Italy has welcomed 2,000 Tunisian construction workers as part of an agreement involving the National Association of Building Contractors (Ance), the non-profit training organization Elis, the Tunisian Employment Agency (Aneti), and the Agency for Professional Training (Atfp). 

This year, 400 Tunisian workers specialized in building and public works are expected to be hired in Italy. The program, set to launch this year and run until 2026, aims to facilitate legal migration through a collaborative effort between the EU, member states, and Tunisia. According to Abdelkader Jemali, Chief of Staff of the Minister of Employment and Vocational Training, 400 young Tunisians specialized in building and public works will be hired in 2024, with an additional 800 hired in both 2025 and 2026.

Last year, Italy supported two initiatives aimed at implementing legal mobility projects for work, with the European Commission providing €10.6 million and Italian funds contributing €1.4 million. In Egypt, the first initiative established the “Italo-Egyptian Employment Center” to professionally train workers in the tourism and hotel sector for employment in Italy. In Tunisia and Morocco, a delegation agreement with the International Organization for Migration funded specific initiatives with €8,625,000, supplemented by €400,000 in co-financing from the Ministry of Interior for related activities.

In Tunisia and Morocco, a delegation agreement with the International Organization for Migration provided €8,625,000 for specific initiatives, supplemented by €400,000 in co-financing from the Ministry of Interior for activities. In Tunisia, the initiative proposed by Ance and the non-profit organization Elis continues to train 2,000 Tunisian construction workers. In Morocco, the initiative, supported by the Ministry of Labor, aims to train 500 workers in the mechatronics sector.