Education for Employment (EFE) Tunisie held a ceremony on August 31 to celebrate its 10th anniversary and the successful completion of the U.S. Embassy-funded “Supporting Job Creation for Young Tunisians from Marginalized Communities” project.

The project closing ceremony honored the final cohort of Tunisian youth from Medenine, Gabes, Tozeur, Tataouine, Beja, Siliana, Kef, and Jendouba who received skills training and have since been recruited by private-sector businesses such as SEBN-TN, Magasins Aziza, HPP, Sodem, Sartex, Gump, Digital Sweep, Digital Tex, and Miral Motors.

“We are making this investment because we believe in Tunisia’s future. The U.S. Embassy is particularly focused on youth entrepreneurship and private sector engagement. We recognize that empowering and engaging youth and women throughout the country is essential for Tunisia to thrive,” Chargée Franceschi said.

The closing ceremony coincided with the date of EFE Tunisie’s 10th anniversary. During the anniversary celebration, EFE highlighted its achievements over the last ten years and recognized partners who have contributed to the successes of EFE. These include the U.S. Embassy, the Drosos Foundation, the Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training, the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, ANETI, and its private sector partners.

Since its launch in 2012, EFE Tunisie has helped thousands of young Tunisians gain the necessary soft and technical skills to find jobs and grow their businesses. EFE Tunisia also has placed 3,500 of those youth in different sectors such as IT, healthcare, tourism, and commerce.

With the support of the U.S. Embassy, EFE Tunisie opened a new office in January 2021 in Zarzis, ensuring better proximity to young job seekers in remote southern regions. The Zarzis office helped launched StarTech, a technology incubator that gives young entrepreneurs the skills to start or expand their businesses.

With the support of Drosos Foundation, EFE launched the EFE-Tunisie Academy, a social enterprise that provides training to employers according to their targeted needs.

The ceremony took place in the presence of the Minister of Vocational Training and Employment, Nasreddine Nsibi, the U.S. Embassy Chargée d’Affaires a.i., Natasha Franceschi, Regional Director of the Drosos Foundation Firas Mawazini, EFE Global CEO Andrew Baird, and EFE-Tunisie President Donia Hedda Ellouz.

As anniversary celebrations were underway in Tunisia, the EFE-Tunisie team dedicated a Special Award to Ron Bruder, the Founder and President of EFE, in recognition of his great vision and outstanding leadership in fostering youth employment and entrepreneurship in Tunisia and the MENA region!

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