself, the service, and the marketing.” It is also, according to him, a problem of mentality of the State and the tourism operator.
“The State does not take risks and the tourism operator has not kept pace with change in the world, which means that throughout the history of tourism, we are losing money on fake jobs and no one has decided to stop this waste of resources,” he further explains.
In his program book, the international consultant deplores an “anti-model” of Tunisian tourism development, “a supported model that obliges banks and therefore the community to maintain, without a future solution, the dozens of indebted hotels that remain the responsibility of the community,” as revealed by a recent study by the Roland Berger firm.
Demolishing these “sustained” hotels would, according to him, allow airing the coastline, enhancing it, and upgrading it. Middle- and high-end tourists seek exclusivity and space, while we offer “all-inclusive.” That's why it's an anti-development model, he says.
Mr. Karray, who has led more than fifty strategy studies, recommends opening the Tunisian sky (or open sky) to quickly restore the confidence of operators and force sector players to be more competitive.
Tunisia, it is recalled in this regard, has once again decided to postpone indefinitely negotiations with the European Union on open skies.
The world is full of alternatives, Tunisia must fight to stand out.
“Compared to other destinations, Tunisia, although it has many assets, is not the most fabulous place in the world,” Mr. Karray was keen to point out.
Because the world is full of alternatives and our offer is similar to that of competing destinations such as Morocco and Turkey, he explains, it is imperative to restructure tourism and training schools and review the entire system in place, which “remains without added value.”
A Degree is Good, a Job is Better
“In Tunisia, education was always perceived as an end in itself, whereas it is only a means to achieve other alternatives,” believes Karray, who also pleads for a change in “this culture anchored since Bourguiba, in order to ensure that new generations receive other training and instill in them the audacity to undertake to change their lives.”
To succeed in this change, Tunisia could draw inspiration from other countries' experiences such as India, the Philippines, South Korea, and Panama. These countries have bet, he points out, on future jobs and have “dare” leaps of modernity by focusing on services, the main source of employment for young graduates and the fastest-growing sector in the world.
The Philippines, for example, created 500,000 jobs in 10 years in the services and offshoring sector.
Tunisia already has 20,000 jobs (concentrated in call centers). A McKinsey study showed that it could create at least 150,000 new jobs in this area, a large third in the regions.
To win the great battle of employment (around 800,000 unemployed people recorded to date), Cyril-Grislain Karray calls for revolutionizing the Tunisian economy and engaging in the logic of concrete regional and local projects, starting with infrastructure projects.
He also recommends increasing off-shore services, establishing “golden bridges” for large offshoring multinationals that can manage and develop projects recruiting 1000 to 2000 graduates.
He also proposes the development of oases in offshore jurisdictions, especially in the regions, the development of a real regional associative hub, and the promotion of a “drawer economy” (projects promoting small trades in the regions and enhancing their vocations).
These immense challenges are “possible,” according to the author of “The Next War in Tunisia.” Because, according to him, if Tunisians believe in themselves as much as other peoples have believed in themselves in recent months, they are capable of “making Tunisia the Switzerland of the Mediterranean and the Singapore of Africa.”
Source: TAP.
Kapitalis.com
Published March 12, 2012.
Posted online March 12, 2012.
As the first Tunisian to become a shareholder at McKinsey & Company, the prestigious global consulting firm for government leaders, businesses, and NGOs, Mr. Karray discussed in an interview with the TAP agency the projects to undertake to “cut short all the systems that have shown their limits in the past and are doomed to fail,” particularly those concerning education, training, tourism, and employment.
The Courage to Start Over on a Solid Foundation
The weapon he recommends for winning these battles is above all “the courage to change and take risks.”
“Beyond short-term measures, Tunisia needs real fundamental reform,” he believes. Because the old regime not only managed to spread financial corruption, it also managed to “stop the intellectual clock” through “mind corruption.”
That is to say, the world is changing, so are development strategies, while the mentality encouraged by the old regime was to reject any real modernization initiative and to “sabotage any innovative action.”
It is not only a matter of mobilizing financial resources today; it is also imperative to “liberate the capacity to undertake” and to “have the courage to start over on a solid foundation” through the overhaul of two vital systems: “education and training.”
For this international consultant, it is imperative to transform the entire Tunisian education and training system. “These two sectors should produce employees and entrepreneurs with know-how, rather than graduates with only knowledge.”
The system in place is, according to him, failing because it has always been praised for its quantity and volume criteria rather than its quality. As proof, the Shanghai ranking of universities places the University of Sousse in 6719th place worldwide and that of Jendouba in last place (8887th).
The approach recommended by Mr. Karray for reforming these sectors is “a less academic and theoretical approach and much more ‘professionalizing,’ that is, focused on concrete ‘job opportunities.’”
Trainers should, to this end, be reformed to be able to transmit to trainees the practical reality of working life, particularly in companies.
Reviewing the Entire Social System
Returning to the subject of social demands, which sometimes block businesses and hinder economic recovery, Cyril-Grislain Karray believes that “it is first of all unfair to ask people, repressed and frustrated for more than 40 years, to stop protesting so that we can invest.”
“What would be more effective is to get closer to these people, create spaces in their regions where they can express themselves and transmit their concerns to those in charge and decision-makers,” he recommends, also recommending that credible programs be presented to them and that “bureaucracy be stopped so that the local entrepreneurship machine can function.”
To identify “the root of the evil,” the author of “The Next War in Tunisia” insists that the entire social system must be reviewed to renew a more effective social dialogue involving all parties (governments, unions, businesses).
For this, “we must review priorities, long oriented towards the economic and redirect them towards the social to balance and allow the socio-economic machine to continue its functioning.” The elite must help in this sense, to raise awareness and show generosity, believes Mr. Karray.
In this respect, the former associate director of McKinsey & Company praises the experience of social policy in Brazil, where he spent 12 years witnessing and participating in the restructuring plans that led to the socio-economic boom we know.
Rethinking Tunisian Tourism
Regarding the tourism sector, Cyril Grislain Karray argues that the problem is structural. “It is palpable at all levels and lies in the product itself, the service, and the marketing.” It is also, according to him, a problem of mentality of the State and the tourism operator.
“The State does not take risks and the tourism operator has not kept pace with change in the world, which means that throughout the history of tourism, we are losing money on fake jobs and no one has decided to stop this waste of resources,” he further explains.
In his program book, the international consultant deplores an “anti-model” of Tunisian tourism development, “a supported model that obliges banks and therefore the community to maintain, without a future solution, the dozens of indebted hotels that remain the responsibility of the community,” as revealed by a recent study by the Roland Berger firm.
Demolishing these “sustained” hotels would, according to him, allow airing the coastline, enhancing it, and upgrading it. Middle- and high-end tourists seek exclusivity and space, while we offer “all-inclusive.” That's why it's an anti-development model, he says.
Mr. Karray, who has led more than fifty strategy studies, recommends opening the Tunisian sky (or open sky) to quickly restore the confidence of operators and force sector players to be more competitive.
Tunisia, it is recalled in this regard, has once again decided to postpone indefinitely negotiations with the European Union on open skies.
The world is full of alternatives, Tunisia must fight to stand out.
“Compared to other destinations, Tunisia, although it has many assets, is not the most fabulous place in the world,” Mr. Karray was keen to point out.
Because the world is full of alternatives and our offer is similar to that of competing destinations such as Morocco and Turkey, he explains, it is imperative to restructure tourism and training schools and review the entire system in place, which “remains without added value.”
A Degree is Good, a Job is Better
“In Tunisia, education was always perceived as an end in itself, whereas it is only a means to achieve other alternatives,” believes Karray, who also pleads for a change in “this culture anchored since Bourguiba, in order to ensure that new generations receive other training and instill in them the audacity to undertake to change their lives.”
To succeed in this change, Tunisia could draw inspiration from other countries' experiences such as India, the Philippines, South Korea, and Panama. These countries have bet, he points out, on future jobs and have “dare” leaps of modernity by focusing on services, the main source of employment for young graduates and the fastest-growing sector in the world.
The Philippines, for example, created 500,000 jobs in 10 years in the services and offshoring sector.
Tunisia already has 20,000 jobs (concentrated in call centers). A McKinsey study showed that it could create at least 150,000 new jobs in this area, a large third in the regions.
To win the great battle of employment (around 800,000 unemployed people recorded to date), Cyril-Grislain Karray calls for revolutionizing the Tunisian economy and engaging in the logic of concrete regional and local projects, starting with infrastructure projects.
He also recommends increasing off-shore services, establishing “golden bridges” for large offshoring multinationals that can manage and develop projects recruiting 1000 to 2000 graduates.
He also proposes the development of oases in offshore jurisdictions, especially in the regions, the development of a real regional associative hub, and the promotion of a “drawer economy” (projects promoting small trades in the regions and enhancing their vocations).
These immense challenges are “possible,” according to the author of “The Next War in Tunisia.” Because, according to him, if Tunisians believe in themselves as much as other peoples have believed in themselves in recent months, they are capable of “making Tunisia the Switzerland of the Mediterranean and the Singapore of Africa.”
Source: TAP.
Kapitalis.com
Published March 12, 2012.
Posted online March 12, 2012.
