A Professional Tune Up
This father of two found a steady job that helps him take care of his two main passions: his family and trucks.
It’s barely 9 in the morning but already the sun is beating down on the valley filled with trucks at the excavation site in Harrcha, the main quarry that feeds Nador West Med, Morocco’s largest active construction site. The landscape is filled with a constant hum of trucks filing in and out of the site. However, this morning, one truck is not running.
Donning his gloves, helmet and pressing his safety glasses onto the bridge of his nose, 30-year-old Azzedine Khouadri slowly inspects the out-of-service truck. A few minutes later he returns to the car to fetch his computer diagnostic system. “This is going to take a while,” he says with a smile.
Not so long ago, Azzedine, the father of two girls, moved from one unskilled job to another, with meager salaries and dwindling prospects. His diploma in vehicle maintenance from seven years ago never helped him much in finding a steady, well-paying job. Azzedine would look at his young daughters, Manar and Selma, and his heart broke that he couldn’t provide them with a more comfortable life.
Azzedine’s story is not unusual: almost half of Moroccans between 15 and 29 are neither in school nor part of the workforce — despite the fact that many do hold a technical certificate or a university degree.
Azzedine has always felt comfortable around machines. “When I was about 10 years old, I would come with my dad to the garage where he worked and would follow the technicians around.” When he heard about the USAID-funded heavy machinery maintenance training academy in a nearby city, Azzedine jumped at the opportunity and proudly joined the first group of students.
The academy closely collaborates with the private sector to provide internship opportunities and give students exposure to the workforce. During his studies, Azzedine interned at a major heavy duty machinery maintenance workshop in Casablanca, where his supervisors quickly noticed his exceptional diligence and technical knowledge, which set him apart. His supervisor, Martinez Molina, said, “he’s a rare find. He not only does his job well but he helps out others — in other words, a real model for everyone.”
At the end of the program, Azzedine graduated the academy at the top of his class and found a job waiting for him as a maintenance technician at the company where he interned. He is now proudly working as a lead technician at the Harrcha quarry, where he earns a competitive salary doing work that he is truly passionate about.
Though the work keeps him away from his family, Azzedine is confident that he made the right decision. “I get back to see them whenever I’m on leave,” he says smiling. “This summer they will all be coming to see me, and I can’t wait.”
With a steady job, Azzedine has found a sense of purpose and a renewed hope in the future. “Before, I didn’t know where I was going. This program helped me get back on track,” Azzedine confides. “Now, if you’ll excuse me,” he interjects while reaching for his toolbox, “there’s a machine that needs some work.”
The training academy for heavy duty equipment and commercial vehicles is the fruit of a public-private partnership bringing together the Moroccan Government, Volvo Group, USAID and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, better known as UNIDO.
The academy is helping narrow the gap between supply and demand of skilled labor while boosting youth employability in heavy-duty machinery maintenance, a booming sector of the Moroccan economy.
To prepare the students for the workforce, the academy relies on a large variety of modern equipment, favors intensive practice over theory as a learning method for technical skills, gives major value to soft skills modules, and offers classes in technical French and English that are tailored and reviewed to meet the needs of the industry. Students are also given career advice and assistance in the job search. Since 2015, more than 150 students have participated in the program.
About the Author
Felix Duterte is a Communications Expert working with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in Morocco. To learn more about their work with USAID, follow @usaidmorocco and @UNIDOMorocco.
