Egypt working to upgrade skills of its workers

RP news wires, Noria Corporation

Egypt is enhancing the production of the country's enterprises, by upgrading skills of workers. At this plastics factory outside Cairo, workers say they are getting the training they need to become more skilled-and more productive.

Ahmed Khaled, 21 years old, got his job at the Giza Plastics factory last year, right out of college. The new training has taught him and colleagues to recognize, and resolve, mechanical issues that sometimes impede production.

SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ahmed Khaled, Engineer:
I learned a lot because now I know what problems come from what part of the machine, and I can improve the product, and increase the number of clients!

Ahmed and thousands of other workers in Egypt are receiving specialized training under the countrys Skills Development Project.

The government-run project aims at getting private industries to use training courses, which improves the skills of their workers and- in turn -Egypts economy.

SOUNDBITE (English) Nihal Abdel Hamid, SDP Project Director:
We reach out to certain subsectors of the economy where the government thinks they are important for the economy, as in textile, food industries, furniture, engineering, but whoever in Egypt comes knocking on our door in need of our services we have to extend them to him.

Ayman Abdel Maqsoud works under the project training mechanical engineers at an insulator manufacturing company in Egypts 10th of Ramadan city.

SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ayman Abdel Maqsoud, Engineer:
I am transmitting to them experience of mine, and they tell me their problems, the work we do together reinforces their skills.

Its Midhat Mohameds first day of training at the company, where hes worked for two years.

SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Midhat Mohamed, trainee:
This allows us to apply practically what we have only learned theoretically. What we learned in college was only theory.

Under the project, Nihad Abdel Karim received training to increase her skills as a quality control manager at this Textile factory in the Egyptian city of Fayoum.

SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Nihad Abdel Karim, supervisor:
We take the training firstly to develop ourselves as supervisors, which in turn makes us more productive to the company!

The Skills Development Project-supported by the World Bank- has so far trained 22 thousand workers in 800 Egyptian enterprises. The training is tailored to meet the individual needs of each participating company, which pays ten percent of the total costs. The project pays the rest.

SOUNDBITE (English) Onsi Georgious, training consultant:
We have through our experience some companies who reduce the waste through training, some companies reduce the number of stoppage in the production line through the training because they train for maintenance.

Samir Sami Riad heads one of Egypts largest textile industries, whose workers are receiving training under the Skills project.

SOUNDBITE (English) Samir Sami Riad, Riad Group:
They know that if they improved the whole atmosphere and the whole thing and the results of the factory, it will reflect on them, and this is the positive side of it, and I am as an owner I believe if my people they will react and do a better job, I will react and they will get better wages and better money

He says a better production at his factory, translates into more income all around.

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