Egyptian parliamentarian Sayed Hanafi Taha has proposed expanding the role of youth centers beyond sports to include vocational training, production and entrepreneurship support.
Taha said the initiative should begin in Cairo, with youth centers in the Khalifa and Mokattam districts serving as a pilot that could later be rolled out across Egypt. The proposal calls for cooperation between the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Cairo governorate.
Under the plan, each youth center would include a skills hub equipped with training facilities based on local labor-market needs. Suggested areas include programming, artificial intelligence, maintenance, solar energy, cooling and air conditioning, food production, modern crafts and digital marketing.
The proposal also calls for partnerships with private-sector companies to provide practical training and employment opportunities. Training would be linked to production through workshops and small projects operated within youth centers, allowing participants to develop products or services and generate income.
A national online platform would also track young people’s skills, connect them with companies, factories and projects, and monitor training and employment outcomes.
Taha said the initiative would add a productive and skills-focused role to youth centers without replacing their sports activities, while supporting self-employment and local industry.
Source: Parlmany
