January 2009 - Issue 11

Manpower partners with Education For Employment Foundation to tackle youth unemployment in MENA region

Unemployment rate hitting 50 per cent in some areas

Manpower Inc. a world leader in the employment services industry, recently announced a joint global initiative with the Education For Employment Foundation (EFE) to improve employment opportunities for first-time job seekers, especially in the Middle East and North Africa.

Under the agreement, Manpower and EFE will work together to provide training and employment opportunities for young people seeking work. EFE will recruit, train and place candidates in conjunction with local businesses, and connect its graduates with Manpower’s resources. Manpower will provide tools for selecting and evaluating candidates, help secure internships and hiring commitments for EFE graduates, and provide the expertise and resources of its global network, which offers services through offices located in 82 countries.

David Arkless, President of Corporate and Government Affairs, Manpower Inc., said: “Connecting individuals seeking employment to companies looking for talented workers is the very essence of our company. While many young people in the region find themselves unemployed, conversely many positions are left unfilled as growing demand for skilled workers cannot be satisfied. Manpower has more than 60 years of expertise in linking the two.”

The agreement is aimed at lowering youth unemployment in the MENA region, which has reached as high as 50 per cent in certain areas, and where an additional 100 million job seekers are set to enter the workforce in the next 15 years. EFE was founded in 2002 to create economic and social opportunities in the face of growing unemployment. In the first collaborative program, Manpower has helped select a group of young Moroccan women from disadvantaged backgrounds for enrollment in an EFE training program to prepare participants for retail sales roles.

“Joining forces with Manpower, a global, socially responsible corporation, will further EFE’s work of giving jobless youth the tools and opportunity to find sustainable employment. The synergies between Manpower and EFE can create tremendous opportunities for successful employment-focused training programs,” said Ron Bruder, CEO and founder, Education For Employment Foundation.

In February 2009, Manpower entered into a similar partnership with Silatech, a youth-orientated employment and entrepreneurship initiative founded by H.H. Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Missned, wife of Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar. The alliance aims to promote massive job creation, entrepreneurship and access to capital and markets for young people in 22 countries across the MENA region. Through its acquisition of Clarendon Parker Middle East, the region’s largest staffing solutions provider, Manpower Middle East has been developing effective strategies to boost youth employment throughout the Arab world.