Morocco’s Industrial Development: A Major Lever for Job Creation and Economic Prosperity

2023-04-29 14:49:25

During a panel under the theme “industrial investment: engine of employment and economic prosperity”, held within the framework of this event, organized under the High Patronage of HM King Mohammed VI, at the initiative d’Industrie du Maroc Magazine, in partnership with the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the speakers highlighted the quality of the human resources available to Morocco. An increase in number, firstly, thanks to the efforts made by successive governments which have made it possible to increase industrial employment from 300,000 registered workers in 2013 to more than one million currently, making industry a major lever for job creation in Morocco, according to the Secretary General of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Taoufik Moucharaf.

This force must also pave the way for the move upmarket of Moroccan industry, said Mr. Moucharaf, adding: “this is the case in the field of aeronautics where Morocco has succeeded in imposing itself “.

For his part, the president of the Moroccan Aeronautics and Space Industries Group (GIMAS), Karim Cheikh, indicated that Morocco in the space of 20 years has gone from having 4 companies working for the Royal Air Maroc to some 140 companies manufacturing parts for the most reputable manufacturers, noting that the number of jobs in this sector currently reaches 20,000 with 21 billion dirhams of exports. Mr. Cheikh said that the share of Moroccan production is so important in this eclectic sector that each “Airbus” taking off includes at least one element made in Morocco, a feat to be credited to the merit of local human resources.

The sector does not intend to stay there. An agreement was signed in 2022 between Gimas, Amica, CGEM, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation, with a view to training 100,000 engineers and technicians according to the needs of companies, and this by 2025. An action that will allow companies to have operational resources from day one, according to Mr. Cheikh.

In addition to people, land remains essential to ensure the smooth running of industrial development. This is the role carried out by various state bodies, including MedZ and the Tanger Med Special Agency (TMSA).

On the Medz side, more than 2,600 hectares of land have been developed, noted the chairman of its management board, Mohssine Semmar, noting that one of the company’s most emblematic achievements remains Atlantic Free Zone, which succeeded in less than ten years to attract more than a hundred companies and create 38,000 jobs. And it is in the Atlantic Free Zone that the Stellantis automobile manufacturing plant is located, where vehicles such as the Ami, the first 100% electric vehicle made in Morocco, are manufactured, he continued.

On the side of TMSA, it is Tanger Med Zones (TMZ) which supports the development of industrial land. It has to its credit 2,500 developed hectares and a land reserve of 5,000 hectares that can be mobilized, according to the general manager of TMZ, Ahmed Bennis, noting that TMZ, through its industrial zones (including that of Tangier Free Zone), hosts 1,200 companies, including 250 equipment manufacturers making Tangier a real automotive cluster.

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