Boeing (NYSE: BA) is taking the opportunity to celebrate its 100thanniversary and its deep-rooted relationship with Egypt to conduct a wide range of community and workforce development programs in the country.
Boeing works with organizations in Egypt to help reduce unemployment and develop the workforce in marginalized communities, including a multi-year collaboration with Injaz Egypt on a program called “Start Up”.
“Start Up” provides university students and young graduates seed funding and professional training to turn creative ideas into viable business opportunities. To date, Injaz Egypt has empowered 1,135 entrepreneurs and facilitated the launch of 43 startups and 10 revenue-generating companies.
This year Boeing collaborated with World Learning, an education-focused nonprofit organization, on two different initiatives. The first initiative works to improve the services provided to visually-impaired women in Egypt, as well as raise awareness about the need for their inclusion in society.
World Learning aims to build the capacity of workers and caregivers with new skills and competencies through a partner NGO called Light & Hope. These new skills will help promote the inclusion of visually-impaired workers and raise awareness of their abilities among decision-makers.
Boeing is also supporting World Learning’s existing efforts to help the Ministry of Education (MoE) in Egypt enhance Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education in public preparatory schools nationwide.
Boeing has collaborated to bring Curiosity Machine, an engineering-focused design program, to Egypt. Families and teachers will participate with the students to complete these hands-on science and engineering projects, which develop skills like curiosity, creative problem solving and persistence – important for future study or work in growing fields like aerospace.
Another partnership is with Education For Employment (EFE), an organization that delivers demand-driven job training and placement programs that link youth directly to employment opportunities.
The Youth Employment Services program targets unemployed youth aged 18-30 from public universities or local technical training institutes and from marginalized backgrounds. With Boeing’s support, 100 Egyptian youth in Greater Cairo will be trained and linked to job opportunities.
In addition, 350 other job-seeking, underprivileged Egyptian university students in Greater Cairo will be equipped with employability skills in EFE’s Career Directions program.
In addition to nonprofit organizations, Boeing works with higher education institutions to provide them with the support they need and the experiences the students require to transition into the workforce.
Boeing is currently working with Cairo University on a grant that will go towards curriculum enrichment, University outreach programs such as recruitment drives, public seminars and high school workshops, as well as senior design projects focused on accident investigation, weather stations, and a flight simulator.
