Seeds of Hope, a French programme that aims at improving technical education in Egypt’s technical schools, was the topic of
a recent press conference held at the French Consulate in Alexandria, Egypt. The conference was attended by Ambassador Janina Herrera, Consul of France in Alexandria; Engineer Ayman Badawi, director of the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Egypt (CCEF) in Alexandria; as well as representatives of the French NGO Institut Européen de Coopération et de Développement (IECD), France’s Developing Agency, and Alstom company.
The ‘Seeds of Hope’ Programme is funded by the IECD which has worked in Egypt since 2016 for developing vocational training for youth and basic management training for micro and small businesses. Also financing the programme are the French Consulate In Alexandria; the CCEF; and Egypt’s Education Ministry.
The programme started in 2016 with two industrial schools in Alexandria: the schools of Ras al-Soda Industrial School for boys and Wardian Industrial School for girls. It costs EUO250,000 a year, and focuses on technical education, especially in the field of electrical maintenance. It runs in collaboration with Egypt’s Ministry of Education and Alexandria governorate, and aims to develop a methodology for the maintenance of electricity workshops.
The first class will graduate in 2020; it includes 190 students, 135 male and 55 female, who will all be set to join the labour market in Alexandria.
Consul Herrera told Watani that the French Consulate always concerns itself with the interests of young Egyptian people, and working towards developing their qualifications in the labour market. “We are very proud of the efforts of the Seeds of Hope programme which started in 2016. “Through offering its students quality technical education and demeanor, it strives to change the prevalent idea that technical school students are inferior to those of regular schools. It’s quality education ensures excellent job opportunities its graduates.”
In a show of support for the Seeds of Hope programme, a major French construction company that has been working in Egypt since the 1970s in the field of railways and developing infrastructure in urban regions, has donated 160 cases of tools to the two industrial schools in Alexandria.
Watani International
11 November 2019
