In Morocco British Council has been working in partnership with the Secretariat of State in charge of Vocational Education and employer representatives from the private sector. British Council has been supporting initiatives with students in Automotive VET institutes to develop life skills needed in order to transition from the world of school to the world of work. In turn this has been supporting the development of the education and qualification systems to meet the needs of local employers by producing highly skilled workers.
Our objective
Our objective is to support young people to develop life skills through the Taqaddam programme. By taking part they can move forward with confidence into the future with the skills they need to thrive in life, work and society and help develop the life skills for personal, professional and community development. One particular example is the automotive industry where there is an increased demand for soft skills among the workforce in, for example – communication; collaboration; creativity and resilience.
Our strategy
All Taqaddam activities are planned to provide young people with a greater understanding of life skills and to communicate and demonstrate these skills to others, including future employers. At the end of the training students demonstrate their learning by presenting a solution to a global or social challenge affecting their community.
Our impact
More than 700 vocational education students have been equipped with the soft skills they need to flourish in life, work and society by providing a safe and empowering space to gain a heightened sense of self and build crucial skills that equip them to lead fulfilling lives.
A central component of Morocco’s Covid-19 response has been broad-based industrial mobilisation. Alongside increases in production, TVET schools have been developing locally produced health care solutions. To help their country during these challenging times, teachers and students from the National Institute for the Automotive Industry (IFMIA), our Taqaddam school partner in Casablanca, have showcased the spirit of Taqaddam by unleashing their creative and innovative mindsets and joining efforts to produce protective equipment and gear for their fellow peers and others in the community.
With the lack of personal protective equipment, students with the support from teachers have changed their usual work programme to manufacture plastic face visors that provided full face protection and were able to provide personal protective equipment to other students from other schools in their community. They successfully demonstrated their adaptability and resilience in difficult times.
This initiative has had a positive impact on the local community and has given the students an opportunity to put in to practice the skills they have learned. They have also helped their country to be self-sufficient when such high demand for equipment was occurring simultaneously worldwide.
“The Taqaddam experience has greatly impacted the ability of students to create and nurture a spirit of resilience through giving back to the community” Mrs Afif, Director IFMIA
