The Arab world is in the midst of a significant demographic shift, transitioning to a younger and better educated population. More than 100 million young people in the 15-to-29 age group now represent 30 percent of the region's total population.
Today, in the Arab world, one-third of the population is below the age of 15; and two-thirds under the age of 30. And according to the International Labour Organization (ILO), approximately 100 million new workers are expected to enter the labour market in the next 20 years. But does the Arab world have the potential to use this influx? Are there enough opportunities for these millions of new workers?
It is to meet this challenge that Her Highness Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned launched Silatech in 2008 to improve young people's access to demand-driven and market-oriented skills training and job placement services. Silatech is an initiative that will equip the young with the right tools to embrace the career of their choice.
In the past thirty years, enrolment in secondary schools has increased nearly three fold. In recent years, the region has also realised unprecedented levels of real GDP growth and increasing job creation.
Businesses, governments and civil society have an historic opportunity to achieve sustained economic growth by investing in the youth. Arab countries have also learnt from the many Asian economies that took advantage of their fast-growing working population and seized the opportunities from their 'youth bulges.'
Silatech will be unveiling a wide range of specific partnerships and country initiatives.
They include:
The Middle East Youth Initiative (MEYI)
The Middle East Youth Initiative (MEYI) a joint project of Silatech, the Wolfensohn Center for Development at Brookings and the Dubai School of Government - have agreed to jointly develop and finance a number of innovative, high-impact initiatives over the coming years. The proposed collaboration includes three major pillars: incubation of a youth knowledge lab; launching an 'Evaluation for Excellence' working group that builds the capacity for effective monitoring and evaluation work on youth programmes in the region; and undertaking country policy dialogues on youth employment opportunities with key stakeholders.
Pearson Education Limited (Pearson Ed)
Silatech and Pearson Ed will collaborate to provide young people with the most up-to-date tools for skills development and training. The two organisations are co-developing a comprehensive set of Skills Development Services (SDS) for use in all Arab countries, as and when required by country implementation plans.
The regional level strategies for this programme will include the development of a set of cutting-edge skills (called SilaQual) and the qualifications training courses (called SilaTrain), capacity building services, partnerships with MENA firms for content development, and linkages to job placement services.
Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation (MBRF)
The Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation and Silatech have established the framework for a substantial and strategic cooperation. The joint programme will build a Pan-Arab Leadership Development Initiative that concentrates on developing the next generation of young Arab leaders, focused on entrepreneurs and owners of SMEs.
Morocco ICT Prototype Project
Silatech is partnering with The University of Hassan II Casablanca, the Education for Employment Foundation-Maroc (EFE-MAROC), the Federation of Information Technologies, Telecommunications and Off-shoring (APEBI), the National Agency for Promotion of Jobs and Skills (ANAPEC), the Moroccan Ministry of Industry, Commerce and New Technology (MICNT) and Silatech have agreed to undertake a large scale ICT sector youth employment prototype project in Morocco with the intent of establishing a longer term sustainable collaboration following its successful conclusion.
Economic Modeling Specialists Incorporated (EMSI)
EMSI and Silatech have embarked upon a strategic cooperation to create a sophisticated, state-of-the-art economic model, which will serve as a compass for investment of resources and the development of programmes across the MENA region. The model will also serve as a policy tool to support Silatech, its Knowledge Consortium and its country partners focus on the industry sectors with the greatest job creation potential. Silatech and its co-development partner, Economic Modeling Specialists Inc, designed and are developing and testing the model first in Yemen, Morocco and Syria.
The General Holding Corporation for Property, Development and Investment (SHIBAM Holding, Yemen)
In Yemen, SHIBAM Holdings and Silatech have formed a collaboration to undertake youth training and human resource management initiatives for the construction industry sector, linked to current, planned and proposed projects in the SHIBAM Holdings portfolio in the country, starting with the Qatari Diar supported Al Rayyan Hills Project.
SHIBAM and Silatech will create a Skills Development Services (SDS) programme in the construction sector to provide recruitment and placement services, train Yemeni young people to be employed as construction workers - initially within Yemen - but also with the potential for jobs outside Yemen, giving Yemeni young people the opportunity to develop economically sustainable careers in the construction industry.
Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting (GOIC)
GOIC is the leader of market knowledge of the industrial environment within the GCC, and a key advisory institution for GCC governments, chambers of industry and private investors across the GCC region. GOIC and Silatech will catalyse and, as appropriate, co-brand and co-sponsor the development and implementation of joint training and SME development, initiatives, some or all of which may be focused projects and clients in the Gulf region.
Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour (MoSAL), Syria
The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour and Silatech have agreed to co-create and launch a 'Youth Loan Fund' within Syrian Micro-finance Institutions, which will consist of the provision of micro and small loans to qualified Syrian young people seeking to create or expand self-employment projects. In addition, the parties will co-create a robust database that permits the formulation of a rational and comprehensive labour force policies and national employment strategy aimed at reducing unemployment and increasing labour productivity in Syria.
This timing is critically important, as the demographic window of opportunity - defined as having a large working-age population and a low dependency ratio - is expected to close by 2045. The time for investing in the region's youth is NOW.
Silatech has gathered interest from around the world and has empowered many decisions globally.
Qatar Today speaks to Rick Little, Chief Executive Officer of Silatech, who says that the current economic crisis has further amplified the need for bold actions to promote job creation and economic opportunities for young people in the MENA region.
"More and more young people are being marginalised, and are suffering as a result of job losses and shrinking opportunities," he says.
How did this concept come about and what were the challenges in initiating such a project?
Silatech was born of the conviction and determination of Her Highness Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned. She belives, as I do, that employment is the key source of self-respect, hope and dignity. Hence the idea of Silatech was born - to connect young people to hope, job and oppurtunities.
The regional need is significant.
Over the next decade alone, the International Labor Organization (ILO), expects more than one billion young people will enter the global labour market. The gap between global youth labour supply and actual labour market demand presents a great challenge for developing countries in particular.
Silatech is an innovative initiative engaging the private, public and civil society sectors to promote large-scale job creation, entrepreneurship and access to job oppurtunities for young people and small-meduim sized enterprises - the key driver of job creation. It is intended to help address the critical issue of youth unemployment, a serious and growing challenge impacting countries throughout the world. With the support of HH the Emir of Qatar and Her Highness Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned, Silatech was first announced in 2008 at the UN Alliance of Civilizations Forum in Madrid and launched in June 2008 at the first Doha Summit.
Silatech means 'your connection' in Arabic, and its strength is in partnering with leaders, corporations and organisations around the globe to promote opportunity and innovations.
Her Highness Sheikha Mozah serves as the Founder and Chair of Silatech's Board of Trustees. Her Highness is a strong advocate of engaging young people as a solution to socio-economic and political challenges, empowering them to be a strong force in redirecting the course of globalisation to a more peoplecentred and equality-based agenda.
What are the guidelines for Silatech, the way forward?
Silatech sees its role as a connector, a catalyst and convenor - a broker of ideas, resources and knowledge. Its team works hand-in-hand in conceptualising, guiding, and facilitating cross-sector cooperation and brings the parties together and builds new partnerships that never existed, with new players at the table. It helps secure the capital needed to create youth investment initiatives that unlock new sources of energy to assist aspiring and successful young entrepreneurs in building and growing small and medium sized enterprises a cornerstone of any economic development and job creation strategy. Silatech works with international partners to identify best practices from various parts of the world that might benefit the region.
We are building connections of on-the ground partnerships with youth leaders, owners of small and medium-sized enterprises, commercial banks, private equity funds and investors, corporations, philanthropists, international organisations, and government to develop a network of 'access points' for young people to skills development, job placement and business development services.
How many countries are committed to this initiative and what are their inputs?
Silatech has been created as a social enterprise that will operate across all 22 Arab nations in the MENA region working with governments, the private sector, public sector, NGOs, academics and development experts. As part of Silatech's programme of expansion in the Arab region, the organisation aims to establish partner networks and a presence in phases. Silatech has commenced its activities in the following Phase 1 countries: Morocco, Qatar, Syria and Yemen.
How many youth will be targeted? Are the numbers fixed or is it as per the requirements?
Youth in the Middle East comprise one third of the population of the region, representing a resource that should not go untapped. To keep levels of unemployment steady, 80 million jobs must be created by 2020. This gives some idea of the scale facing us. It is daunting. Our efforts are designed explicitly to address these areas - such as the micro, small and medium sized enterprise (MSME) sector which economists believe will account for the vast majority of new jobs created over the coming decades.
Youth employment is a global challenge.
Creating full, productive and decent employment for young people is the key to promoting sustained economic growth, alleviating poverty and necessary in addressing young people's alienation from society.
There are three challenges. One is promoting the adoption of policies to stimulate increased employment and economic opportunities for young people and social inclusion. Another is changing mindsets, improving society's recognition and support for young people's contribution to economic and social capital.
The final challenge is access. Societies need to dramatically increase access for young people to quality deman-driven and market-oriented skills training and then job placement services. In addition, millions of young people want to create their own small business and need greater access to capital, business development services and markets.
Now that steps are being created to educate the youth by the influx of institutions from around the world, do you think this will reduce the dependence on foreigners for technical jobs?
Qatar is certainly leading the way in developing the intellectual capital of its young people. In so doing, Qatar has an eye on building a diversified knowledge based society economy in which there are opportunities for its young people to thrive across a range of professions and industries in a 'high-value' economic model.
This approach is very much built on Qatar's own economic circumstances.
What we can say more generally, however, is that high quality education and focused vocational 'demand driven' training are essential in equipping the region's young people with the skills needed to succeed in an ever more competitive world.
How do you intend to create awareness in entrepreneurship and how will the projects be funded? Will there be any help from Silatech?
Silatech acts primarily as a catalyst for helping in job training, job placement, but also in supporting young entrepreneurs through partnership with microfinance organisations, NGOs, SMEs and governments.
Silatech should not be seen as a funding organisation. Designed as a 'not-forprofit' social enterprise, we aim to bring together a wide range of partners, including the private sector, in order to establish and grow financially successful enterprises on the ground. Crucially, these programmes must be 'scalable' (able to grow in order to address the sheer scale of demand for jobs). We along with our partners will invest in these enterprises with private sector partners free to realise profits from success. Silatech itself will reinvest any profits it makes from programmes back into its objectives and initiatives.
How about Silatech's Knowledge Consortium? Who are the members of this Consortium and what are their roles?
Silatech's Knowledge Consortium is made up of leading academics, economists and practitioners in the field of employment representing regional and global institutions.
The Consortium includes the World Bank, the International Labor Organization (ILO) the Middle East Youth Initiative of the Dubai School of Government and the Brookings Institution, the Nike Foundation, the Essam Fares Institute of the American University of Beirut, the Imagination Group, and the Gallup organisation among others.
The Knowledge Consortium is primarily focused on the policy and mindset component of Silatech's three strategic goals and aims to contribute to the current conversation and initiatives that work to promote the employment of young people in the MENA region.
The programmes to be launched by Silatech's Knowledge Consortium at the 2009 Doha Summit include the Youth Knowledge Labs, and the Silatech Index.
What are the Youth Knowledge Labs?
The Youth Knowledge Labs will, among other things, focus on evolution and assessment of youth employment projects and efforts across the MENA region.
Further, it will collate all of Silatech's data and serve as incubators of knowledge to add to the global and regional databases on young people and employment opportunities.
The labs will be planned and developed with the Wolfensohn Center for Development at Brookings, the Dubai School of Government and other stakeholders.
A network of experts in the area of knowledge development will be established and dialogues to be conducted with country policymakers in the region.
What is the partnership with the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation? How will this work?
The Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation (MBRF) and Silatech have established the framework for a substantial and strategic long-term cooperation.
The joint programme will co-invest, in building together a Pan-Arab Leadership Development Initiative that concentrates on developing the next generation of young Arab leaders, focused on entrepreneurs and owners of SMEs.
We we will co-invest, in the translation and adaptation of content for Silatech's Skills Development and Training Resources including SilaTrain and SilaQual.
What is the partnership with the World Bank Global Partnership for Youth Investment and Silatech?
The partnership between the World Bank and Silatech aims to address the challenge of youth employment and enterprise development, through two of Silatech's strategic pillars - thought leadership and investment.
The partnership is initiating new approaches, and will catalyse, incubate and support the development and implementation of cutting edge and innovative interventions to expand the set of economic opportunities available to young people.
This is to be achieved through the development of financial products and business development service support to encourage financial intermediaries to expand the set of economic opportunities available to young people.
What is the Silatech Index? What were the reasons behind such a research?
This new index is critical to Silatech's work, as it provides us with a scientific, authentic inputs and ideas of Arab youth; their perspectives, hopes and challenges.
The Index aims to amplify the voices of Arab youth to the world of decision makers and opinion shapers.
Ultimately, the Index aims to build a culture that integrates young people's opinion in the country's decision-making processes, and in turn, influence policies to bring about effective change in improving opportunities for young people.
© Qatar Today 2009
