Towards a Development of Professional Licenses
Professionalization of curricula is estimated at 62% for the 2010-2011 school year.
The Faculty of Legal, Economic and Social Sciences Ain Sebaâ, Hassan II University Mohammedia, has understood the challenge of higher education in Morocco. This institution is increasingly relying on professional licenses, an asset that can facilitate the integration of students into the job market and support the structuring projects launched to promote the country's economic growth.
"With professional licenses, our faculty intends to anticipate and meet the needs for skills in Morocco's global professions," we learn from the faculty. And to specify that the validation rate of this branch is close to 100%. Indeed, the alternating training formula, combining academic teaching and immersion in companies, has made it possible to strengthen the practical skills of students, to encourage the exchange of experiences and to strengthen ties between university teams and socio-economic operators. "Already, most of our professional license students are in the pre-hiring phase with partner companies of our institution," explain the faculty officials. It should be noted that the professionalization of curricula at the Ain Sebaâ faculty represented 51.64% for the first class. According to the officials of the university institution, "with the new courses, currently being accredited, professionalization would be at 62% during the current academic year." Remember that in 2006-2007, 961 students enrolled in professional licenses in all Moroccan universities, only 3% of whom were in law schools.
The results obtained by the Ain Sebaâ faculty have required hard and above all intelligent work in order to overcome the inequality between training and employment, which often raises the issue of the mismatch between the jobs offered and the profiles of graduates, as well as a devaluation of the university degree among recruiters. In addition to this is the weakness of the intermediary structures between employers and job seekers and the weakness of the measures to support young graduates in their job search. To guide higher education training, adapt the trained graduates to the needs of the Moroccan economy and improve their employability, the faculty created a "Faculty/Company" interface (IFEC). A link between the faculty and its socio-economic environment, the IFEC is in particular the contact person for companies that wish to offer internships or jobs to students.
This solution has had favorable reactions from companies and students, especially since it helps to identify recruiters' skills needs and to manage the work-study training system. "Our stores now employ about fifteen graduates from the first class of the Ain Sebaâ faculty. By offering its students training specific to our profession, particularly through the large-scale distribution and logistics courses, the faculty has been able to meet the requirements of our profession and the qualities required to succeed in it," confirms Nadia Ben Chidmia, HRD Marjane, according to a faculty document. And to add that students with initial training were able to strengthen their skills through a multitude of internships. The same can be said of L'Oréal Maroc, whose CEO, Hervé Streichenberger, describes this training as "functional and very high quality". It should be specified that the faculty's partners are not limited to welcoming, selecting, guiding and supervising students.
They also commit to financial contributions, covering professional modules, and participating in the faculty's steering and monitoring committee.
Presentation of the program
Professional licenses are part of the curriculum innovation strategy implemented by the Faculty of Legal, Economic and Social Sciences Ain Sebaâ to ensure the employability of its graduates. This strategy is mainly based on work-study training that combines academic teaching cycles and company training sequences. Thus, after a year of common core, a gradual introduction of specialization subjects allows students to master the knowledge and professional skills that will be strengthened by work-study internships. The latter take place over 5 to 7 months in three periods. The intern is supervised by a supervisor designated by the company and a tutor proposed by the faculty. Each type of license is sponsored by companies which, as such, allow students to acquire skills and enhance their scientific and technical achievements.
Published February 27, 2011
Posted online February 28, 2011
