Promoting Decent Employment
for Africa’s Youth
The Role of Education and Training
Sher Verick
Economic and Social Policy Division
Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)
Overview

The situation for Africa’s youth in the
labour market is tough
 Unemployment
is high
 Underemployment is common
 Few job opportunities in the formal
economy
Economic Commission for Africa
Overview (cont)

Reasons for this employment situation
 Inadequate
economic growth and lack of
growth in labour-absorbing sectors
 Public sector downsizing and undeveloped
formal private sector
 Poor health (HIV/AIDS)
 Increasing youth population
 Lack of education and inappropriate skills
Economic Commission for Africa
Why is education important?
Human capital - abilities, skills and
knowledge embodied in a person
 Macro-level - HC is a key driver of
economic growth, development and
well-being
 Micro-level - more HC leads to better
employment chances and higher wages

Economic Commission for Africa
Education in Africa

Education levels in Africa are low,
though countries are making progress
 Average
net primary school enrolment rate
is 67%
 Ranges from 28% in Niger to 99% in Cape
Verde and the Seychelles
 Significant gender disparities
Economic Commission for Africa
Education in Africa (cont)

But primary education is not enough to get a
reasonable job


Secondary enrolment rates are much lower - 45%
(lower) and 29% (upper)
Another problem is the quality of education


Pupil-teacher ratio reaches 68:1 in Chad (65 in
Ethiopia)
Supply of teachers is also a major constraint
particularly as the result of HIV/AIDS
Economic Commission for Africa
School-to-work transition

The next step is the STW
 When
a young person leaves formal
education to enter the labour market

The transition can result in three main
outcomes
 Employment
(in different forms),
unemployment, inactivity
Economic Commission for Africa
STW (cont)

This process is dynamic
 Unemployment
-> employment
 Longer duration in unemployment makes it
more difficult to find a job
 Informal employment -> formal
employment
Economic Commission for Africa
Youth in the African labour
market - unemployment
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
World
South Asia
1994
MENA
2000
2004
Economic Commission for Africa
SSA
Youth unemployment (cont)

Considerable regional diversity
 55.8%
in South Africa
 10.9% in Namibia
Urban unemployment rates are higher
than in rural areas
 Female rates are lower because of
lower participation in labour force

Economic Commission for Africa
Youth unemployment (cont)

We expect that the unemployment rate
decreases with the level of education (OECD
countries)
 But this tends not to be the case in Africa



The better educated experience higher rates of
unemployment
This is reflected in queuing for public sector jobs
University graduates also suffer from a skill
mismatch
Economic Commission for Africa
Youth unemployment (cont)
But there are serious measurement
problems with official unemployment
figures
 They also do not capture other
dimensions such as underemployment
and working poverty

 These
are prevalent in subsistence
agriculture and the urban informal sector
Economic Commission for Africa
Consequences of unemployment
and underemployment







Rural-urban migration – end up working in the
informal sector
Crime, prostitution and violence
Conflict
Poor health
Inability to further invest in human capital
Social exclusion
But there are also coping strategies –
entrepreneurial spirit
Economic Commission for Africa
Summary of the situation


Education and training are essential
But progress in this area in Africa is
inadequate
 Youth have difficulties in the labour market as
reflected by unemployment and
underemployment
 The economic, social and political costs are
very high
 The extent of the problem should be clear for
all stakeholders
Economic Commission for Africa
Policy response

What should governments do to create
decent jobs for young people?

What is a decent job in this context?
What should be the objective?
Economic Commission for Africa
Policy response (cont)

Job creation requires economic growth
 Increase
domestic and foreign investment,
improve infrastructural capacity, develop
private sector, remove regulation barriers

But growth per se is not enough
labour-intensive sectors –
structural transformation
 Encourage
Economic Commission for Africa
Policy response (cont)

Governments need to also focus on
strategies that promote human capital
development
Improve access to and quality of formal
education
2. Provide training and other policies to
assist youth after finishing school
1.
Economic Commission for Africa
Improving the skill match in
Egypt
Combine formal education with
vocational training to tackle skill
mismatching
 Egypt adopted the German approach in
1991

 Involved
employers and enterprises to
develop training
 Since 1994 – over 14,500 young people
have been trained in 29 trades
Economic Commission for Africa
Active labour market policies

ALMPs include
 Policies
to promote wage employment
through subsidised placement,
employment assistance and vocational
training
 Measures to encourage self-employment
such as training, and facilitating access to
credit/grants and other business
requirements
Economic Commission for Africa
Public works programme in
Senegal
With WB and ADB, Senegal govt. set up
a public works programme to target
unemployed youth
 Aim: provide short-term employment
through labour-intensive public works
projects such as construction,
rehabilitation and maintenance of public
services, and provision of essential
services.

Economic Commission for Africa
Public works programme in
Senegal (cont)
During the 1st phase of the programme,
around 80,000 jobs were created for
young people in 416 projects in smallscale enterprises.
 Overall 3,226 projects have been
implemented resulting in the creation of
350,000 temporary jobs p.a.
 The projects also led to the
establishment of 6,000 permanent jobs.

Economic Commission for Africa
Public works programmes
(cont)
But do such programmes really provide
any long-term opportunities for young
people?
 Or are they just a source of cheap
labour for the government to undertake
infrastructure projects?
 Do they have a role in post-conflict
countries?

Economic Commission for Africa
Youth-led initiatives

It is not only the responsibility of the
government but also of youth
 Governments
are constrained in directly
creating jobs
 Youth are more than capable of initiating
entrepreneurial activities and setting-up
businesses

Please share such experiences…
Economic Commission for Africa
THANK YOU
Economic Commission for Africa