USAID’s goal for the 2020-2025 CDCS is to advance Morocco’s resilience, prosperity, and self-reliance. This goal focuses on increasing the self-reliance of a key U.S. partner by unlocking Morocco’s potential to create new jobs, enhance the overall education performance level and job skills of its citizens, and increase citizen participation in governance. USAID will use its enduring and strong relationship with the Government of Morocco (GOM) to assist in key areas of subnational governance and community resilience, as the GOM works to enhance the quality of subnational governance through its regionalization program. USAID will also strengthen its engagement with the Moroccan Ministry of Education (MOE) and private sector entities to promote systemic reform in Morocco’s education system, and to address the concerning mismatch between the skills of Morocco’s young workforce (labor supply) and available employment opportunities (labor demand).1 This labor market imbalance stunts Morocco’s economic growth, frustrates Moroccan youth unable to find jobs with their skill sets, and hampers Morocco’s development.
This strategy period begins at an extremely critical time for Morocco as it rebuilds an economy reeling from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. By the end of this strategy period, USAID expects to have supported key reform efforts in Morocco’s education system that will have led to improved learning outcomes across Morocco. USAID’s focus on improving local governance in two target regions will provide a sound evidence base to the GOM to expand innovative approaches to making local governance systems more effective and responsive to citizen needs. USAID will have also improved the livelihoods of Moroccans in targeted regions through business environment, workforce development, and entrepreneurship programming. Lastly, USAID will have further improved the resilience of communities vulnerable to exclusion by supporting the reintegration of at-risk youth, providing them with skills and support to be productive members of their communities. USAID will also promote interfaith and tolerance initiatives to strengthen community resilience.
