Tunisia

2024 developments at a glance

🏛️ Economic landscape: In October 2024, Kais Saied was re-elected President of Tunisia. His new term began amid ongoing challenges, including drought-hit agriculture, an ageing population and limited foreign financing. Tunisia’s 2023–2025 development plan, part of Strategic Vision 2035, aims to strengthen the state’s social role, improve the business climate, and boost innovation and private investment;

🎓 Education: Tunisia increased its education budget by 4.68% in 2024 to improve infrastructure, enhance teacher working conditions and tackle persistent issues such as education quality and early school leaving. A national consultation launched in 2023, involving over 580,000 students, teachers and parents, is driving reforms focused on equitable access to quality education, digital learning expansion through initiatives like Tunisia’s School of the Future, and better support for educators. Early school leaving dropped to 29.5% in 2024 from 32.4% in 2022, but challenges remain. Despite relatively high education spending, outcomes remain weak, with high unemployment among graduates with medium to high levels of education;

🏫 Vocational education and training (VET): Since 2021, Tunisia’s Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training has accredited nine VET centres as Entrepreneurial Centres, marking progress in the sector. However, high ministerial turnover has delayed the development of a new post-2020 VET strategy. Continuing VET remains fragmented, with only 1.3% of the population engaged in lifelong learning in 2023. Better integration of VET into the broader education system could enhance its attractiveness and increase the ease with which learners move between educational pathways. Meanwhile, factors such as migration, an ageing population and skills shortages are elevating the importance of lifelong learning and shaping current policy discussions;

🛠️ Work-based learning (WBL): Tunisia’s WBL system includes dual learning, apprenticeships, and traineeships, with dual learning accounting for 79% of placements. While WBL is viewed as essential for equipping the future workforce with practical skills, opportunities remain limited. Pre-COVID progress, including strategic partnerships with companies, was halted by the pandemic and efforts to revitalise the system have been slow. Strengthening social dialogue, and identifying and analysing skills needs should inject a new dynamism into the system;

💼 Labour market challenges: In Tunisia, labour force participation rises with education – 50.9% for those with higher education versus 35.4% for those with lower levels. However, a 2022 ETF study found that 45% of workers were underqualified for their jobs. Unemployment fell from 18% in 2021 to 15.6% in 2023, while youth unemployment dropped from 41.5% to 38.1%. Women continue to face major barriers due to cultural norms and caregiving roles, though targeted support and modest gains in participation are emerging. The Employment Vision 2030 aims to tackle recent socio-economic, political and health challenges through structured five-year action plans;

✅ Public employment services: Tunisia's public employment services continued to implement active labour market measures in 2023–2024, including work experience contracts, KARAMA dignity contracts for higher education graduates, and civil service contracts. The National Employment Agency (ANETI) supported over 100,000 job seekers in 2023, with a strong focus on women and entrepreneurship. Initiatives like the Start-Up Act provide targeted support for young entrepreneurs and innovative start-ups, reinforcing the country’s commitment to inclusive and sustainable job creation;

👦 👧 Youth in focus: The NEET rate (15-24-year-olds not in education, employment, or training) remains high at 30.3%, largely due to a lack of support for school leavers, barriers to employment, and a mismatch between the skills acquired and the labour market's needs; 

💻 Digital Skills Development: Tunisia’s 2021–2025 Digital Strategy includes the SMART Tunisia initiative, aimed at boosting digitalisation and positioning the country as a regional talent hub for job creation and economic growth. In 2023, the Tunis Future School Project was launched by the Ministry of Education and edtech company Classera, introducing a digital learning platform to 2.5 million students across 500 schools in its first phase, with nationwide expansion planned. Supported by the EU and World Bank, a major digitalisation programme is also underway to enhance public service delivery, leverage AI for job matching and personalise support for diverse jobseeker profiles.

Priorities for 2025

👉Supporting the Ministry of Vocational Education and Training and Employment and its agencies to develop and/or improve the national qualification system. Work also entails aligning Tunisia's qualification system with the African Continental Qualification Framework, and recognition of prior learning

👉Quality assurance of the VET system

👉Centres of Vocational Excellence (CoVEs)