Wage portage in Morocco

An overview of the Moroccan job market

Morocco is one of the Maghreb region’s fastest-growing economies. The Kingdom has made a relatively successful recovery from the worst of the pandemic. The country’s various industries have been able to recover from the crisis.

The job market has proven to be especially resilient in recent years. The employment rate has remained stable at around 40%. It even rose slightly in urban areas (+0.8 points), in contrast to rural areas where, with the rural exodus, the employment rate fell by almost 2% (official figures for the second quarter of 2022).

A Moroccan market dominated by the service sector

The primary sector seems to be in decline, with cities and their surrounding industrial areas attracting more and more workers. While job openings in the industrial and construction sectors have stabilized, the main source of employment in Morocco is the service sector: banking and finance, hotels and tourism, business services, and above all IT and call centers.

Call centers and IT companies currently dominate the Moroccan job market in the number of job offers and recruitment volume. In 2021, call-centers employed over 57,300 people. In the tech sector, the most sought-after candidates are specialists in IT, electronics, telecoms and networks.

The banking sector occupies third place, followed by the HR sector (managers, trainers, etc.).

It should be noted that in all these fields of activity, candidates with three or more years of experience are preferred. There are also opportunities for younger candidates, but they need to prove themselves.

What about opportunities in Morocco for expatriates?

Morocco attracts many foreigners, not only as a tourist destination, but also as a place to live.

The cost of living is affordable, the climate is mild the natural environment is unspoiled, and there is a large job market that is still open to self-employed entrepreneurs, although certain conditions apply.

For those planning to expatriate, there are specific procedures for foreigners who want to work in Morocco.

First of all, many Moroccan companies are willing to recruit foreigners for certain positions.

However, to hire foreign workers, companies must justify their need to employ foreigners due to the lack of the required skills among local workers.

The fields offering the best opportunities for expatriates include telecommunications, IT and technology, which are beginning to make inroads in Morocco.

Other sectors worth considering are science and technology, engineering, management, architecture, medicine, advertising and media. The most promising option is to also apply for middle and senior management positions.

Expatriates who want to set up their businesses or become independent workers in Morocco must have a valid work permit, a residence permit and, if necessary, sufficient capital to start up their activities.

Those who want to start as ported employees, depending on their needs and goals, can be hired on a temporary contract (a one-year contract, which may be renewed one time), a permanent contract (with medical insurance and social security benefits), or a contract for a specific task to be done in Morocco.

Working under the wage portage system in Morocco

As is the case wherever it is offered, wage portage allows freelance professionals to work independently while still being employed by a company, with all the benefits provided by this status.

Wage portage is an ideal solution for expatriates or people who want to work independently or as self-employed entrepreneurs in Morocco.

By becoming ported employees, they avoid the complications involved in setting up their company or obtaining a work visa. The portage company takes care of all the administrative tasks on their behalf.

As a general rule, portage companies in Morocco support their ported employees in their search for assignments, and handle all procedures concerning their employee status by Moroccan law.

It should be noted that with wage portage, professionals in Morocco can work for local companies or foreign companies operating in the country, or even for companies located abroad who need employees in Morocco for specific, usually temporary tasks.

Any foreign worker who opts for the status of ported employee in Morocco must obtain a certificate proving that no Moroccan workers want the job offer, and that the skills needed to do the work are not available in the Kingdom. This document can be obtained from the Moroccan National Agency for the Promotion of Employment and Skills (ANAPEC).

However, this obligation does not apply to:

• Holders of a work permit allowing sponsor transfer;
• Company directors / managers / partners / shareholders;
• Employees of foreign companies working in a Moroccan subsidiary for a period of 24 to 36 months;
• People married to Moroccan nationals;
• People born in Morocco or who have been living in Morocco for six months;
• Tunisian, Algerian and Senegalese nationals who have a work visa.

For companies that want to carry out specific assignments in Morocco, the use of ported employees makes it easier to manage the administrative tasks (hiring, vacations, payroll, social security coverage, taxation, etc.) for employees in the country and provides their clients in Morocco with a local contact.