A memorandum of understanding relating to an investment project in the outsourcing sector was signed, Thursday in Rabat, between the Ministry of Digital Transition and Administrative Reform and the Thales group, on a value of more than 350 million dirhams.
Under this memorandum of understanding, signed by the Minister of Digital Transition and Administrative Reform, Ghita Mezzour and the CEO of Thales Holding Morocco, Hicham Alj, the French entity undertakes to invest more than 350 million dirhams in the cybersecurity sector, through the establishment of a nearshore center to serve its international customers, which will create nearly 150 direct jobs with high added value.
Speaking on this occasion, Ghita Mezzour said that this investment project, which comes on top of the various projects launched with the many investors who believe in Morocco’s potential, bears the toll on the jobs created in the outsourcing since November 2021 to more than 15,800 jobs, for a total investment amount of one billion and 10 MDH.
Outsourcing is a major area of action for the ministry, said Ghita Mezzour, adding that it is an area that is at the heart of digital developments, and which represents an undeniable job provider.
Morocco is among the top three outsourcing destinations on the Continent, and has attracted global IT giants, she noted, adding that this strategic sector generates, to date, more than 13 billion dirhams of turnover, employs more than 125,000 people and currently has more than 1,200 companies including more than 100 world references.
Given the importance of the human element in digital transformation, the ministry is working on the development of Moroccan IT talents, said the minister, reiterating the government’s commitment to the development and growth of a rich and diverse talent pool in digital.
For example, the ministry has undertaken the signing of several framework agreements with the regions, with a view to building and equipping digital and coding schools, innovation hubs, as well as the creation of platforms regions for the development of training programs in upskilling and reskilling, she noted.
For his part, the general manager of Thales Morocco, Hicham Alj, expressed the honor of Thales to partner with the ministry for the creation of this new nearshore center in Morocco, in addition to the sixth international cybersecurity operational center. of the group, created in Morocco in March 2022.
“This agreement reinforces our presence of more than forty years in the Kingdom and we plan to open a new branch in Casablanca in 2023”, he announced, specifying that this center will thus allow Thales Morocco, to address directly the cybersecurity market in Africa but also to assist the group for its international projects.
This agreement strengthens the position of the Kingdom of Morocco as a regional economic hub and accelerates the dynamism of the digital transition and also reflects the desire of the Ministry of Digital Transition and Administrative Reform to support the development of skills in order to meet the needs of the international digital market and to support employment opportunities for young people and their integration into the socio-economic dynamic.
The Thales group is a world leader in high technology that invests in digital and “deep tech” innovations (connectivity, big data, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and quantum). It offers solutions, services and products that help its customers in the fields of defence, aeronautics, space, transport and digital identity and security.