Under the auspices of the National Council for Women, ALEXBANK partners with the Ghabbour Foundation to provide technical & vocational training to female students in the automotive sector
Cairo, 13th of February 2022 – Under the auspices of the National Council for Women, ALEXBANK, through “GHALYA”, its flagship initiative for women empowerment, signed a strategic partnership with the Ghabbour Foundation for Development, with the purpose to develop a comprehensive program aimed at qualifying female students to work in the field of car maintenance. This will be achieved by enrolling them in Ghabbour Schools for Applied Technology, which are established in cooperation with the Ministry of Education & Technical Education, addressing Egypt’s 2030 Vision and United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals related to quality education, gender equality, decent labor, economic growth and reduction of inequalities.
The strategic partnership between ALEXBANK and the Ghabbour Foundation is initially set for a period of 3 academic years, as part of their developmental portfolios. The partnership aims to implement gender equity through technical education and vocational training services. This will provide female students with employment and entrepreneurship opportunities, as well as of one-year scholarship of further certified training in Germany for a selected number of high achieving students.
The signing ceremony hosted by Dr. Raouf Ghabbour, Chairman of the Ghabbour Foundation and Executive Chairman GB Auto, was held with the virtual attendance of Dr. Maya Morsy, President of the National Council for Women, in addition to the presence of Dr. Mohamed Megahed, Deputy Minister of Education and Technical Education, Ms. Lamis Negm, CSR Advisor to the CBE Governor, Mr. Dante Campioni, Managing Director and CEO of ALEXBANK, Ms. Laila Hosny, Head of the CSR and Sustainable Development Office at ALEXBANK, Eng. George Sedky, Secretary General of the Ghabbour Foundation and Head of HR at GB Auto, Eng. Aleya Serageldin, Executive Director of the Ghabbour Foundation. The ceremony was also attended by General Dr. Amr Boseila, Head of the Applied Technology Unit at the Ministry of Education and Technical Education, and Ms. Mona Ayoub, Head of Vocational Education and Training Department at the German Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce, along with a group of representatives from ALEXBANK, the Ghabbour Foundation, key strategic partners, and the Foundation’s academic partner: Saxony International School Middle East Education (SIS ME).
On her part, Dr. Maya Morsy, President of the National Council for Women, expressed her happiness with this protocol and partnership between ALEXBANK and the Ghabbour Foundation, affirming that this is considered as true economic empowerment of Egyptian girls and women, as part of the national strategy for women empowerment of Egypt 2030 vision, announced by the president in 2017. She noted that technical education is extremely important for girls, and enables them to become entrepreneurs in diverse sectors, and aims to generate actual job opportunities for them, which contributes to the general development of the Egyptian market, especially in fields that women are not accustomed to, like car maintenance.
Dr. Maya Morsy also affirmed the importance of awareness in different sectors, as well as the girls’ capabilities of communication and learning, mentioning the partnership with the Ministry of Education within ‘She Leads’ program, which supports female students of technical education to develop their skills for establishing their own small enterprises, while assisting them in designing these enterprises, and educating them on entrepreneurship. She concluded with thanking Ghabbour Foundation on their unique contribution in this industry, and ALEXBANK for their confidence in the National Council for Women, hoping that this cooperation extends to other fields.
Dante Campioni, Managing Director and CEO of ALEXBANK stated: “This cooperation comes in line with Intesa Sanpaolo’s strategy for environmental, social and governance principles (ESG) and within ALEXBANK framework for social development under the “Ghalya” initiative, to create true opportunities for women in traditionally male-dominated fields. We believe that education and raising awareness are core change-makers in Egypt’s development path, reason for which we are glad to partner with the Ghabbour Foundation, one of the most active foundations in the technical education field whose goal is to create job opportunities supporting the industrial development, in particular of the automotive sector, also by increasing the availability of skilled manpower, while effectively contribute to achieving Egypt’s Vision 2030 regarding gender equity and female empowerment.”
Dr. Raouf Ghabbour, Chairman of the Ghabbour Foundation, expressed his happiness with this fruitful collaboration which falls in line with the Foundation’s vision to offer unique vocational education opportunities, based on international standards, to all deserving students while adhering to the principles of equality between both genders, supporting the capabilities and skills which will lead to the desired reform in the industry and will generate a better quality of life in Egypt during the upcoming years. Dr. Ghabbour has also affirmed the Foundation’s unwavering confidence in the capabilities of the female students enrolled in its schools and their ability to compete and achieve outstanding positions, assuring of the Foundation’s belief that diversity, whether in the job place or in educational institutions, when surrounded by the right motivational environment of mutual respect and support, leads to a tangible refinement of the quality of work and the level of expertise of all those involved.
In his speech during the ceremony, Prof. Dr. Mohamed Megahed, Deputy Minister of Education for Technical Education, expressed his happiness with the “GHALYA by Ghabbour” initiative, highlighting that it is a pioneering one, and that this is aligned with the political vision in Egypt, both in terms of attention to technical education and as an engine for industrial development and women empowerment in various fields through unique educational opportunities. He is also proud of the continuous cooperation between the Ministry and the National Council for Women to empower women in various technical education field in accordance with nowadays requirements, and the unique opportunity this initiative offers to girls and women.
