Creating employment opportunities
in the automotive industry

Shortage of skilled middle management in the automotive supply industry complicates further investments

Ten years after the revolution, Tunisia continues to face economic challenges despite its pioneering role on the path to democratization. Economic growth and direct investment have declined sharply due to the Corona pandemic. The unemployment rate stood at 18.4 per cent in November 2021. However, the country's economic potential is enormous due to its proximity to Europe and a comparatively high level of education among the workforce. The Tunisian automotive industry is a key sector for national growth, with already more than 90,000 jobs and an average growth of 10 percent. 

To make better use of this potential, a workshop to identify barriers to investment was organised in 2018 in Tunis by Invest for Jobs together with four German automotive companies based in Tunisia. The conclusion of the workshop was that the lack of skilled workers in middle management is a major obstacle to investment in new production lines and thus also prevents more employment in the automotive sector in Tunisia.

Strengthening the competitiveness of the automotive industry through further training of middle management

Following the workshop, solutions were worked out to counteract the identified shortage of skilled workers in middle management. The solution, which was developed by Invest for Jobs together with companies and in coordination with the Bildungswerk der Bayerischen Wirtschaft (bbw) and the Tunisian Automotive Association (TAA), was to found a training academy. The Tunisian Automotive Management Academy (TAMA) was founded with the aim of training more specialists for middle management through course content that is precisely tailored to the needs of the companies.

TAMA thus works on three levels: For employees, training and development opportunities are provided. For companies, it develops the skills of middle managers, supports investment and increases the competitiveness of the automotive sector. For Tunisia and the population, jobs are created, investments are promoted and the country's attractiveness as a business location is increased.

The first training courses were aimed at the further education of existing employees and were later expanded to include an offer for the training of young professionals. Now, the programme continues to target existing middle management, but also trains technical operators, new employees in the induction phase, as well as top management and employees preparing for their first management position.

Ensure the sustainability of the project

A total of 1.439 workers, 508 of them women, from 28 German, European and Tunisian companies have already participated in TAMA training courses and strengthened their management skills. This has enabled the participating companies to open new production lines and thus create more jobs in the Tunisian automotive sector. By October 2022, TAMA has already created 2.794 jobs, almost 90 per cent of them for women.

From the end of 2022, the support of Invest for Jobs will focus on the further expansion of TAMA and its short supply. At the end of 2022, the training programmes of the TAMA project will be handed over by 'bbw' to the Tunisian Automotive Association. This will ensure the continuity of the academy and long-term support for the entire automotive sector.

The TAMA Academy is supported by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH as part of Invest for Jobs on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).