Minister of Employment and Vocational Training Presents 2026 Budget Orientations
The Minister of Employment and Vocational Training, Riadh Chaoued, presented the orientations of the 2026 budget project for his department on Wednesday evening, before the assembly of the two chambers gathered in a plenary session at the Bardo Palace.
Key Highlights
- Five regional employment plans were developed in 2025, while 24 others will be finalized in 2026, to boost the labor market in governorates and promote decent and fairly paid jobs.
- Incentive measures for community companies include a digital platform and a national register to simplify their creation, as well as new financing lines through the National Employment Fund and banks, with five agreements signed and seven others in progress.
- These measures have been extended to start-ups, while a study has identified regulatory and administrative obstacles that the state is working to lift.
Support for Community Companies and Start-ups
According to the figures presented, 260 community companies have been created until October 2025, grouping 15,000 participants, including 2,400 higher education graduates and 174 people with disabilities. To date, 260 community companies grouping 15,000 participants have been created, financed in the form of repayable loans, with accompaniment assured by the ministry.
Governance and Communication
For 2026, the minister announced that a central and local governance system will be put in place, aiming to strengthen job creation capacity, support collective initiatives, and train specialized advisors, accompanied by a communication plan to promote this model of solidarity economy.
National Competence Reference System
On another level, Chaoued indicated that the ministry has finalized a first version of the national reference system for skills and certifications, intended to promote mutual recognition of diplomas and offer an updated database to learners, employers, and training organizations.
Insertion Rate and Employment Contracts
He also indicated that the insertion rate under the Contract for Insertion into Professional Life (CIVP) reached 54% in 2025, specifying that the current allocation of 200 dinars will be reevaluated. Returning to Law No. 9 of 2025, which imposes automatic integration of CIVP beneficiaries after a single renewal of six months, he emphasized that a global evaluation of employment mechanisms is underway to strengthen coherence between training, insertion, and economic development.
Labor Market and Private Initiative
The minister also highlighted efforts to boost the labor market, particularly through the "large employers" program, which generated 10,000 recruitments until October 2025, as well as the continuation of support for private initiative, with a persistence rate of over 90% for newly created micro-enterprises.
Partnerships and Budget
A partnership with the Ministries of Education and Youth will also allow the launch of second-chance schools in Siliana and Tozeur. The budget of the Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training for 2026 is estimated at around 1.06 billion dinars, an increase of 5% compared to 2025, where it stood at 1.01 billion. It is divided between 463,286 MD for remuneration expenses, 50,370 MD for operating expenses, and 546,560 MD for public interventions, while investment expenses amount to 3.9 MD, compared to 8.9 MD the previous year.
