As part of the Workforce Improvement and Skill Enhancement project in Egypt, MTC, with funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is helping thousands of young people in Egypt succeed in life. One of those individuals is 16 year old Ahmed El-Said from Ismailia, Egypt.

“I feel like I do not have a core talent in my life,” said Ahmed.

As a little boy, he dreamt of becoming a police officer but poor grades prevented him from entering that career path. Instead, he was enrolled at a technical school for hotel and tourist services—but that wasn’t his passion. He developed a negative attitude and felt extremely unmotivated.

That all changed when Ahmed joined the Career Guidance and Counseling Sessions funded by USAID within the technical school he attends. The program benefits from technical assistance and training from MTC. The program helps young Egyptians improve their technical, practical, entrepreneurial, innovation, and work readiness skills—preparing them to succeed in the job market.

It wasn’t an easy road, but Ahmed is now making great progress and discovering new talents including poetry and baking.

“It is because of my passion and talent in making desserts that I wish to become a confectionery chef. Dessert making and decoration is an art, which I perceive as my new dream and profession,” Ahmed said.