Ahmed Chami (left), former general manager of MS North Africa, hands Hakima El Moutafih her diploma from Microsoft during the Diplômés Chômeurs graduation ceremony last year.

In Morocco, where the unemployment rate exceeds 20 percent, a good education -- even a graduate degree -- provides no guarantee of a job. Many well-educated Moroccans suffer long-term unemployment -- some for as long as 10 years. And while approximately 30 million people live in this North African nation, there are only about 300,000 PCs and 50,000 Internet accounts -- a challenge and an opportunity for the information-technology (IT) industry. Through Microsoft's International Community Affairs program, Microsoft employees in Morocco took time out of their daily jobs to craft and execute a plan that would bring many unemployed educated professionals into the IT industry. The year-old Unemployed Graduates Program (also called Diplômés Chômeurs) helps university graduates who have been out of work for more than a year obtain IT certification and get a job in the IT industry.