Tangier-Tetouan: 50,000 new jobs available over the next two years
1 March 2012
Read by 1497 persons
Text: Specialized technicians, middle management, and unskilled labor, companies need it all. Headhunting has become common practice in the region, especially among automotive suppliers. Managers can earn 30 to 50% more than the national average in their specialty.
The launch in Tangier of the Renault mega-factory places the Northwest among the largest job providers in the country. Over the past 10 years, the number of jobs created in various industrial activities has exceeded 250,000, 70% of which are unskilled workers. And in the Tangier Free Zone alone, the Kingdom's second industrial platform, 40,000 recruitments were made between 2001 and 2010, an average of 5,000 per year, while the Gzenaya and Moghougha industrial zones hired 12,000 and 20,000 people respectively. In the Renault plant, 2,500 employees are already operating the manufacturer's machines, awaiting the 3,500 other people who will join them in the coming weeks.
This trend will intensify in the coming years, as the French group's project and other planned investments in the region will create thousands of jobs. Precisely, the Renault plant will generate 30,000 jobs, including among the dozen equipment suppliers that provide it with spare parts.
Similarly, Tanger Shore, the Tangier version of offshoring, is attracting more and more Spanish-speaking companies such as Atento, a subsidiary of Telefonica, due to the geographical and cultural proximity to the Spanish market.
"This concentration has led to brutal growth in industrial employment, particularly in the automotive sector, while job supply remains limited," says Zhor Chahir, president of the Association of Managers and Personnel Trainers Chamal (Agef Nord) and HR Director at Automotive Wiring Systems Morocco. This association estimates the labor shortage at 50,000 people for the next two years alone. It is mainly felt in the automotive sector but also in other sectors such as construction, aeronautics, outsourcing... and it concerns all components of the workforce. By socio-professional category, the needs are for 40,000 unskilled workers, 2,000 managers, 4,000 specialized technicians and as many middle management. Zhor Chahir specifically cites "specialized technicians, holders of a diploma equivalent to Bac+2 who have received experience in factories, quality control specialists, electromechanics, roboticists, mechanics and electricians."
This situation is all the more worrying as the system of training institutions is not adapted to the demands of industrialists. "It is mainly the quality of training that is lacking, so we are forced to train personnel, either internally or by using external organizations," says the HR manager of an equipment supplier. The shortage does not spare managers either. This category is already rare, according to Agef officials.
Kenitra starts to compete with the North
Based mainly in Casablanca, which houses 60% of Moroccan industry, managers are reluctant to move to work in the North and particularly in Tangier. And if they agree to work there, it is at the price of attractive salaries, well above the national average. "They often have at least five years of experience, so they are between 30 and 35 years old, and at that age they are necessarily married and parents and are very likely involved in mortgages in the vicinity of Casablanca. To attract them, you have to offer them 30 to 50% more," explains the president of Agef Chamal.
Employers are faced with another problem: the poaching of specialized technicians. Due to the shortage, industrialists do not hesitate to recruit from competitors. This practice has become frequent, particularly among automotive suppliers who, to cope with the pressure from their client Renault, "no longer have time to hire beginners and start training cycles," laments a manager of a ceramics company.
There is another phenomenon that could further complicate this situation: the high cost of living in Tangier. In this region, "80% of the unskilled workforce is not from the city, which is why most prefer to return to their region of origin after a few years," says Ms. Chahir. The establishment of new industrial hubs such as Kenitra also accentuates migration. This doubly penalizes Tangier industrialists who have lost qualified employees for whom "they have made significant investments, particularly in training," they say.
Hakim Challot.
Lavieeco.com
Published February 21, 2012.
Posted online March 1, 2012.
The launch in Tangier of the Renault mega-factory places the Northwest among the largest job providers in the country. Over the past 10 years, the number of jobs created in various industrial activities has exceeded 250,000, 70% of which are unskilled workers. And in the Tangier Free Zone alone, the Kingdom's second industrial platform, 40,000 recruitments were made between 2001 and 2010, an average of 5,000 per year, while the Gzenaya and Moghougha industrial zones hired 12,000 and 20,000 people respectively. In the Renault plant, 2,500 employees are already operating the manufacturer's machines, awaiting the 3,500 other people who will join them in the coming weeks.
This trend will intensify in the coming years, as the French group's project and other planned investments in the region will create thousands of jobs. Precisely, the Renault plant will generate 30,000 jobs, including among the dozen equipment suppliers that provide it with spare parts.
Similarly, Tanger Shore, the Tangier version of offshoring, is attracting more and more Spanish-speaking companies such as Atento, a subsidiary of Telefonica, due to the geographical and cultural proximity to the Spanish market.
"This concentration has led to brutal growth in industrial employment, particularly in the automotive sector, while job supply remains limited," says Zhor Chahir, president of the Association of Managers and Personnel Trainers Chamal (Agef Nord) and HR Director at Automotive Wiring Systems Morocco. This association estimates the labor shortage at 50,000 people for the next two years alone. It is mainly felt in the automotive sector but also in other sectors such as construction, aeronautics, outsourcing... and it concerns all components of the workforce. By socio-professional category, the needs are for 40,000 unskilled workers, 2,000 managers, 4,000 specialized technicians and as many middle management. Zhor Chahir specifically cites "specialized technicians, holders of a diploma equivalent to Bac+2 who have received experience in factories, quality control specialists, electromechanics, roboticists, mechanics and electricians."
This situation is all the more worrying as the system of training institutions is not adapted to the demands of industrialists. "It is mainly the quality of training that is lacking, so we are forced to train personnel, either internally or by using external organizations," says the HR manager of an equipment supplier. The shortage does not spare managers either. This category is already rare, according to Agef officials.
Kenitra starts to compete with the North
Based mainly in Casablanca, which houses 60% of Moroccan industry, managers are reluctant to move to work in the North and particularly in Tangier. And if they agree to work there, it is at the price of attractive salaries, well above the national average. "They often have at least five years of experience, so they are between 30 and 35 years old, and at that age they are necessarily married and parents and are very likely involved in mortgages in the vicinity of Casablanca. To attract them, you have to offer them 30 to 50% more," explains the president of Agef Chamal.
Employers are faced with another problem: the poaching of specialized technicians. Due to the shortage, industrialists do not hesitate to recruit from competitors. This practice has become frequent, particularly among automotive suppliers who, to cope with the pressure from their client Renault, "no longer have time to hire beginners and start training cycles," laments a manager of a ceramics company.
There is another phenomenon that could further complicate this situation: the high cost of living in Tangier. In this region, "80% of the unskilled workforce is not from the city, which is why most prefer to return to their region of origin after a few years," says Ms. Chahir. The establishment of new industrial hubs such as Kenitra also accentuates migration. This doubly penalizes Tangier industrialists who have lost qualified employees for whom "they have made significant investments, particularly in training," they say.
Hakim Challot.
Lavieeco.com
Published February 21, 2012.
Posted online March 1, 2012.
