Empowering Youth Through Professional Training Initiatives
The Moroccan monarchy has placed significant emphasis on the vocational training sector, recognizing it as a strategic lever for enhancing economic competitiveness and a promising pathway for the professional integration of the youth. The initiative to align training offerings with labor market demands continues to progress with the rollout of Skills and Professions Cities (Cités des métiers et des compétences). Recently, the Marrakech-Safi region has witnessed a new milestone in the implementation of this program, furthering the country’s commitment to enhancing vocational education.
Located in Tamansourt, the Marrakech-Safi Skills and Professions City spans an impressive 6 hectares and is designed to accommodate 3,000 students. It offers a diverse and multidisciplinary training portfolio that aligns with the economic ecosystem's needs in the Marrakech-Safi region. The training programs are developed through a collective intelligence approach, featuring 75 qualifying and diploma-awarding fields distributed across 8 specialized sectors. This modern institution employs a pedagogical strategy focused on 'Learning by Doing,' which prioritizes practical skill acquisition through active experimentation.
Comprehensive Training Facilities and Opportunities
The integrated application platforms at the Marrakech-Safi Skills and Professions City provide trainees with immersive environments that closely replicate real-world business conditions. The different specialized sectors include: a Management & Commerce sector equipped with a virtual simulation company for trainees to practice future job roles; a Digital and Artificial Intelligence sector featuring a Digital Factory that fosters an interactive innovation space for youth to realize their ideas, hone their skills, and engage in digital transformation projects; a Tourism, Hospitality, and Catering sector that includes educational hotels and restaurants for practical job preparation; a Health sector with a pedagogical care unit; an Industry sector that simulates actual industrial conditions within a training factory, allowing trainees to participate in multidisciplinary projects; a Personal Services sector equipped with a daycare and educational apartments; along with a Crafts sector and an Arts and Graphic Industries sector.
The Marrakech-Safi Skills and Professions City is designed to foster creativity, exchange, and innovation, incorporating well-thought-out common structures within a dynamic learning environment. This includes a language and soft skills center, a media library, and an innovation chain featuring coworking spaces, an incubator, a digital factory, and a fab lab. Moreover, it houses a professional orientation center, which serves as a vital information hub, providing continuous personalized support for youth throughout their training journey—from selecting their field of study to obtaining their diplomas. This support extends beyond training, offering post-graduation assistance to help graduates realize their professional projects and facilitate their integration into the workforce.
The Marrakech-Safi Skills and Professions City also boasts numerous living spaces, including a trainee residence with a capacity of 448 beds, a cafeteria, a MOOC studio, meeting spaces, and sports facilities.
In line with other regions across the Kingdom, the Office of Vocational Training and Employment Promotion (OFPPT) is committed to supporting the economic actors of the Marrakech-Safi region by diversifying its training offerings. This includes 77 diploma-awarding programs, 33 qualifying programs, and 11 professional pathways designed to meet the region's demand for skilled labor. For the 2025-2026 academic year, the OFPPT training framework in the Marrakech-Safi region will provide 33,181 training places through a network of 23 vocational training institutions, in addition to 6 contracted centers and 5 centers established under the prisoner reintegration program. These vocational training institutions cover various sectors, including Tourism, Hospitality, Catering, Management and Commerce, Industry, Digital and Artificial Intelligence, Construction and Public Works, Logistics and Transport, Health, Personal Services, Crafts, and Arts and Graphic Industries, across four levels of training (Specialized Technician, Technician, Qualification, and Specialization), alongside professional baccalaureate, college pathways, and qualifying training.
The establishment of the Marrakech-Safi Skills and Professions City involved a substantial budget of 466 million MAD, with 330 million MAD allocated for construction works and 136 million MAD for equipment.
As reported by aujourdhui.ma.
