2006-2007 F E M I S E R E... P R O G R A M M E

In collaboration with :
Audrey DUMAS, Lest-CNRS, Aix Marseille
Mohamed ELMERGHADI, Université Mohamed V-Rabat
Driss EL YACOUBI, Secrétariat d’Etat chargé de la Formation
Professionnelle Rabat
Saïd HANCHANE, Lest-CNRS, Aix Marseille
May 2008
FEMISE RESEARCH
PROGRAMME
2006-2007
Research n°FEM31-23
Directed By
Jamal BOUOIYOUR, CATT, Université de Pau
Ce rapport a été réalisé avec le soutien financier de
la Commission des Communautés Européennes. Les
opinions exprimées dans ce texte n’engagent que
les auteurs et ne reflètent pas l’opinion officielle de
la Commission.
This report has been drafted with financial assistance
from the Commission of the European Communities.
The views expressed herein are those of the authors
and therefore in no way reflect the official opinions of
the Commission.
Evaluation of the Professional Training
System and its Impacts on
Development:
Comparison Between Morocco and Tunisia

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Evaluation of the Professional Training System and its Impacts on
Development: Comparison Between Morocco and Tunisia
Jamal BOUOIYOUR
CATT, Université de Pau
[e-mail]
May 2008

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Executive Summary
This study is motivated by the poor accumulation of physical capital in the Maghreb countries,
the low levels of national savings and the inability to overcome this weakness through Foreign
Direct Investment (FDI). These factors have caused the necessity to find other sources for
growth. Thus, it is very important to develop an educational and training strategy to build human
capital and to address the needs of these economies. By improving the skills, shaping
competencies, developing efficacy and mobility of the labor, education will certainly contribute to
the enhancement of the Total Factor Productivity (PTF).
In this context, the main objective of the study is to evaluate the pace, the quality and nature of
the integration of the professional training graduates in the economies of Tunisia and Morocco.
This study is structured around five chapters:
Chapter 1 is dedicated to an in-depth analysis of professional training in Morocco. It puts
emphasis on the public policies and the reforms initiated in the eighties. After a historical
reminder on the genesis of professional training, Mr. Driss EL YACOUBI shows that this later
contributed, not only, to the improvement of the qualification rate of the persons who reach the
job market, but it also widely facilitated the linkages of the educational system with its economic
environment. However, in spite of this progress there are still needs of restructurings and the
strengthening the professional training instrument
Chapter 2 proposes a national development strategy and the requirements to review the
professional Training – Qualification instrument in Morocco. Having detailed the various phases
of the development of Morocco and the reforms organized by the Moroccan authorities in the
various branches of industry, Mr. Mohamed ELMERGHADI quantifies the sector-based needs
in professional training in connection with the emergence of new professions. After the success -
with mixed results, so far -, of macroeconomic reforms in Morocco since its independence, the
country is ready today to face the competition which dictated the opening in which Morocco has
widely adopted, with an increased emphasis on educational system.
Chapter 3 offers an analysis of institutional aspects of professional training in Tunisia. Mr. Jamal
BOUOIYOUR describes briefly the genesis of this system and pointed out that Tunisia in spite
of remarkable progress, suffers from some problems related to the low and partial integration of
the professional training system in the general system of training. We find this phenomenon in
Morocco also. In a more precise way, the implement of professional training turns out incapable

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to anticipate future professions. Furthermore, when certain professions are not any more asked
on the labour market, the implement continues to form candidates without taking into account
the demand in labour market. Also, the professional training continues to convey, as in Morocco,
a negative image with the public as well as companies. Finally, linkages between professional
training and the other elements of the system of training are little numerous, or even inexistent.
All these dysfunctionalities, and many others, exist well and truly in both countries. The detailed
historical reminder supplied in the first chapter by Mr. EL YACOUBI confirms it. However, we
can reveal important differences in the implements of professional training of both countries. At
first, the production of diplomas is three times more important for Morocco than in Tunisia,
then, the restructuring of the sector of the vocational training began rather in Morocco with
regard to Tunisia and finally, the organization of the training is more effective in Morocco
compared to Tunisia.
Chapter 4 confirms exactly the previous evidence and points out that Morocco " made better"
that Tunisia at the level of the impact of the human resources - professional training - on the
economic growth. Jamal BOUOIYOUR and Saïd HANCHANE use the Solow augmented
model to quantify the long-term determinants of growth in both countries.
In the Tunisian case, these later are the capital in the broad sense (physical and human), the
growth of the population and the lagged GDP (what confirms the occurrence of the catching-up
phenomenon). In Morocco, we find the same variables except the capital (in the broad sense)
which is not always significant. If at the level of the general training Tunisia is more successful
than Morocco, at the level of the professional training Morocco is better than Tunisia.
Chapter 5 presents a micro econometric study based on data of the OFPPT graduates over the
period 2000, 2001 and 2002. The objective of this chapter is to estimate the performance and the
return of professional training in term of integration of the professional training graduates in
labour market. The estimations are made using two models. The first one is a model with fixed
effect which is converging and efficient in the context of this study. The second is a model with
heterogeneous parameters where we consider the effects of factors of integration that can be
scattered and vary from an individual to the other one.
The results show that globally the implement of professional training is efficient as far as the
rates of employability are very significant. The authors - Jamal BOUOIYOUR, Audrey DUMAS
and Saïd HANCHANE - conclude that the graduates of the professional training are confronted
with a double problem. On one hand, the difficulties inherent to the Moroccan labour market

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which has its own specific logic, and on the other hand, an effect of reputation pertaining to the
system of professional training. This effect of reputation spread beyond the general public to
reach companies. Also, the public policies of assistant to the employability of graduates from
professional training are inefficient, while networks and practices of cooptation are the mean
privileged persons to fit easily into the labour market. The role of the State seems crucial at this
level to overcome not only against this phenomenon, but also to put the professional training in
the heart of the implement of training and educational policy in Morocco.
Concerning job training, we highlight that the special training contracts (contrats spéciaux de
formation) is an efficient measure of public policy. Indeed, job training programs increase the
competitiveness and the performances of Moroccan firms. Besides, these effects are even
better when the implementation of training by Moroccan firms is part of a real strategy of
human resources development. On the contrary, when firms consider the public policy only as
a financing opportunity, they are severely sanctioned.