TUI Futureshapers turns social challenges into entrepreneurial opportunities for women in Tunisia - Get updated on what's happening in tourism!

Despite its strong education system, a lack of knowledge and life skills about which career to pursue means that unemployment in Tunisia is high, especially among female graduates. Additionally, and although Tunisia has implemented significant changes in its constitutional, legislative, and policy framework to promote gender equality and eliminate gender-based discrimination, the labour market doesn’t yet reflect this, and women still only constitute a quarter of the workforce, facing an unemployment rate that is twice that of men.

The TUI Futureshapers programme in Tunisia aims to counter this by building the capacity of 60 female peer mentors, enabling them to deliver mentoring sessions to their peers and resulting in more than 500 young Tunisian females, aged between 18 – 28, becoming engaged in quality learning, employability and healthy lifestyles.

This peer-to-peer model implements a variety of mentorship activities to ease the transition to work for women, increase academic retention and empower them to make informed career decisions. Extensive mentoring will improve employability by building the necessary skills and work experience that allow women to succeed in a job and advance their careers. It also supports them in further developing the soft skills necessary for successful employment.

In addition to the peer-to-peer mentoring, participants will gain access to a series of online webinars led by well-established entrepreneurs, covering topics such as business model creation, marketing strategies, idea pitching and tourism innovation.

Thuraya Ismail – Mentor Arabia Executive Director says: ‘’The real wealth for any human development begins during their youth. Each one of us is capable of becoming a mentor and creating positive change in the lives of many young people, and together we can deliver a message filled with hope, creativity and determination for improving the present and creating a better future’’.

A partnership with the Student Entrepreneur Centre of the University of Monastir (PEEMO) has been secured through the programme. This collaboration has opened possibilities to connect with beneficiaries in key touristic sites for the country, including Monastir, Mahdia, and Sousse.

A highlight of the project is an entrepreneurship competition, where participants will have the opportunity to showcase their entrepreneurial ideas and projects. This competition will be the pinnacle of the programme, with participants pitching their projects to a distinguished panel of judges. Winners will not only receive recognition for their innovative ideas, but will also gain access to seed funding and ongoing support to transform their visions into thriving ventures. With that, six new female-led social enterprises will be established and supported in Tunisia.

Alexander Panczuk, Executive Director of the TUI Care Foundation, says: “The TUI Care Foundation recognises the strength and resilience of Tunisian women and their distinctive leadership potential. A new generation of talented and skilled female entrepreneurs will help to pave the way for Tunisia to thrive. This programme is a unique opportunity to uplift and empower women across Tunisia and give them all the tools they need to become successful business owners.”

TUI Futureshapers Tunisia is part of the international TUI Futureshapers programme that empowers young people to turn social challenges into entrepreneurial opportunities in tourism destinations such as Portugal, Morocco, Senegal, Cape Verde and Tanzania.

Image Credit: © TUI Group