Cairo- April 11, 2022
Minister of Trade and Industry Nevine Gamea has witnessed the signing of a cooperation letter of intent between the Productivity and Vocational Training Department (PVTD) – affiliated to the ministry- and the Multi-Educational Programme for Employment Promotion in Migration-affected Areas (MEPEP), implemented by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), on improving the quality of the TVET system in the industrial field at the 10th of Ramadan Training Center, Sharqia Governorate.
The letter was signed by Khaled Abu Mandour, head of the PVTD; and Vladimiro Buso, the MEPEP international programme technical coordinator.
The signing ceremony was attended by consellor Graziella Rizza, the EU Delegation representative; Pietro Vacanti, deputy head of the Italian Embassy in Cairo; and Dalia Sadek, representative of the Ministry of International Cooperation.
The cooperation aims to provide the needs of industry in the 10th of Ramadan region, namely in terms of teaching methodologies for teachers and trainers and skills acquisition for students, in order to promote a more inclusive social and economic environment, enhance economic opportunities, and achieve gender equality.
The agreement, Gamea noted, comes in line with the ministry’s drive to upgrade technical and vocational education in Egypt, with the aim of developing policies, services and vocational training activities for the youth.
“Having skilled, trained technical labor is a key element in upgrading the competitiveness of local products both on the domestic and global markets, especially in light of the national shift towards the 4th Industrial Revolution technologies,” she said.
The minister further added that the MEPEP program targets at least 2,500 young men and women in Sharqia (women make up 20%), aged between 16 and 35, with at least 15,000 indirect beneficiaries.
Mandour, for his part, pointed out that the EU-funded program, implemented over three years, aims to enhance the physical and technical infrastructure of the governorate’s 10th of Ramadan training center, as well as linking companies and factories in the region to enhance job generation for youth, in addition to integrating the physically-challenged among its beneficiaries.
The counsellor of the EU Delegation in Cairo Graziella Rizza, lauded the new partnership that will add a new pillar in Egypt’s migration dialogue with the European Union and affirmed that MEPEP will contribute in enhancing the human capital and physical capital of the TVET sector in Egypt, as well as addressing unemployment, which is one of the root causes of irregular migration.
“MEPEP is a fundamental step towards the improvement of economic and equal opportunities through the enhancing of the TVET Sector, enhancing professional opportunities for young people, with a specific focus on vulnerable groups and gender equality,” said Deputy Head of Mission at the Italian embassy in Cairo, PIETRO VACANTI.
Vladimiro Buso, International Programme Technical Coordinator for the MEPEP expressed the strong commitment of the MEPEP in improving the TVET in Sharqia, which will open new doors for the youth through contributing in job creation and income generation.
