Tunisia’s University Reforms Helping Graduates Find Jobs Faster

More than 4,000 students earned certifications in ICT, languages and communication skills, compared with an initial target of 2,400.

Tunisia's push to connect university education more closely with the workplace is showing measurable results, with thousands of students gaining practical skills and graduates finding jobs much faster than they did only a few years ago. The Tunisia Tertiary Education for Employability Project (TEEP), also known as PROMESSE, ran from 2016 to 2024 and supported more than 22,000 students, 83 percent of them women, while helping universities rethink how they prepare young people for employment.

Bringing university education closer to real jobs

Tunisia's higher education system had struggled with a gap between what students learned and what employers needed, while universities had limited freedom, weak employment data and few tools for planning courses around changing economic opportunities. PROMESSE introduced competitive grants known as the Programme d'Appui à la Qualité (PAQ), giving universities funding for projects focused on career guidance, employer-designed degree programs, applied research, digital transformation and stronger institutional management.

Across Tunisia's 13 public universities and more than 186 higher education institutions, the approach supported 460 competitive subgrants. Around 22,000 students benefited, far exceeding the original target of 14,000, while 92 percent reported satisfaction with the skills they acquired and satisfaction among female students reached 94 percent.

Students gained practical skills employers could use

More than 4,000 students earned certifications in ICT, languages and communication skills, compared with an initial target of 2,400. Another 200 PhD and postdoctoral researchers completed applied research inside companies and institutions, creating closer links between academic knowledge, innovation and workplace experience.

Quality improvements reached an even larger group, with around 120,000 students benefiting from upgraded academic programs, ISO certifications and international accreditations. All public universities and 111 university faculties also developed strategic plans based on their own priorities and employment opportunities.

Graduates are moving into work much faster

The strongest signs of change are in employment outcomes. Among students at beneficiary universities, the share securing jobs before graduation increased from 22 percent in 2019 to 55 percent in 2023. Graduates taking more than six months to find work fell sharply from 29 percent to just 3 percent during the same period.

Tunisia's overall tertiary graduate employment rate also increased from 68 percent in 2016 to 76 percent in 2024, reflecting a period when universities were building stronger relationships with companies through internships, co-developed curricula, career services and employment opportunities.

The next phase builds on PROMESSE

The project also changed how higher education reform can be financed and managed. Competitive grants tied funding more closely to results, while governance reforms helped increase the number of autonomous public universities and faculties from one to 16 by the project's completion.

The World Bank Group is carrying this experience forward through the Strengthening Tertiary Education for Employability, Innovation and Resilience (STEEIR) project, which will build on PROMESSE while bringing greater attention to innovation, resilience, climate-related challenges, human capital and private-sector job creation.