Knowledge exchange study tour in Egypt for Job Search Club stakeholders from Arab countries

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Cairo, Egypt (ILO News) – Within the framework of the Partnership for Improving Prospects for Forcibly Displaced Persons and Host Communities (PROSPECTS), funded by the Government of the Netherlands, the International Labour Organization (ILO) Cairo office hosted a capacity-building and knowledge exchange study tour for Job Search Club initiative (JSC) stakeholders from Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon.

The JSC is an ILO methodology, providing youth with activities set to help them find suitable work within a short period of time.

The tour, which was jointly organised by the ILO PROSPECTS teams from Egypt, Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon, aimed to enable participants, including officials from their Ministries of Youth, to share innovative approaches, deepen collaboration and learn from the decade-long ILO experience in Egypt of implementing JSCs under the country’s Ministry of Youth and Sports.

“We discussed our past plans, achievements, and the challenges we faced and adapted to serve the implementation of the JSC initiative in Egypt,” said Manal Gamal, Undersecretary, Head of the Central Department for Youth Empowerment at the Egyptian Ministry of Youth and Sports. “We reviewed our role in institutionalizing the project by training facilitators in various governorates. We also explored opportunities for sustaining and expanding the project to benefit more youth. We were also honoured to learn from the Jordanian and Iraqi experiences and to exchange new ideas and insights regarding this initiative.”

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A working session, including a round table discussion, was organized where delegations examined the Egyptian experience in implementing the JSCs initiative and presented their own on-the-ground experiences. 

“The sessions offered valuable insights to bolster youth skills for the job market in Egypt and Jordan,” said Ahmed Saad Elewi Al-Muttairi, Director General of the Scientific Welfare Directorate, Ministry of Youth Iraq. “Recommendations drawn from this exchange will inform our efforts in Iraq, potentially integrating the JSCs into the Ministry of Youth and Sports' agenda, aligning with our vision for empowering Iraqi youth. We hope that these efforts will contribute to empowering Iraqi youth and enhancing their opportunities in the labour market in line with the government’s ambitious vision for the development of the youth and economic sectors.”

During the two-day event, facilitators from the Ministry of Youth, representing their own countries, also held a panel discussion where they discussed the challenges and innovative solutions devised in Egypt and Jordan, focusing on how the JSC approach has been supporting the transition of youths into decent employment.

“Jordan faces a growing challenge with rising youth unemployment, particularly among female university graduates, due to a mismatch between educational outcomes and labour market needs,“ said Firas Alshwabkeh, Director of Youth Centres at the Jordan Ministry of Youth. “In response, we adopted the JSCs initiative as part of our national strategy, establishing business incubators within youth centres and implementing the JSCs across all governorates in collaboration with partners. This initiative has also benefited young people from various nationalities, including Syrian refugees.”

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The JSC initiative is an ILO tool first launched in Egypt in 2014 and based on a two-week long group training that supports youth in their job search activities. The JSCs is a peer-to peer project that brings together different individuals facing similar challenges to enter the labour market, where they are provided with intensive coaching by trained facilitators on job search-related skills. 

Following an initial assessment of their personal interests, skills and occupational goals, the members learn how to gather job leads from various sources, conduct job interviews, fill out applications, write CVs and handle stressful situations, among others.

“We are delighted to have jointly organized with the ILO office in Cairo this exchange of good practices and lessons learned concerning the JSCs, bringing together the experience of different PROSPECTS countries in the MENA region,” said Shaza Al Jondi, ILO PROSPECTS Regional Chief Technical Adviser for Arab States. “When we designed the JSC in Jordan two years ago, we heavily engaged with our colleagues in Egypt to understand their model and assess its applicability for youth in Jordan. We then adapted the approach with input from the Jordanian Ministry of Youth, UNICEF, and the Business Development Center, introducing green modules to meet the needs of youth in the green economy. This step-by-step process involved continuous review, reflections, and improvement, including special tracks for Syrian youth in camps.”

In Egypt, over 3,000 youths have joined the intensive JSC training activities so far, while over 1,400 have participated in Jordan. Iraq launched the project in March, planning to support at least 200 young women and men job seekers from displaced and host communities in the Duhok and Ninawa governorates, with Lebanon shortly following suit in the project’s implementation. 

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"We are pleased to host this capacity-building and knowledge exchange study tour in Cairo, bringing together key stakeholders from Jordan, Iraq, and Lebanon,” said Amir Obeid, Country Programme Manager, PROSPECTS Egypt. “By sharing experiences and best practices, we aim to create sustainable job opportunities and support the integration of young people into the labour market across the region through the JSC tool we aim to empower youths in all countries.”

Thirteen decision-makers and training experts from the Business Development Centre (BDC), the Jordanian Ministry of Youth and Sports and local partners benefitted from this activity and will disseminate best practices and lessons learned in their countries.

The JSCs initiative also help create a support group and network that fosters successful job hunting among the participants. Members of the club meet daily under the supervision of an ILO-trained coordinator to provide them with the guidance, information, and tools they need to find decent work opportunities. At the end of the two-week intensive programme, jobseekers from the JSCs benefit from a further three-month window in which they receive assessments on their employment status.

Young people under 30 make up 55 percent of the population in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), compared to 36 percent in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. The region faces one of the highest youth unemployment rates worldwide, accounting for 25.5 percent according to ILO data, and is home to 15 million displaced people, many of whom are young people.

Their involvement in economic, social, and public life is crucial for enhancing personal well-being, inclusive growth, and social cohesion. The COVID-19 crisis has worsened existing challenges for this demographic in the region. Also, global and regional trends like climate change, digitalization, and migratory pressures create new uncertainties regarding opportunities for young people and future generations.

PROSPECTS is a global partnership dedicated to fostering the exchange of good practices and lessons learned across countries affected by forced displacement, with the JSC study tour serving as a prime example. The multi-agency and multi-country nature of the partnership provides a unique opportunity for learning across various thematic areas, ensuring that interventions are effective and adaptable to different contexts.