Luxor – Over 5,000 job seekers met with representatives from 50 companies and hotels at the U.S. government-sponsored Luxor Employment Fair.

“The U.S. Government is committed to helping Egypt create a strong economy with good jobs and educated workers,” said Dr. William Patterson, USAID/Egypt Economic Growth Director.  “USAID’s support for employment fairs and employment and training in vocational school units is an important step on the path to building a stronger economy in Egypt.”

The U.S. government’s Agency for International Development (USAID) has been working with the Ministry of Education and the private sector to improve technical education training to ensure that labor skills meet the needs of the market through establishing training and employment units in selected technical schools in Luxor and other governorates to improve the skills and employability of technical school graduates.

To date, these training units have helped to upgrade teaching skills of over 9,000 teachers and the employment units have filled over 6,000 positions.  USAID provided short-term training for many of today’s job seekers on employability skills such as communication, collaboration, leadership, and networking – to improve their chances for finding a job in today’s global market.

The U.S. Government promotes a globally competitive, educated, innovative human resources-based economy in Egypt.  USAID activities in entrepreneurship, antiquities restoration, potable water pipeline construction, agriculture export standards, and vocational school career centers have led to new or better full-time employment for over 40,000 people in the past two years and short-term jobs for another 20,000 laborers. A generation of career-educated graduates who possess the right skills for today’s job market will help bridge the current gap between education and employment needs.