Monday, January 12, 2009

TUNISIA: Plan approved to ease graduate unemployment






Date: 11 January 2009



Tunisian ministers have approved measures, and funding, to help
long-term unemployed graduates find work, as part of a reform to combat
unemployment announced last November by President Zine El Abidine Ben
Ali, reported Tunisia Online.

During
their deliberations, members of the ministerial committee discussed the
job market, the numbers seeking work, especially graduates, categories
of unemployed and their regional distribution. The ministers also
considered programmes and development programmes which could increase
employment opportunities.

Among a comprehensive series of measures agreed by ministers to lessen unemployment, those of benefit to jobless graduates were:

Setting up a specific programme in favour of long-term unemployed
graduates of higher education, with the state undertaking to pay for
retraining, plus subsidies of 1,000 dinars (US$744) to companies for
each such employee they hired, as well as social charges for seven
years. This would cost the state 18 million dinars during 2009.

* Increasing benefits paid to graduates undertaking employment programmes from 107 to 150 dinars.

*Establishing employment units within universities and training institutions to help graduates find work.

* Speeding up investment programmes in performing sectors such as ICT, health services, tourism and transport.

No comments:

Post a Comment