Alexandria – Over 12,000 job seekers met with representatives from 120 companies and hotels today at the U.S. government-sponsored Alexandria Employment Fair.  Over 2,000 job seekers found employment at similar U.S. government-sponsored job fairs in Luxor and Beni Suef earlier this year.

“Employment fairs are one way that the U.S. government has committed to helping Egypt create a strong economy with good jobs and skilled workers,” said Dr. Mary C. Ott, USAID/Egypt’s Mission Director.  “I am proud to say that USAID’s support for strengthening vocational schools and supporting employment fairs has helped thousands of recent graduates find new jobs.”

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.  Establishing training and employment units in selected technical schools in Alexandria and other governorates has helped to upgrade teaching skills of over 9,000 teachers and fill over 6,000 positions. Providing short-term training for many of today’s job seekers on employability skills such as communication, collaboration, leadership, and networking – has improved 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 and other areas 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 workers. 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.