By ; Nahla Makled

Orange Egypt, the leading provider of integrated telecommunications services, has signed a cooperation agreement with Elsewedy Technical Academy( STA) affiliated to Elsewedy Electric foundation , a non-profit organization, to provide students with a set of educational scholarships, integrated educational and training program over a 3-year period in the communications and information technology field in an effort to prepare a batch of well-trained young Egyptian calibers with the latest labor market requirements.

The scholarships sponsored by Orange will be entitled to students who hold a preparatory certificate and will be implemented at the Elsewedy Technical Academy for dual education and training under the supervision of the Ministry of Education and Technical Education.

The scholarships educational programs are divided into two pillars; a theoretical one by 20% and a practical one by 80%, given the importance of practical implications in communicating information to students.

Orange Egypt will also offer practical training for students at Elsewedy Technical Academy “STA” as part of the training plan which aims at boosting the students' skills. Moreover, the students will also have the chance to visit Orange’s headquarters and get to know the latest technologies used in the technology field and explore how it works.

The scholarships include providing the necessary educational materials for enrolled students, uniforms, transportation, healthy and high-quality meals aligned with health & quality standards. And upon graduation, students will be granted two certificates, the first is a technical diploma accredited by the Ministry of Education and Technical Education, and the second is a certificate of competencies accredited by the Omnia Education Partnerships International (OEP) in Finland.

Commenting on this occasion Orange Egypt CEO, Eng. Yasser Shaker expressed his pleasure for collaborating with El Sewedy Technical Academy - which is the first Egyptian academy specialized in technical education - to launch this enthusiastic educational program.

Shaker also stressed on the importance of cooperation and solidarity among the corporates in the field of social responsibility where they can support Egypt initiatives and efforts in many sectors, the most important of which is education.

"Orange always pays considerable attention to investing in youth, especially in education and training areas. This contributes to providing the appropriate qualification for the youth to meet the labor market requirements. Moreover, such programs help to build human calibers who are capable of invention and development in various fields, which will accordingly help in reducing the unemployment rates, reinforce employment opportunities and attract more investments to the Egyptian market.” He added.

For his part, Eng. Ahmed El Sewedy, Head of Board of Trustees of Elsewedy Electric Foundation, said “We, at Elsewedy Electric, have always focused our efforts in supporting education as we firmly believe it’s the cornerstone of a thriving society. We are exceptionally honored to add a distinctive value to benefit STA students through collaborating with Orange to introduce the field of ICT in dual education, for the first time in Egypt with international certification & benchmark