Tunisia: Prime Minister stresses need to establish timeline for national employment strategy

Zawya

13-03-2025

TUNIS: Prime Minister Kamel Madouri emphasised the need to establish a clear timeline for the National Employment Strategy as he chaired a small Cabinet meeting held on Wednesday at the Government Palace in Kasbah.
The Prime Minister stressed, during the meeting dedicated to reviewing the pillars of the National Employment Strategy, that the strategy should be based on a clear vision, quantitative objectives, expected outcomes, precise monitoring indicators, identified funding sources and an implementation plan for its execution.
In the same context, he urged that the strategy be built on a thorough diagnosis of the challenges, needs, and stakes of the labour market, as well as the structural changes in the world of work.
This includes addressing the opportunities and challenges posed by digital transformation, artificial intelligence, enhancing the employability of job seekers, diversifying available programmes, and creating a strong foundation for generating integration opportunities and achieving decent work conditions.
Madouri stated that the review of this strategy falls within the framework of the reforms adopted by the state in the Labour Code to promote decent work conditions and establish a fund for unemployment insurance for those laid off due to economic reasons, according to a statement issued by the Prime Ministry.
This aims to reintegrate them into the economic cycle and initiate the implementation of the self-employment system.
He affirmed that the establishment of the Higher Council for Education, as a constitutional institution, will provide the appropriate framework for formulating necessary reforms in employment and training policies, improving the employability of education graduates, and bridging the gap with labour market requirements.
The Prime Minister emphasised that employment is a national priority and a constitutional obligation, requiring the state to take necessary measures to ensure it based on competence and equity.
He reiterated that every citizen has the right to work under decent conditions and for fair wages, recalling the need to expedite the implementation of President Kais Saied's recommendations in this regard and to elevate the value of work as a right for every citizen.
In this context, he called for addressing the challenges related to the labour market, particularly creating sufficient job opportunities to accommodate the influx of youth, improving job quality, and attracting the informal sector into formal frameworks.
This would ensure the provision of programmes and policies capable of enhancing labour market performance, especially on the demand side, to create more and better jobs.
Madouri pointed out that creating a dynamic and inclusive labour market is one of the pillars of economic and social growth.
He highlighted that the fundamental principles of the decent work programme, as outlined by the International Labour Organisation—creating and providing employment opportunities, benefiting from social protection, promoting social dialogue, and ensuring workplace rights—represent an ideal framework for developing employment policies and programmes.
The Prime Minister affirmed that the state is working to enhance the dynamism of the national economy to stimulate investment, improve the business climate, and create projects with high employment capacity both quantitatively and qualitatively.
This includes achieving sustainable growth rates, encouraging entrepreneurship and reconsidering labour market governance to better align training with employment needs.
On this occasion, Minister of Employment and Vocational Training, Riadh Chaouad, presented an overview of the progress in updating the National Employment Strategy and the outlines of the implementation plan.
He also proposed key solutions for better governance of the employment sector, along with a series of urgent measures that could be implemented, whether in wage employment or in promoting entrepreneurship, updating and developing support, guidance, and qualification programmes, and enhancing the capabilities of a responsible, highly employable, productive, and development-contributing human capital.
At the conclusion of the meeting, it was emphasised that the document presented should be enriched according to the recommendations and observations made.
The role and responsibility of all ministries were highlighted to ensure harmony between various sectoral strategies and the National Employment Strategy, relying on a participatory approach with all stakeholders.
The meeting called for the resumption of the work of the National Steering Committee for the Strategy at the earliest opportunity to finalise the strategy's format in preparation for its presentation to a cabinet meeting.
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