Careers information and guidance in Tunisia : institutional and societal challenges

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of the different institutional contexts in which careers information and guidance are offered in Tunisia, both to students at the different levels of the education and training sector, and to youths and adults who are looking for employment. It discusses the extent and nature of labour market and occupational data available to Tunisians in making decisions about learning and work opportunities, noting major information deficits that lead most young people and their families to rely on anecdotal information that is neither reliable nor aware of the changing demands in various sectors of the economy. Specialised career guidance staff trained to a post-graduate level exist in Tunisia, but their regional services are largely confined to supporting the university programme choices of senior high school students, with practitioners not yet acting as a professional body to advance and regulate the field. Some of the most important institutional and societal challenges that careers information and guidance have to face up to in Tunisia are identified and described. The chapter concludes by highlighting a number of recent promising national and inter-ministerial cooperation developments.