“Encouraging employment” has always been, and will remain, one of the most reiterated slogans by public policies, across periods and nations alike. Morocco is no exception, and the Kingdom’s budgetary policy has taken this into account on multiple occasions.

Between training and skills enhancement programs and tax incentive measures for employment, the policy for promoting employability offers a range of programs with very evocative names.

Here is a summary of the main active programs, their scope, and their limitations.

The TAHFIZ Program

A brainchild of the Ministry of Employment, this program underwent a makeover with the 2018 Finance Act. It allows a newly established company to limit, for 2 years, the social cost associated with hiring its first ten (10) employees. The program covers employees whose net salary does not exceed 10,000 MAD. In return:

The employer is exempted from the employer’s share of social security contributions, which are covered by the State.

Employees are exempted from income tax, normally withheld at source and liquidated by the employer.

Although lacking substantial statistics, the program can already be deemed effective, considering its frequent utilization by entrepreneurs, as reported by financial professionals.

The IDMAJ Program

Established since 2006, this program aims to integrate young graduates into the economic fabric by allowing employers to hire them as trainees for 24 months. This integration contract, established between the employer, the trainee, and ANAPEC, involves:

Employer exemption from CNSS employer and employee contributions and professional training tax for the internship allowance ranging from 1,600 to 6,000 MAD for job seekers holding a higher education diploma, baccalaureate, equivalent diploma, or professional training diploma.

Exemption from income tax for the internship allowance, up to 6,000 MAD, paid to trainees.

This ambitious program has proven successful, especially for call centers seeking trainable profiles. However, it has been hindered by heavy administrative obligations and restrictive application conditions.

The TAEHIL Program

Initiated to meet companies’ needs for specific profiles, this program aims to grant them aid for training underqualified job seekers or those with mismatched profiles. While its training component for emerging sectors (automobile, aeronautics, etc.) has gained recognition, other sectors have been left behind. It’s a pertinent initiative but still struggles today due to the same perennial reasons:

Lack of coordination among stakeholders (employers, administration, and training institutes, notably).

Administrative burdens for compiling documentation, etc.

Research Contracts

The General Tax Code provides several exemptions, including those related to research contracts. This measure encourages the recruitment of young researchers in the doctoral cycle by exempting them from income tax on the allowances paid by their employer.

The exemption applies only to allowances not exceeding 6,000 MAD per month for 24 months.

This measure, intended to promote the recruitment of young research students, struggles to produce significant results due to the limited use of research contracts by companies, even those operating in innovative sectors.

Conclusion

In theory, with its ambitious programs, Morocco is well-equipped to promote youth employability. In theory! Indeed, these programs heavily rely on employers’ good faith and job seekers’ professionalism, two components still largely absent from Moroccan practices…