“Tax Incentives” and “Financing”: Keys to Supporting the Employment of New Graduates in the Outsourcing Sector
Amid the rapid growth of the outsourcing industry in Egypt, a key challenge remains in attracting companies and employing local talent: “graduate readiness”.
Industry experts believe that the solution lies in restructuring educational curricula and intensifying collaboration between the government and the private sector, ensuring the graduation of youth who are linguistically and technically qualified for an increasingly competitive global market.
Additionally, there is a need to offer tax exemptions or financing to encourage companies that hire new graduates.
Mahfouz: Education Development and Collaboration Between Telecom and Higher Education Are Essential for Preparing Graduates for the Outsourcing Market
Engineer Amr Mahfouz, CEO of Delta Electronics Systems and former Chairman of the ITIDA (Information Technology Industry Development Agency), emphasized that the ability of companies to attract young graduates to work in the outsourcing industry heavily depends on the quality of education, which requires continuous improvement and development.
Mahfouz explained that university graduates must be professionally qualified for the job market, especially in fields that require strong communication skills like call centers.
He pointed out the necessity for coordination and collaboration between the Ministry of Communications and the Ministry of Higher Education to improve the language proficiency of students and align academic curricula with the needs of the job market, ensuring that graduates are prepared for future roles.
He also added that Egypt graduates about 600,000 students annually from universities and higher institutes, with approximately 230,000 of them coming from practical colleges.
This large number represents a massive human resource that requires early qualification within educational institutions through curricula that meet market demands.
This would save time, effort, and resources compared to training them after graduation.
In this context, Mahfouz stressed the importance of expanding employment opportunities and seeking talent across different governorates such as Mansoura, Tanta, Assiut, Qena, and Aswan, rather than focusing on specific regions.
He concluded by affirming the need for companies to strive to increase the added value of what they offer by exporting integrated products and services, rather than just exporting individuals, thus enhancing Egypt’s position in the global IT and outsourcing services market.
Omran: Granting Tax Exemptions or Financing to Companies That Hire New Graduates
Yasser Omran, CEO of Alorica Egypt, stressed the importance of developing educational curricula to meet the needs of the outsourcing services market in Egypt.
He also advocated for partnerships between universities and sector companies to train students through intensive programs (Bootcamps) in languages and technical skills.
Omran stated that companies should also offer economic incentives to attract university graduates, such as providing competitive salaries, additional benefits, and offering remote or hybrid job opportunities.
He suggested that tax exemptions or financing should be provided to outsourcing companies that hire new graduates. Additionally, successful models of graduates who have succeeded in this field should be shared.
He pointed out that the job opportunities available for graduates in the outsourcing industry include customer service, technical support, data analysis, programming, translation, and the required skills such as English language proficiency, technical skills, and effective communication.
Omran noted that the challenges facing graduates include a lack of necessary skills for the job market, competition with labor from other countries, and cultural and linguistic challenges when dealing with foreign clients.
He also cited several outsourcing companies that have successfully attracted and trained university graduates, such as Cybertech, Xceed, and Teleperformance.
