By: Michael Armanious, MBA
Edit by: Nancy Girgis
Lately, there have been many depressing reports about the state of Egypt’s economy.
Egypt is in a severe state of economic and human crisis despite the fact that it has tremendous resources[1] such as human (with over 24 million employable persons), the River Nile and land (while Egypt covers an area over one million km2, only 6% of Egypt’s land is inhabited). Tourism is the driving force of the Egyptian economy and has the potential of creating millions of jobs. There are also resources such as the Suez Canal, petroleum, natural gas and much more. Despite all that, Egypt is still dealing with some serious challenges, especially after the January 25 popular uprising.
Sadly, following the revolution, there was a near-complete shutdown in the tourism industry ($10 billion in revenue in 2010 alone). Foreign reserves are decreasing sharply, which will impact the country’s ability to borrow more money or attract foreign investment. Furthermore, the country’s “traditional” challenges such as corruption, insufficient infrastructure, and, most importantly, its large workforce that is lacking the necessary job skills coupled with high unemployment.
Are there any solutions to these numerous challenges? Should they take the form of traditional aid and loans, or should we perhaps think outside the box?
On May 19, President Barack Obama announced a new financial assistance package geared at creating new jobs in Egypt. While this might be a viable solution in the short term, I doubt it will have any sustainable impact on the long-term challenges facing the country.
Egypt needs a new vision and different solutions to its long-term challenges, particularly the unskilled work force.
In reality, Egypt needs a revolution in its education system. Not in the post-secondary level, but in vocational/technical training.
On the same day President Obama announced his aid package for Egypt, I visited Minuteman High School in Lexington, Massachusetts. I wanted to learn more about vocational/technical training and if this formula could apply to Egypt. Let me say that I was blown away from what I learned that day. Superintendent Dr. Edward A. Bouquillon had arranged for two students (Mike Breen and Alejandro Cuellar) to give me a tour of the school and explain the vision behind the school’s curriculum.
I learned that the main component of the Minuteman formula is to understand the needs the market place and work with the employers to create courses. In recent years, the school created new departments such as electromechanical/robotics, biotechnology, business finance & marketing, and computer technology.
My two young tour guides took me from one department to another, explaining the vision and mission statement behind each one. At times, I was lost in the terminology they used; I thought I was talking to people at MIT as their intelligence was astounding. They further explained their career and academic path. Mike is aiming to obtain his PhD while Alejandro is working as a research assistant at a major hospital’s liver disease lab.
I was left wondering about the environment the school created for them, and if a similar environment could benefit Egypt’s students.
Mike and Alejandro selected this “alternative” path because they were interested in math and science and hands-on experience. The school not only offered them the opportunity to select a career they love, but also give them the skills to be employed upon graduation as well as the option to pursue a higher education.
Egypt has a great potential of becoming an energy exporter, not only to other Middle Eastern countries, but also to Europe. Historically, Egypt has proven that it is capable of massive engineering undertakings. Ancient Egyptians created one of the original wonders of the world, the Pyramids of Giza. More recently, in 1859, Egyptians began excavating the Suez Canal[2], which has since become a major source of revenue for the country. Meanwhile, in 1960, Egypt began work on the Aswan dam, which quickly became main source of electricity for the country, and in the process created Lake Nasser, a 6,000 km2 artificial lake.
Author and clean-energy entrepreneur Tony Seba believes that if Egypt took the equivalent landmass of Lake Nasser3 (which represents only 0.6% of Egypt’s landmass) and created a solar power plant, the country would have the capacity of becoming a global energy leader.
Egypt needs a new vision to achieve its full potential, and I firmly believe that a radical change at the vocational and technical training level is the solution.
Michael Armanious is the founder of Egypt Forward, which works to educate the American people about current events in Egyptian society.
