3rd Annual Conference on Employment and Development
Text: A meeting initiated by the World Bank aiming for more visibility
11 March 2008
Read by 1942 persons
The proceedings of the 3rd annual "Employment and Development" Conference opened on Monday in Skhirate, on the initiative of the World Bank and the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in Germany, under the auspices of the Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training.
This three-day conference is part of the research program on operational aspects related to the labor market, job creation, and growth, developed by the World Bank for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Speaking at the opening of this meeting, the Minister of Employment and Vocational Training, Jamal Rhmani, indicated that since 2000, Morocco has undertaken significant reforms concerning the enhancement of human capital, job protection, and the modernization of the economy. "Aware of the indirect effects of employment on poverty, the Moroccan government has implemented human development initiatives and an active employment policy focused on encouraging businesses to hire first-time job seekers, improving the employability of unemployed graduates, and developing self-employment," stressed Mr. Rhmani. "While economic growth is an essential aspect of job creation, it alone cannot be sufficient to bridge the gap between rich and poor, men and women, good and bad jobs," estimated Mr. Rhmani, adding that the incidence of low-paying jobs is linked to insufficient workforce qualification and low productivity.
For his part, the Minister Delegate for Economic and General Affairs, Nizar Baraka, affirmed that the government has placed the issue of employment at the center of its economic and social priorities and has committed, in its declaration, to deploying more efforts to create more jobs and integrate human skills into the production and development cycle. To achieve this objective, he said, the government has developed a proactive strategy aimed at achieving a growth rate of 6%, creating more than 250,000 jobs per year, and reducing the unemployment rate to 7% by 2012.
This strategy is based on four pillars aimed at accelerating the pace of implementation of major infrastructure projects, making Morocco an investment and export platform, promoting employment, and adopting a territorial approach, specified Mr. Baraka. This meeting was also marked by the presentation by François Bourguignon, Director of Studies at the School of Economics in Paris, of a presentation on "Employment and Development: Good and Bad Jobs" where he emphasized the need to take into account all available data on the labor market to gauge the impact of the unemployment rate on the level of poverty. The participants in this conference will address, through 15 parallel workshops, several topics including "Migration," "Child Labor," and "Informal Labor." The 3rd IZA/World Bank Conference on Employment and Development follows previous conferences held in Berlin in 2006 and Bonn in 2007.
Posted online May 9, 2008
Published May 5, 2008
Le Matin
This three-day conference is part of the research program on operational aspects related to the labor market, job creation, and growth, developed by the World Bank for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Speaking at the opening of this meeting, the Minister of Employment and Vocational Training, Jamal Rhmani, indicated that since 2000, Morocco has undertaken significant reforms concerning the enhancement of human capital, job protection, and the modernization of the economy. "Aware of the indirect effects of employment on poverty, the Moroccan government has implemented human development initiatives and an active employment policy focused on encouraging businesses to hire first-time job seekers, improving the employability of unemployed graduates, and developing self-employment," stressed Mr. Rhmani. "While economic growth is an essential aspect of job creation, it alone cannot be sufficient to bridge the gap between rich and poor, men and women, good and bad jobs," estimated Mr. Rhmani, adding that the incidence of low-paying jobs is linked to insufficient workforce qualification and low productivity.
For his part, the Minister Delegate for Economic and General Affairs, Nizar Baraka, affirmed that the government has placed the issue of employment at the center of its economic and social priorities and has committed, in its declaration, to deploying more efforts to create more jobs and integrate human skills into the production and development cycle. To achieve this objective, he said, the government has developed a proactive strategy aimed at achieving a growth rate of 6%, creating more than 250,000 jobs per year, and reducing the unemployment rate to 7% by 2012.
This strategy is based on four pillars aimed at accelerating the pace of implementation of major infrastructure projects, making Morocco an investment and export platform, promoting employment, and adopting a territorial approach, specified Mr. Baraka. This meeting was also marked by the presentation by François Bourguignon, Director of Studies at the School of Economics in Paris, of a presentation on "Employment and Development: Good and Bad Jobs" where he emphasized the need to take into account all available data on the labor market to gauge the impact of the unemployment rate on the level of poverty. The participants in this conference will address, through 15 parallel workshops, several topics including "Migration," "Child Labor," and "Informal Labor." The 3rd IZA/World Bank Conference on Employment and Development follows previous conferences held in Berlin in 2006 and Bonn in 2007.
Posted online May 9, 2008
Published May 5, 2008
Le Matin
