THE NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT FUND (21-21 FUND)
The 21-21 Fund which was announced on October 10, 1999 and has been operational since January 1st, 2000, is a new mechanism based on national solidarity and aimed at facilitating the integration of the young and, more generally, all job-seekers whatever their age, their educational standard or their place of origin and who find it difficult to integrate into the labor market.

Since employment is a common objective for all sectoral policies, the intervention of the Fund requires the combined efforts of all concerned parties: employers, professional organizations, non-governmental organizations, development associations, national representatives abroad, etc...
The Fund-supported programs aim to ensure a lasting integration of job-seekers.

The training component is included in most programs to increase the chances of lasting salaried or independent employment for beneficiaries.

The spirit of solidarity which lies at the very heart of the Fund imposes a concern for social equity aimed at providing equal opportunities for all job-seekers, yet giving priority to disadvantaged social categories and to the long-term unemployed.

In this spirit, 18 programs have been developed during the year 2000. In 2001, 12 new programs will be added. All the programs are aimed at job-seekers who find it difficult to integrate into the labor market, whether they be university graduates, have given up their high school or elementary studies or are quite simply illiterate.

They may be summarized as follows:

• Programs aimed at enabling university graduates to various fields of NICT (New Information and Communication Technologies): computer technology, telecommunications, networks, software).
• Programs targeting liberal arts graduates so they can switch to other fields and meet identified needs on the labor market such as multimedia techniques, pre-school teaching or the national adult literacy program.
• Training/employment programs for the young with low educational standard, within the framework of public benefit works in various specialties.
• Aid programs for the setting up and establishment of small enterprises and independent jobs.
• Aid programs for the integration of apprentices under 20, from disadvantaged areas into enterprises by providing them with a transport allowance.

  Although it was established only recently, the 21-21 Fund has already started the implementation of the previously mentioned 18 programs. Over 41,000 beneficiaries have been shielded from inactivity. Those beneficiaries, mostly young people, today have salaried or independent jobs.
  Others are being trained for redeployment to meet specific needs on the labor market.

  
  Since the development of the entrepreneurial spirit is at the center of the programs of the 21-21 Fund, in the same period of time and over hardly six months, more than 3000 enterprises have been established. Young university graduates or young people with professional qualifications have benefited from bank financing thanks to the credit line of the 21-21 Fund made available to commercial banks to guarantee the projects initiated by such young promoters of the 21-21 Fund.

  Moreover, another FNE (National Employment Fund) credit line has been put at the disposal of the SICAR to finance the equity input of those young promoters and help them start up their projects. In addition, a credit line has been put at the disposal of the BTS (Tunisian Solidarity Bank) to promote the initiatives of young people in the most disadvantaged areas and thus contribute to the creation of a new development dynamic based on the entrepreneurial spirit and on self-reliance.

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