Skills for success for Union for the Mediterranean project

AMIDEAST is pleased to announce that the Union for the Mediterranean labeled its Skills for Success project at its regular Senior Officials Meeting, which took place in Barcelona, Spain, on June 28, 2012. The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), a multilateral partnership encompassing 43 countries from Europe and the Mediterranean Basin, promotes sustainable development projects in and among its member states. After a project receives the UfM “label,” the UfM Secretariat facilitates its promotion, especially its financing needs. Once the project is launched, the Secretariat monitors its implementation, ensuring that criteria required for obtaining and keeping the UfM “project label” are being met. AMIDEAST President and CEO Theodore Kattouf remarked that it was an honor for the organization to have the formal endorsement of the Union for the Mediterranean and expressed gratitude for the Secretariat’s decision. He continued:”Youth unemployment is a worldwide phenomenon, but is particularly acute for young women in the Middle East and North Africa.  This project, we hope, will provide a program that can be widely replicated and expanded.” Skills for Success: Employability Skills for Women is an employability skills training program directed at young, disadvantaged and unemployed women who have completed their secondary school education. Its aim is to assist participants in acquiring the knowledge, skills, and tools needed to enter today´s challenging job market, as well as enhance women´s role as active members of society. The project’s first phase will be implemented in the capital cities of Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Lebanon, and Jordan. The program will contribute towards the development of the participants’ global communication abilities via targeted English language training and enhanced professional skills, including computer and business skills development and job search tools and advice. By addressing the challenge of economic empowerment of women in the region, the project seeks to mitigate high unemployment rates among secondary-level educated women in the Southern Mediterranean. In general terms, it also aims to develop workforce skills necessary to support national and regional economies. It is anticipated that a second phase will expand the project to include secondary cities and rural areas in the five beneficiary countries. Founded in 1951, AMIDEAST (www.amideast.org) is an American nonprofit organization engaged in international education, training, and development assistance. With over 20 field and project offices in the Middle East and North Africa and more than 650 dedicated professional staff, AMIDEAST provides programs and services to improve educational opportunity and quality, strengthen local institutions, and develop language and professional skills for success in the global economy. AMIDEAST is deeply committed to strengthening mutual understanding and cooperation between Americans and the peoples of the Middle East and North Africa. From Amideast