“Now, I am more confident I’ll be able to get a job interview when I send my new CV.”
- Amal, third-year student at Hassan II University - Casablanca

In Morocco, 80% of the unemployed population is under 24. Youth unemployment is one of the greatest challenges the country is facing. Surprisingly, finding a job is even more challenging for graduates than for youth without a diploma: unemployment rates range from just 1.6% for uneducated labor force participants with no education to over 22% for university graduates^[1]. Without career guidance in universities and vocational training centers, Moroccan youth miss the opportunity to make informed choices about their career trajectories, resulting in choosing jobs located in sectors with minimal prospects for future advancement. 

In response to these challenges, USAID designed the Career Center program, which assists students and graduates to make the transition from education to employment. The program will launch model career centers in three public universities and three vocational training institutes in Casablanca, Marrakech and Tangier in 2016. In addition to providing career guidance services, and focusing on employment opportunities in certain high-impact sectors of the Moroccan economy, Career Center offers work readiness courses to improve skills and job search techniques, such as CV writing and job interviewing.

[1] Statistics from the Haut-Commissariat au Plan (http://hcp.ma/).