Need for targeted interventions to improve their employability
Morocco faces a major challenge which is the professional integration of young people in rural areas. A recent study by the Moroccan think tank Policy Center for the New South entitled “Youth Neet and intermediation in the labor market in rural areas” shed some light on youth unemployment in rural areas. The diagnostics carried out so far have revealed that despite the efforts made by the public authorities, major weaknesses persist and new efforts will have to be made to facilitate the transition of young rural people to the labor market. According to the authors of the study, the diagnoses carried out highlighted the need to strengthen the role of intermediation in rural areas; put in place specific measures adapted to the conditions of young people in rural areas and better target the categories of rural unemployed less affected by the programs in force and young people excluded from school and the labor market. It is also necessary to strengthen the information system by carrying out ad hoc investigations and to improve the current survey on employment in order to adapt it to the particularity of young people in rural areas. The analysis of retrospective data on the labor market, from the national employment survey, shows that out of a total of 6.9 million young people aged 15-24 at the national level in 2020, nearly 2 4 million lived in rural areas, or 40.2%.
The activity rate in rural areas was 50% in 2020. That said, it is only 23.7% among rural women and 28.5% among young rural people aged 15-24. Another observation: rural youth are generally poorly educated. Thus, the access of rural workers to diplomas remains a major challenge to be taken up by the public authorities. In 2020, nearly three quarters (73.3%) of rural workers said they had no diploma. Only 23.1% have a medium-level diploma and 3.5% a higher diploma level. The study shows that youth unemployment is masked by underemployment in rural areas. Indeed, if the unemployment rate of young rural people is relatively low in rural areas (about 16.3% against 45.3% among young city dwellers in 2020), the underemployment rate is on the other hand higher in rural areas. . Underemployment affects 11.6% of rural workers against 10.1% in urban areas. Thus, “the relatively high rate of underemployment and the low level of qualification and participation of young people and women in active life in rural areas constitute major challenges to be met for their inclusion and the development of the potential labor force. that they constitute”, note the authors of the study.
Characteristics of Neet in rural areas
With regard to young people living in Neet in rural areas, the authors used the results of a survey conducted in the province of Taounate by the FAO to understand their situation. According to the results of the survey, more than 61% of rural youth are unemployed and outside the education or vocational training systems (Neet). This rate is relatively higher among young rural women (71%) than among young rural men (57.8%) and among young people without a diploma (67.2%) than among young graduates (47.9%) . The results of the survey also confirmed the low level of qualification of young Neet in rural areas, since nearly two thirds (64%) have at most the level of college education.
This proportion is 63% among young rural men and 67% among young rural women. Graduates represent nearly a quarter of young Neet in rural areas (24.6%). To deal with this situation, the study published by Policy Center emphasizes the need for targeted interventions to help rural youth, especially the Neet, who have accumulated deficits in terms of education and training and soft skills, in order to improve their employability and facilitate their transition to working life. This should be done taking into account the specificities of rural areas, local skills needs and the profiling of the rural unemployed youth population.
The success of this process of adapting measures to the conditions of young rural people depends on the support and involvement of local actors, public and private organizations and civil society. The authors also believe that an in-depth analysis of the risk factors for becoming Neet will be of great use to public authorities. It will thus make it possible to provide appropriate solutions to facilitate the economic and social inclusion of young people in rural areas.