The development of partnership programmes between Tunisia and Germany, geared towards boosting the employment of young tertiary graduates and their vocational retraining in response to companies' needs for specialised skills, was the focus of a meeting held on Monday between Minister of Employment and Vocational Training Lotfi Dhieb and German Ambassador to Tunisia Peter Prgel. The two sides agreed to continue implementing projects that have proved their effectiveness and achieved the expected results, and to prioritise programmes in promising sectors such as renewables, the environment and waste recycling, according to a ministry press release. Emphasis was also laid on the need to cement partnership between the National Agency for Employment and Self-Employment (ANETI) and its German counterpart, and between Tunisian and German vocational training centres, in order to establish joint degree courses and better meet the German companies' needs in skills. It was also agreed to share experiences in the field of distance learning engineering development and to launch discussions on these issues as soon as possible. The minister commended on the occasion, the level of cooperation with the German side and the quality of the joint partnership programmes, notably the results achieved, which form part of the government's work programme in the fields of building the skills of human resources, improving the employability of young people, encouraging entrepreneurship and the economic empowerment of vulnerable groups. The German ambassador, for his part, hailed the quality of Tunisian skills, which have proved their ability to contribute to the development of the competitive capacities of economic enterprises, affirming his country's willingness to continue cooperating with Tunisia to develop the national vocational training system and contribute to reducing unemployment and irregular migration by guaranteeing international employment opportunities within an organised framework. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse