Activation Policies for the Poor in OIC Member States
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 An agreement with the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran in order to promote advanced job
skills in rural and border areas
 A joint project between the Ministry of Education and MCLS to provide university graduates with
better information on labour market demands
Despite these measures, training in rural areas continues to require development. Whereas there is a
high level of education in urban areas, rural locals still face education barriers because of a lack of
staffing, severely hindering locals’ ability to participate in poverty alleviation measures. For example,
in Marvdasht in Fars province, there appears to be little activity to build human resources for
poverty alleviation. Local government in the area appears not to have the capacity to deliver
vocational skills training and development due to a lack of facilities and budgetary resources. Local
residents also do not tend to be involved in the decision making process for poverty alleviation.125
At the macro level, training is being delivered by international agencies to support the development
of government capacities. The United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations
Population Fund (UNFPA) jointly supported the Statistical Centre of Iran’s (SCI) Statistical Research
and Training Centre to develop two analytical reports on the linkage between economic factors and
demographic trends. UNFPA provided technical and financial support to the SCI to conduct the 2011
census. UNFPA also enhanced the SCI’s capacity to collect, analyse, disseminate and utilise
disaggregated population data for decision-making, policy formulation, programming and
monitoring of national achievements such as Millennium Development Goal indicators and the
Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD).
Job creation
The Iranian government is implementing a number of measures to create jobs. Some of these are not
strictly activation measures. For example, jobs are being created by investing in certain industries.
MCLS has invested in Iran’s car industry, and has, as a result, created 25,000 job opportunities.
In terms of job creation activation measures, the government is promoting entrepreneurship and
providing credit facilities. Since 2008, credit facilities to the private sector by state-owned banks
have been the most important leverage for creating new jobs. However, generously subsidised loans
were not successful in generating sufficient employment opportunities for an increasing workforce.
Subsidised loans in Iran do not necessarily generate employment because the private sector may not
wish to invest in an unfavourable business environment. Furthermore, a credit facility cannot bond
the creditor to use the money in job-creating businesses. Many newly registered firms are
established to obtain credit facilities, but either never start any significant economic activities or
shut down very soon afterwards. This is because, in many cases, borrowers can try to maximise
profit by investing in real estate or by solving the most important, short-run financial problems with
the loans obtained.
The government has been promoting entrepreneurship since the mid 1990s. MCLS has worked to
develop the entrepreneurship environment using measures such as the development of the National
Occupation Document and the establishment of the Directorate of Entrepreneurship and Occupation.
The Directorate’s relevant policies to this activation measure are:
 The development of the National Occupation Development Document
 The formation of the National Organisation of Skill
 The development of an entrepreneurship plan for the country
 The provision of diversity in financing and the opportunity to establish public joint stock
cooperative companies
 The development of a bill for the Iranian Entrepreneurship System Organisation
125 Allahdadi, F. (2011) The Contribution of Agricultural Co-operatives on Poverty Reduction: A Case Study of Marvdasht, Iran