Addressing youth unemployment through industries without smokestacks: a Tunisia case study

Abstract

Although the manufacturing sector is known to have a unique role in structural transformation, the industries without smokestacks (IWOSS) that include tradable services, and that concern in Tunisia mainly IT, tourism, transport, trade, and financial services, can provide new opportunities for export development and in turn drive economic growth. As such, and for each of these sectors, Tunisia is particularly well positioned to exploit the opportunities in industries without smokestacks. This study takes the case of Tunisia and examines the current state and contribution of the industries without smokestacks to the economy and exports with the aim of improving our understanding of the major bottlenecks and solutions to unlocking the potential of these industries. The study gives special attention to the main market service activities cited above, given their great importance in job creation especially for youth. It aims particularly to analyze how youth unemployment can be solved through job creation in these IWOSS industries, as well as the identification of the skills required for these young people to find work.