Tunisia Plans to Authorize Private Employment Agencies
30 November 2010
Read by 1369 persons
Governmental structures will no longer have a monopoly on placing Tunisian skills abroad. Private companies will soon be allowed to enter this market.
The Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training will soon present a bill to the government authorizing private companies, local or foreign, to work in placing Tunisian skills abroad. A decree is being drafted to set the procedures and conditions for the operation of these new actors, authorized exclusively to operate in the foreign market, says the Director General of the office of emigration and foreign manpower. Employment in the local market is and will remain the exclusive domain of employment offices under the ministry.
Until now, Tunisian skills have been recruited abroad through two public actors, namely, the Tunisian Agency for Technical Cooperation (ATCT), and the National Agency for Employment and Self-Employment (ANETI). The few private agencies that offer work outside the borders operate illegally, as Tunisia has not authorized any such structures until now.
The new legislation will change the situation, and the legalization of agencies previously considered "scammers" is not excluded, especially if they manage to comply with the regulatory conditions.
The new recruiters will be required to work in collaboration with existing public structures. They will explore the needs of foreign markets: Australia, Canada, Gulf countries, Africa, Europe, etc., identify opportunities, and then place Tunisian skills. And there, they will have a lot of work to do to get young people out of the throes of underemployment, especially graduates among them.
The unemployment rate in Tunisia is estimated, according to the latest INS Employment survey, at 13.3%. University graduates are the most affected, with a rate of 23.4%. Different profiles of graduates have difficulty entering the workforce, including, in particular, higher technicians, followed by masters in law and economics/management, masters in humanities, and holders of various diplomas: medicine, pharmacy, engineering, etc.
These unemployed people, in their diversity, constitute a surplus of potential active labor, which our local market, which is said to be narrow, has not been able to absorb. Will they, thanks to the new private recruiters, manage to find the Holy Grail in other countries? Are the conditions imposed by the international labor market more flexible and better suited to the skills of our graduates? Would experience be a condition for recruitment abroad, which has always been a barrier for new recruits in the local market? Will the fees for the services provided by these agencies be set in advance, or will the law of competition be allowed to operate freely? What about the protection of the job seeker against potential abuse? Will their rights be guaranteed?
And then, will there be headhunters among these foreign recruiters who will get their hands on our best talents to offer them to multinationals and other international groups, for exorbitant salaries? Is there a risk of exacerbating brain drain, especially since the best of Tunisian graduates, who leave for further studies abroad, rarely return home?
So many questions we ask ourselves, while waiting for the legislation to reveal all its secrets, and set the rules of the game for an action that we hope will be optimal for these new actors, with full employment as the ultimate goal.
Published October 24, 2010
Posted online November 2, 2010
gnet.tn
The Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training will soon present a bill to the government authorizing private companies, local or foreign, to work in placing Tunisian skills abroad. A decree is being drafted to set the procedures and conditions for the operation of these new actors, authorized exclusively to operate in the foreign market, says the Director General of the office of emigration and foreign manpower. Employment in the local market is and will remain the exclusive domain of employment offices under the ministry.
Until now, Tunisian skills have been recruited abroad through two public actors, namely, the Tunisian Agency for Technical Cooperation (ATCT), and the National Agency for Employment and Self-Employment (ANETI). The few private agencies that offer work outside the borders operate illegally, as Tunisia has not authorized any such structures until now.
The new legislation will change the situation, and the legalization of agencies previously considered "scammers" is not excluded, especially if they manage to comply with the regulatory conditions.
The new recruiters will be required to work in collaboration with existing public structures. They will explore the needs of foreign markets: Australia, Canada, Gulf countries, Africa, Europe, etc., identify opportunities, and then place Tunisian skills. And there, they will have a lot of work to do to get young people out of the throes of underemployment, especially graduates among them.
The unemployment rate in Tunisia is estimated, according to the latest INS Employment survey, at 13.3%. University graduates are the most affected, with a rate of 23.4%. Different profiles of graduates have difficulty entering the workforce, including, in particular, higher technicians, followed by masters in law and economics/management, masters in humanities, and holders of various diplomas: medicine, pharmacy, engineering, etc.
These unemployed people, in their diversity, constitute a surplus of potential active labor, which our local market, which is said to be narrow, has not been able to absorb. Will they, thanks to the new private recruiters, manage to find the Holy Grail in other countries? Are the conditions imposed by the international labor market more flexible and better suited to the skills of our graduates? Would experience be a condition for recruitment abroad, which has always been a barrier for new recruits in the local market? Will the fees for the services provided by these agencies be set in advance, or will the law of competition be allowed to operate freely? What about the protection of the job seeker against potential abuse? Will their rights be guaranteed?
And then, will there be headhunters among these foreign recruiters who will get their hands on our best talents to offer them to multinationals and other international groups, for exorbitant salaries? Is there a risk of exacerbating brain drain, especially since the best of Tunisian graduates, who leave for further studies abroad, rarely return home?
So many questions we ask ourselves, while waiting for the legislation to reveal all its secrets, and set the rules of the game for an action that we hope will be optimal for these new actors, with full employment as the ultimate goal.
Published October 24, 2010
Posted online November 2, 2010
gnet.tn
