The outline of future partnership relations between the actors of vocational training and those of the automotive sector: Towards an alignment of supply and post-covid-19 demand

Abstract

The automotive industry is showing a significant development in Morocco which is mainly supported by industrial acceleration actions and the ecosystem approach. The plethora of assets offered by the country in terms of political stability, geographical position, labor cost, and suitable accompanying policies increase the attractiveness of overseas investors. The dynamics of automotive suppliers’ sector is setting it up as production and export platform that achieves important results, sometimes exceeding the objectives initially set. However, the sector remains exposed to several challenges inherent to the nature of its activity and the high variability of customer demand. The new pandemic situation generated by the covid-19 crisis and the new requirements arising from the context of Industry 4.0 are confronting the automotive sector actors with the vital need to develop, more than ever, their agility, scrutinize new opportunities, operate structural transformations and strategic breaks where necessary to be able to adapt to new requirements in terms of consumer demand and technological development. Indeed, the new vehicles will not only have to be autonomous, connected and shared but also be more ecological while considering health and safety on board. The modernization of industrial schemes and the upgrading of automotive production regarding the new needs of the consumer require the rehabilitation of human resources in the sector and trigger the expression of new needs for an up-to-date workforce capable of satisfying the new post-pandemic requirements. After the presentation of the panorama of incentive measures for the development of the automotive sector in Morocco, this article proceeds to a reading of the main highlights of the post-covid-19 context for the automotive sector before drawing up an outline of the partnership evolution between automotive actors and those in vocational training sector in favor of shortening the gap and aligning the training offer with the new demand of the automotive sector, particularly in the context of new post-crisis circumstances.

JEL Classification : O15, J21, J24, M51, E24

Paper type : Empirical Research