Know What You Want

Many young Tunisians believe that employment and a career depend on university degrees, and above all on the baccalaureate. It is true that the job market and company recruitment are closely tied to academic level, but this does not mean that a jobseeker who has not completed higher or secondary education has no chance of finding work. The secret lies in defining your vision, which is a way of looking ahead at your career. As the late Egyptian Dr Ibrahim Elfiky said: “Know what you want, so that you can get it.”

In the German education system, for example, we find a very particular vision. The Germans have reached such a high level of awareness that they steer their young people towards either university or vocational training, according to each pupil’s skills and level. For them, some are able to pursue a university degree, while others have an academic level and technical skills that do not allow them to go beyond the advanced stages of secondary and higher education. Education is a right for everyone, but why not come back to the reality of the job market? We cannot all be teachers, engineers, doctors or lawyers. Try to choose the right path in your education so that you find a job straight away. Do not look down on vocational training, because it can open bright prospects for you. In Tunisian culture, vocational training is seen as a fallback for pupils who do not excel. In the West, the view is different: vocational training is a fast and excellent way to find a job.

Many graduates cannot find work, whereas, according to studies carried out by a private university in Tunisia that trains those who did not manage to obtain the baccalaureate, 79% of its graduates at professional higher technician or higher technician level find a job immediately after graduating. This does not mean that a university degree is unimportant, but success in life does not depend on it one hundred per cent. Around the world, we find many success stories in which a vocational training qualification (and I stress the word “vocational”, meaning training in a specific, well-defined speciality) became a successful career, through founding companies and breaking into national and international markets.

We must change the negative view of alternative pathways. Vocational training is a solution to the problem of unemployment. To all the young people who have lost hope because they did not obtain the baccalaureate or a university degree: do not forget the skilled trades, which the job market never stops asking for. Let me come back to Europe, where small trades such as plumbing, air conditioning, mechanics, electronics and others are in great demand, to the point that these graduates of vocational training now work in some of the most important fields nationally in developed countries.

In these difficult economic times, the hour has come to work for our beloved country. Try not to forget what Tunisia has given you despite all the problems and obstacles. Know what you want, never look down on any job whatever it may be, and remember that you are not working only to earn your daily bread but for Tunisia. Work, and keep working morning, evening and on Sundays. Then go for it.