Yesterday evening, Thursday, Minister of Labor Hassan Raddad participated in a session on the National Economic Transformation Program during the fourth day of the "Egypt Forum 2026" held in the New Capital from October 19 to 24, pursuant to the directives of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. The session was attended by Dr. Moustafa Madbouly, Prime Minister, along with a number of ministers and officials concerned with the economic portfolio. The session discussed the key features of the National Economic Transformation Program for the period 2027-2030 and its targets aimed at enhancing productivity and competitiveness, stimulating investment, and expanding private sector participation in driving development.
The Minister of Labor reviewed the Ministry's targets to participate in implementing the program, foremost among which is providing 3 million job opportunities and reducing the unemployment rate from 5.8% to 5.5% by expanding vocational training linked to labor market needs, strengthening partnerships with the private sector, and developing the skills system to align with the requirements of economic and developmental sectors.
The Ministry's plan emphasized accelerating digital transformation through the launch of the "Digital Labor Platform" to collect, analyze, and disseminate labor market data, facilitate services provided to workers and establishments, link with the "Taheel" platform to integrate data on persons with disabilities, as well as automate the Ministry's services and establish 7 distinguished "VIP" centers in partnership with the private sector to facilitate work permit procedures for foreigners and support startups.
Regarding social protection, the targets include activating the role of the National Council for Wages to support a balance between wages and living costs, enhancing compliance with wage-regulating decisions through inspection and follow-up, expanding insurance coverage for private sector workers, enhancing protection against short-term risks, and activating the role of the Emergency Relief and Social and Health Services Fund for irregular labor.
The Ministry's plan also encompasses raising the efficiency of inspections of factories, companies, and farms in the areas of labor and occupational safety and health, drafting legislation regulating the status of domestic workers and clearly defining rights and duties, and strengthening the role of sectoral skills councils in identifying the skills required for developmental sectors, thereby supporting the alignment of training outputs with labor market needs.
These targets reflect the Ministry of Labor's orientation toward contributing to building a more efficient and flexible labor market based on providing decent work opportunities, developing skills, expanding the social protection umbrella, and creating an investment-attractive work environment, thereby enhancing the competitiveness of the national economy and linking economic development with improving employment opportunities and citizens' standard of living.
