Since its opening to the outside world and the free trade agreements, Tunisia has continued to increase its international trade. Its exchanges continue to evolve with an increasing pace. Tunisian trade carried out by sea represents 98% of its  total, and about 20% of this trade is general goods transported in containers, semi-trailers or alone. An international maritime trade based on a port community made up of:

• Merchant Navy and Ports Office (OMMP)

The OMMP is a public institution of the Tunisian State endowed with financial autonomy and legal personality. It manages maritime and commercial ports throughout Tunisia. It operates port infrastructure in compliance with productivity and safety standards: oil ports, container terminals, a passenger terminal, ore terminals, specialized facilities, etc. provides merchant marine services, more specifically administration ships, seafarers and the safety of maritime navigation.

• Tunisian Navigation Company

A public establishment whose mission is the maritime transport of passengers and goods, in particular vehicles on the two regular lines connecting la Goulette to the two ports of Genoa and Marseille. It also transports goods (in trailers and containers) on regular lines between Radès and Marseille, Genoa, Livorno, Barcelona, ​​Sagunto, Novorossiysk and Istanbul. The company also provides navigation on demand without a fixed route (tramping), consignment of ships as well as representation of foreign shipowners in Tunisian ports.

• Tunisian Company of Stevedoring and Handling (STAM)

STAM carries out handling work and manages the container terminal at the port of Radès as well as stevedoring and handling activities at the ports of Bizerte, Radès, La Goulette, Sousse, Gabès and Zarzis.

• Port of Radès

It was originally designed to handle Roll on - Roll off (RO-RO) freight, in other words, any cargo that has wheels and can be loaded in a vessel through a ramp. On the eve of the containerization revolution, the Port of Radès has adapted to the needs of container transport after many years of industry transformation, and has become the main container transport gateway for Tunisians, near 90% over the past ten years. According to statistics from the Merchant Marine and Ports Office, the Port of Radès is ranked first in 2018 in terms of international trade maritime traffic through the ports. The port of Radès includes a customs area with a total of ​​50 ha consisting of 5 hangars with an area of ​​3 ha and 47 ha of land. The operation of this terminal in the form of a concession is entrusted to the Tunisian company of stevedoring and handling. The port of Radès is served by an East-West axis allowing a direct link with the southern highway (Tunis-Sfax) and the rest of the Tunis agglomeration. The Port of Radès is connected to a railway line operated by the National Society of Tunisian Railways (SNCFT) which covers the entire national territory (2260 km) and linked to the Algerian network and subsequently Moroccan.

• Logistics service providers

Companies operating in the maritime, port, logistics and international trade sectors are located in the port area of ​​Radès. They offer several essential services for the execution of import and export operations. We can cite for example: warehousemen, freight forwarders, freight forwarders, freight forwarders, road hauliers, consignees….

The port area of ​​Radès also includes a training establishment; the Mediterranean Institute for Training in Maritime Professions (IMFMM). Its mission is to meet the skills needs of professionals in the maritime trade, in particular the actors of the port community in place. To do this, it offers training with the ability to provide learners with knowledge related to the management of the maritime and port logistics chain and which are technical, logistical and managerial. It is often involved in International training projects and especially Mediterranean dimensions. It is in this context that it was chosen as a member of the YEP MED project as well as the OMMP.

In this context and in the framework of the YEP MED project, the IMFMM has developd several training courses in the two first years of the project, offering knowledge and new job oportunities for the youngsters and women.

Within YEP MED, the institute is responsible for the methodology necessary to identify both the training programs available in each partner country of the project and the demand for skills in the field of the international supply chain of the rated by transport and logistics professionals. At IMFMM, we proposed that the partner countries conduct interviews with training establishments and surveys addressed to professionals in international trade, logistics and transport. In turn, on the first quarter of the project, from September to December 2020, we began to contact the vocational training centers in relation to the objective of YEP MED project and a series of meetings were held (face-to-face and remotely) in particular with the sectoral vocational training centers of Borj Cedria, Gammarth and Hammam Lif and the Tunis Business School. In addition, meetings were held with professionals, in particular logistics service providers, carriers, freight forwarders, fright forwarders, etc. The answers to the questionnaires were analyzed and the training programs were well defined. Two training programs have been planned for the first year of the project. The IMFMM started with the first training on introducing the port community with 60 trainees selected from the training institutions. It has been implemented with experienced professionals and academicians in the logistics and international trade specialty.

Thirty students were selected for the second course on the digitalization of the international trade chain. Its learning workshops on the "Click & Cargo" software and practical work was programmed for the students with the supervision of trainers. To do this, we have launched a call for applications to select trainers so that they can benefit from a training of trainers. The training took place with national and international sessions. The second training ended successfully on March 2022 and diplomas were distributed.

The year 2021-2022 is the second year of the project and also included two training programs, both for vocation students (Vocationa Training - VT courses) and unemployed (Occupational Training -OT courses). As for the first year, the IMFMM proceeded with the search and selection of apprentices (around 60), the selection of trainers for the first and second programs, the planning of training sessions, and the practical implementation of sessions of training. Preparations for the first course began around October 2021and the OT course took place during the period 02/10/2022-02/13/2022.

Meanwhile, a delegation from Barcelona composed of Mr. Eduard Rodés and Mrs. Concha Palacios visited Tunisia in March 2022 to closely monitor the progress of the project and meetings were held with the Office of the Merchant Marine and Ports (OMMP) and IMFMM. It was an opportunity to strengthen the involvement of the OMMP in the project.

During the month of April 2022, itstarted to prepare the second training program VT2-VT3 with at the same time the partners of the project: Italy, Spain, Tunisia and Lebanon. This training took place over 9 days during the period 21/02/2022-07/04/2022 including national and international sessions and practical work on the Click & Cargo software. The training ended on 04/03/2022.