Yémen
On-line, part-time Master in Lifelong Career Guidance specifically for the MENA region
Career guidance (or ‘vocational guidance’) has been adopted in several countries in the world because it:
- helps young people and adults choose their educational and employment pathways more wisely;
- leads to appropriate choices that ensure more motivated students and more productive and satisfied workers;
- facilitates a better match between the demand and supply of skills.
Career guidance services are greatly needed in the MENA region. They can be part of the strategy to address the twin challenge of high youth and adult unemployment on the one hand, and skills gaps on the other. They can also foster social inclusion through giving access to a livelihood.
The University of Malta – with the expert support of the European Training Foundation (ETF), the International Labour Organization (ILO), and the UNESCO-UNITWIN Network – has issued a Call for the Expression of Interest for those who would like to receive professional training in career guidance.
The Master course is designed in such a way as to
- take into account the economic, labour market, educational and cultural realities of the MENA region;
- provide participants with the interdisciplinary theoretical background and practical experience needed in order to design, deliver, and evaluate lifelong career guidance services;
- promote regional expertise in policy development, systems-building, and practitioner competence.
Individuals as well as public and private entities interested in the Masters can
- access the relevant information about the course here: https://www.um.edu.mt/study/mastercareerguidance
- email the course coordinators for further information. Professor Ronald G. Sultana (sultana@um.edu.mt) and Dr Manwel Debono (manwel.debono@um.edu.mt) will be happy to respond to questions.
Scholarships, in the form of partial fee waivers, are being offered by the University of Malta to deserving applicants.
improvements in social and economic indicators. The government’s commitment to education, expressed in the
development of level-specific strategies as well as sustained public investment, led to a remarkable expansion in access to basic education and, consequently, higher demand at the secondary and tertiary levels. However, quality has remained a challenge at all levels: Increased enrollment has not resulted in higher completion rates or improved student performance, and students leave the education system ill-prepared for the labor market. After the events of 2011, and reaching an unemployment rate of 29 percent in 2012—estimated at 60 percent for youth—workforce development (WfD) has become a priority on Yemen’s political agenda.
The SABER-WfD benchmarking results, summarized below, reveal the various challenges faced by the WfD system in Yemen. These include a strong supply-driven approach, weak links between education outcomes and labor market needs, a small private sector, and a shortage of employment opportunities in the public sector. Addressing them will require focused and sustained efforts and collaboration across multiple WfD stakeholders in the public and private sectors, as well as civil society organizations and donors engaged in supporting WfD policies and programs. Capitalizing on the increased attention given to WfD in the last two years, two priority actions could be pursued: (i) formulating a unified strategic vision for WfD in Yemen; and (ii) identifying key economic sectors that are growing at the local level and developing training and apprenticeship programs accordingly.