Context:
Tunisia has a population of 11.107 million and GDP US$43.015 billion. Youth constitute 12.3% of the total population and 17.5% of the working-age population. While unemployment rate is 14.8%, unemployment among female youth (21.2%) is higher than that among male youth (12.5%). One substantial obstacle for finding a good job is the mismatch between requirements of the job and qualifications of applicants. The average educational attainment in Tunisia is 8.4 school years. Only 10% of Tunisian youth had volunteered in an organization in 2015.
In light of the reluctance of young people to participate in public life and the absence of specialists and volunteers, the Tunisian National Organization for Childhood decided to recruit as many youth from different regions as possible in order to provide them with theoretical and practical training on the necessary competencies to implement and supervise civic activities and programs; hence giving them a positive role in society. The scope of the training courses is national, and it targets Tunisian youth aging 18 years and above and having at least a high school degree. The training courses have been given since 1947 on a yearly basis during school and university holidays.
Implementation of programme/ initiative:
Youth Training Courses are organized by the Tunisian National Organization for Childhood, in partnership with several Tunisian ministries, including the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Youth and Sports, and Ministry of the Woman, Family, and Child. The training courses aim to attract the largest possible number of young people who meet the requirements to become members of the organization and aim to:
- Develop the participants’ knowledge through studies, lectures and workshops that focus on capacity-building such as: citizenship education, psychology, communication techniques, group dynamics, leadership, child rights, first aid, civil and criminal responsibilities and others.
- Enrich the technical and artistic abilities of the participants through workshops on handcrafts, theatre, games, music, songs and other arts
- Spread the culture of citizenship and human rights
- Train young active leaders who can positively influence the community
Main challenges:
- N/A
Results achieved:
Every year, a total of seven capacity building workshops were given and included three training courses: certificate of trainer, certificate of animator, certificate of project manager. A total of 29400 youth have been trained (an average of 400 young man and woman per year). The trained youth are now active members of the organization and implement civic activities targeting other children and youth at the national level. The trained youth, in return, provide training for more than 10000 child and young person on a yearly basis.
Moving Forward:
Currently, more developed capacity-building and training programs that meet current national needs are being designed for the year 2018.
Replicability:
The training courses are provided in all governorates of Tunisia and the success behind them lies in recruiting highly qualified trainers, partnering with Tunisian Ministries, and conducting the training during university holidays.
References:
AHDR 2016
Women’s school-to-work transition in the Arab Mediterranean countries, 2017
OECD Youth in the MENA region, 2016
World Bank, 2016
International Labor Organization, 2016
Report of the national workshop on enhancing youth participation in public issues and decision making in Tunisia
Project Details
Date: October 10, 2017