The gap between education and job opportunities has never been this large. Estimated at around 12.2%, the unemployment rate in the Arab World, especially in the Maghreb region, remains to this date the highest in the world. The unemployment rate among the 15 to 24 year olds blithely reaches 30%; even young graduates find it extremely difficult to enter the job market. Statistics show that in Morocco, 40% of young graduates cannot find a job while they are almost 70% in Libya.
The problem cannot be traced back solely to the school system. The Tunisian educational system is often quoted as an example in the region; in 2009, 35% of an age class graduated from university, among which 60% were female graduates; in the meantime, the illiteracy rate decreased to 19%.
Despite some differences, Maghreb countries face a common set of challenges: modernizing their educational systems and coordinating them with their job markets. In parallel, they will need to tackle their brain drain issue that deprives them from their most-educated elite.
Time is of the essence: the 2011 Arab revolutions were fueled by a frustrated youth, disgruntled by its lack of perspective. Should the Maghreb governments fail, this would only strengthen and radicalize their movement.
