Offshoring: hampered by skills shortage in Morocco

The arrival of Western Offshoring Companies , SSII, attracted by Moroccan government incentives, has led to salary inflation of IT expertise in Morocco. Especially because the Government had initially focused its training efforts on the BPO, Business Process Outsourcing, market that is still struggling to take off.
Wage inflation, lack of IT profiles, and difficulty in finding on-site expertise. The opinions of those were interviewed converge: the takeoff of the Kingdom in the off shoring has not proceeded smoothly. In the first case, human resources available are relatively limited. Hence the rush of recruiters that has compounded the arrival of many western SSII, attracted by the incentives put in place by the Moroccan government.

A key factor is a surge in wages, including those or profiles of IT engineers. If the salary of a technician is around 4 000 dirhams per month (350 euros), the salary of an engineer is between 10 000 and 12 000 dirhams (between 890 and 1 070 euros). This salary may double within three to four years. "The economic slow down has calmed down wages in call centers, says Zniber Amine, Regional Director of the school Supinfo Morocco (see the interview video below in French). But it triggered a wage inflation among IT engineers accelerated with the arrival on new foreign High tech Companies.
The surge in wages, a benefit to employees, jeopardizes the takeoff of the offshore sector, which is based primarily on settlement activities of large software houses. But if salary inflation continues, they might be tempted to turn to cheaper countries. Of course, the Moroccan government has implemented a program to boost the number of engineers trained each year (15 000 per year by 2013), especially through the establishment of schools as Supinfo, while providing means for employers to adapt the available expertise (through participation in training costs).

But this effort will put a few more years to produce fruit. Especially since the Moroccan government had not relied at the outset on the development of BPO (Business Process Outsourcing), rather than offshore computer High tech. As explained in an interview with the Moroccan Minister of Industry, Trade and New Technologies Ahmed Reda Chami, "anticipation of our departure has led us to train more profiles than profiles BPO ITO (ITOutsourcing). We have therefore launched an operation to catch up, ForShore 3000, to reclassify 3 000 people on the trades of the ITO in six to nine months. "
“There is a real shortage" said Reydet-Rousselet Isabelle, manager of CMC2, a consulting and communications firm based in Casablanca, although a number of companies are trying to fill this gap by returning Moroccan expats, MRE, an acronym widely used in designating the Moroccans residing abroad. An HR bonanza that was used by the Indian TCS to run its subsidiary based in Casa-near-shore, the area dedicated to off-shoring installed on the outskirts of the economic capital.

A Last challenge for recruiters: navigate through the labyrinth of training. To form a young population - and meet the expectations of companies being set up - private schools are mushrooming in major cities of Morocco.
"for the level Bac +2, accreditation work has been done by the authorities. But for higher education, accreditation work is still ongoing." Said Supinfo director Zniber Amine, he believes that diplomas issued by schools should be approved next year.

Renault says on track to build plant in Morocco-CEO

RABAT, June 15 (Reuters) - France's No.2 carmaker Renault (RENA.PA) is going ahead with plans to build a factory to produce low-cost vehicles in Morocco despite the global downturn, the company's chief said on Monday.

The media in Morocco and abroad cast doubt on whether the factory would be built after the deepening economic crisis forced Japan's Nissan Motor Co (7201.T), which is in an alliance with Renault, to withdraw from the project early this year.

The project, being done in partnership with the Moroccan government, was announced in September. At the time the Renault-Nissan alliance said it would involve total investments of 600 million euros in manufacturing capacity.

Carlos Ghosn, who is both president and chief executive of Renault, and president of Nissan, flew from Paris to visit the plant site in Tangiers, and to meet king Mohammed and top government officials in Rabat to dispel any doubt about the factory's future.

"All what has been planned will be achieved," Ghosn told a news conference in Rabat, adding that he had already approved the investment for plant equipment.

"The buildings of this plant will be erected beginning September this year," Ghosn said, adding that the only change would be "the rate of production" of the factory, which would depend on market circumstances.

"The first cars good for sales will be produced from the Tangier plant in January 2012 as scheduled," he said.

Ghosen said Nissan would be part of the project in the future as it was now focusing now in a similar project in India.

"I'm the CEO and I'm telling you that," he said in a reply to a reporter who asked him for evidence that Nissan would rejoin the project. The factory is an important project for Morocco, where the government has invested more than $10 billion in developing the northern areas of the country around the Mediterranean port complex of Tangiers.

The government is hoping that investing the region will result in more jobs for the local people, many who have been eking out their livings from transporting illegal migrants into Europe and participating in the growing trade in smuggling cannabis into Spain.

The European Union has been putting pressure on Morocco to eradicate the production of cannabis there.

Ghosn said the planned car plant in Tangier would employ 4,000 people directly and 24,000 people indirectly and would help Morocco develop its fledgling industry of car components. (Reporting by Lamine Ghanmi; editing by Karen Foster)

Sam Kaplan, the New US Ambassador to Morocco to be Appointed Shortly

Democratic fundraiser, is likely to become the U.S. ambassador to Morocco, according to Democratic sources . Sam Kaplan, a top fundraiser for President Obama's 2008 campaign finance committee, is now being vetted and is expected to be named to the ambassadorial post soon.
In addition to president Obama, Sam Kaplan has donated to several democratic candidates , including congressman Keith Ellison, soon to be senator Al Franken, as well to the Democratic national committee.

Another prominent Minnesotan in Washington is Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress who has traveled in the region to promote peace, since being elected to Congress in 2006. Sam Kaplan would be one of a small number of Jewish ambassadors who have been sent to the region. Mr. Kaplan, 72, would follow in the footsteps of another famous Minnesotan, former Vice President Walter Mondale, who was President Bill Clinton's ambassador to Japan.
Mr. Kaplan's appointment would be subject to confirmation by the U.S. Senate. His name has been circulated recently because government officials have reportedly been interviewing friends and associates in Minnesota.
Mr. Kaplan was Born in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1936. He went to college at the University of Minnesota, B.B.A., graduated in, 1957. He attended law school at University of Minnesota, J.D., magna cum laude, 1960

Morocco interest rate likely to stay at 3.25 pct -cbank

MARRAKECH, Morocco, May 29 (Reuters) - Morocco is likely to leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 3.25 percent at a meeting next month, Central Bank governor Abdellatif Jouahri said on Friday.

'We will meet in June to review Moroccan economic policy, but all the indicators say that we will keep it at 3.25,' he told reporters on the sidelines of a finance conference in the Moroccan city of Marrakech.

The central bank cut the benchmark rate from 3.5 to 3.25 percent in March, saying underlying inflation was falling and the outlook for the global economy was likely to worsen.

Economic growth in the north African kingdom slowed to 4.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008 from 5.4 percent in the third quarter and 6.5 percent in the second.

The slowing world economy is having a knock-on effect on exports, tourism, transfers of funds by Moroccans living abroad and foreign direct investment.