ICT Job Fair Organized by the USAID Tunisia ICT Competitiveness Project Links Jobseekers to Employers

Resumes in hand, jobseekers queued in front of recruiting tables representing Tunisia’s leading ICT companies. An employment fair organized by the IDG led  USAID ICT Competitiveness Project attracted over 3,000 aspiring ICT professionals to the Tunis Science City on November 8.

For the candidates, the job fair, “Tunisi@Work,” represented a welcome chance to offer their skills and enthusiasm to the leading suppliers and consumers of ICT services. Jobseekers received advice from career counselors on CV writing and interviewing, attended seminars on how to use IT to find a job, and heard career tips aimed at addressing skills gaps.

Over 80 ICT and ICT-enabled companies were present, offering over 875 jobs around the country. Attendees praised the scope and breadth of recruiting companies and expressed hope that similar events would be offered in the future, including outside of the capital.

Speaking after the event, Mr. Amine Bakkar, a student at Tunisia Polytechnic School, was optimistic about his career prospects. “All participating companies were serious about their intentions to hire,” he said. They had real jobs to fill, so their attitude was really focused on screening and interviewing, which was different from previous events I attended.”

And for the potential employers, the fair represented an opportunity to match available vacancies with the best candidates. “The overall organization was excellent, and the jobseekers we received mostly met our expectations,” said Mr. Alexandre Taisne, director of a Tunis-based company Phone World. “We have already preselected 300 candidates for our job openings and have been interviewing since the event.”

“We are impatiently waiting for similar events in the future so that we can be among the participants again,” he added.

Sixty-three ICT students from three universities served as volunteers at the event handing out maps, forms, and job search tips. A five-minute Job Fair news report was screened during the 6:00 pm news on Télévision Tunisienne 1, the most watched TV channel.

The Project will tabulate exit questionnaires of participating employers and jobseekers and use them as a baseline to track subsequent job hires in one month.

The fair was sponsored in collaboration with a team of local counterparts: the Ministry of Vocational Training and Employment, the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, the National Agency for Employment and Independent Work, Education for Employment Tunisia, and the Elgazala Technopark.

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