Young people receive training in cutting-edge welding technologies
Located in Kenitra, 35 kilometres from the Moroccan capital of Rabat, a new Technology Innovation Centre started operations on 24 July 2023. It will deliver training on state-of-the-art welding technologies.
Morocco’s new Technology Innovation Centre will work primarily with companies seeking to train up their employees. With the backing of Invest for Jobs, it will also provide additional 110 young Moroccans with the opportunity to take part in this training free of charge. The aim is to equip these young people with the skills that the local welding industry needs and thus improve their employability. The time is right: in the city of Kenitra, people with welding qualifications are highly sought-after in the local labour market.
The centre was inaugurated on 25 May 2023, in the presence of, among others, Monika Mrad, BMZ attaché at the German Embassy in Morocco.
The setting up of the Technology Innovation Centre features in the action plan of the Joining Technologies Cluster Morocco (JTCM). Initiated by Invest for Jobs, this Cluster comprises businesses specialised in welding and assembly technologies as well as Moroccan and international training institutions. It’s aim is to train and upskill local welders, offering training programmes tailored to the needs of companies in the sector, which then benefit from easier access to qualified human resources.
JTCM partners include SLV Halle, CPT of Kenitra (Centre de perfectionnement technique maroco-allemand) – a public vocational training institute; the German Electro and Digital Industry Association (ZVEI); and industrial firms such as Abicor Binzel, FANUC, Thermacut, Jess Welding, Goldschmidt, Ferr Industry Systems and Rhodius.
The new Technology Innovation Centre is not the first training initiative resulting from the JTCM’s work. In a joint effort, the JTCM partners had installed a centre for basic welding training within the CPT of Kenitra in 2022. While CPT equips participants with fundamental welding skills, the Innovation Technology Centre specialises in cutting-edge welding methods, ensuring individuals stay abreast of modern, sophisticated practices. Together, the two training programs complement each other, catering to the diverse needs of various companies.
The JTCM is supported by Invest for Jobs - the Special Initiative “Decent Work for a Just Transition” of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), implemented, among others, by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in cooperation with Morocco’s Ministry of Industry and Trade.
© GIZ // The opening ceremony of the Technology Innovation Centre held on 25 May 2023 in the presence of Monika Mrad, BMZ attaché at the German Embassy in Morocco.