Thousands of young Tunisian job seekers stand to benefit from a new partnership between leading non-governmental organisations Silatech and AIESEC.

Silatech is a regional social initiative focused on helping improving employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for young people throughout the Arab world.

AIESEC is the world's largest student-run organization, active in over 124 countries and territories, with an international platform that enables young people to be global citizens and explore and develop their leadership potential.

The two organizations will join efforts to connect job seekers with the tools, resources, training and job opportunities provided through the online Tounes Ta3mal platform.

Youth unemployment is a pressing problem in the Arab world, as the region has the highest youth unemployment rate (28 per cent) of any region in the world. The problem is especially acute in Tunisia, which according to the Tunisian government has a youth unemployment rate of 42.3 per cent.

Tounes Ta3mal (www.tounesta3mal.com) helps young job seekers through links to career guidance, soft skills and entrepreneurship training, eLearning, as well as internships and entry level job opportunities.

Tounes Ta3mal is part of the regional Ta3mal network, which now has localized country portals in Egypt, Qatar, Iraq, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Palestine.

Silatech and Microsoft are regional co-partners, while at the local level, 64 partners from the non-profit, education, governmental and private sectors provide specialized content, job opportunities, and access to services appropriate for each country.

Tounes Ta3mal was founded by Silatech and Microsoft in October 2013, in partnership with Edupartage, a Tunisian social network dedicated to education and society.

Formally announced in front of 700 students during AIESEC Tunisia’s “Get Ready” conference in mid-November, the partnership kicked off with a one-day training on November 30 of twelve AIESEC Tunisia members to discuss employment challenges in Tunisia and how Ta3mal can help young job seekers.

Trainees also brainstormed outreach approaches to implement Tounes Ta3mal in over 20 universities throughout the country.

Ali Mnif, Silatech Country Representative in Tunisia, said this was a natural partnership between two leading youth-focused organisations.

"Through AIESEC’s extensive access to the student community, Tounes Ta3mal will reach more of its target audience, and thousands more young Tunisians will benefit from the resources it provides," he stated.

Affes Chahine, National Board President for AIESEC in Tunisia, said: "Silatech is a partner of choice for a youth-led organization like AIESEC. Our dedication to solving unemployment issues through our career development programs means our organization naturally supports promising initiatives like Tounes Ta3mal."

Direct job placement is a core offering of Ta3mal, and its primary focus on entry-level positions distinguishes it from other job search platforms.

To strengthen this capacity further in Tunisia, AIESEC will both promote Tounes Ta3mal’s job functionality among its partner employers and business associations, but will also assist them in the process of creating accounts on the platform and listing job vacancies.-TradeArabia News Service