Transcript Youth and Employment in Africa

Youth and Employment in Africa: A
Contribution by the Economic
Commission for Africa
Presentation at the Youth Employment
Summit, Alexandria, Egypt
September 2002
INTRODUCTION
A Few Facts:
 Africa’s population is very young.
 Young people are a potential resource for growth and
social development if gainfully and productively engaged.
 But they could also be a source of devastating social
tension and conflict if not.
 The Development of the continent rests squarely on them;
it is through them and by their agency that the vision and
noble intentions of the New Partnership for Africa's
Development (NePAD) can be developed.
 It is through them that Africa can make progress towards
the realization of the Millennium Development Goals,
especially the goal of halving extreme poverty by 2015.
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Factors driving youth
unemployment in Africa
* The Main factors include:
a) The generalized lack of employment
opportunities due to the underdevelopment of
the economies.
b) high rates of population growth;
c) sluggish or stagnant economies;
d) small formal private sector;
e) The generally poor health of African
Economies.
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Cont’d
f) Low literacy and numeracy rates;
g) Poor quality education
h) Lack of job histories, job-specific skills, and
employment-related social capital.
i) Low wages paid.
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Challenges of Expanding Youth
Employment
The Challenge of HIV/AIDS
 The Challenge of Education Reform
The Challenge of Promoting
Employment of young women
The Challenge of Rural Youth
Unemployment and
Underemployment
The Challenge of Promoting
Economic Growth
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Socio-economic and Political
Context
The Context for action has Changed. It is
framed by:
* Resumption of economic growth in
Africa;
* The cessation of many conflicts
* Regional integration
* Democratization
* Globalization
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Effects and Consequences in the
Absence of Major Initiatives
 Drug abuse
 Petty crime
 Single parent families
 Poor Health
 Waste of scarce and valuable human capital
 Serious social distress
 Social exclusion
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Good Practices :What Works
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Ghana – Citi Savings and Loans Ltd.
South Africa -Youth Enterprise Society
Nigeria - National Open Apprenticeship
scheme
ECA - Cisco -Internet Networking
Training
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Harnessing the innovative spirit of
disadvantaged, young Ghanaian
women:citi savings and loans Ltd
Programme action for the Mitigation of the
Social Consequences of Structural
Adjustment (PAMSCAD)
Lack of credit and lack of access to credit
was identified by the government as one of
the factors impeding success.
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Citi – Origin and mode of
Operation
 Citi began by setting up branches in periurban centers of the capital city, Accra.
 It developed an innovative approach to
interface the non-formal market place with
the formal .
 It formed peer groups among women,
conducted credit education; and worked
closely with the “susu” (informal savings and
credit associations) operators.
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Citi – innovations and Progress
 Two specific financial products were
designed, namely, “Adom Bosea” (for
mostly foodstuff retailers and the
kayayoo- teenage girl porters in the
local markets) and “Mmoa Bosea”
(mostly for chopbar or food caterers,
and dressmakers).
By 1997 Citi had a patronage of about
10,000, with 2000 of them being men!
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Citi’s success is due its:
 Providing vocational training out of its profits
for the poor illiterate youth;
 Organizing them into small groups;
 Targeting assistance in the form of credit
and enterprise formation to groups; and
 Providing basic management training.
 Citi also gives moral support to clients under
its Career Mentoring and Entrepreneurial
Development Resources programme.
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Good Practice in Training: Youth
Enterprise Society (YES), South
Africa
Program was initiated by Ohio State
University in 1989 at the instance of
South Africa’s youth and their teachers.
It is an extra-mural activity that runs
through out the year.
The Mission of YES is ‘to empower
young people, through enterprise, to
become masters of their own
destinies’.
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YES- Mission, Objectives and
Reason for Succeeding
 To help more and more young people to
become business creators rather than simply
job seekers’.
 To help Participants develop business
competencies through a range of activities.
 YES has succeeded because it is an active
response to a felt and identified need of a
community and because of the commitment
of all the stakeholders.
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Good Practices that Work:
National Open Apprenticeship
Scheme in Nigeria
 The NOAS is an attempt to link education
and training and the workplace.
 Managed by the National Directorate of
Employment in the Ministry of Labour and
Productivity.
 NOAS provides vocational education and
training to unemployed youth in over 100
occupations.
 Unemployed youth and school-leavers are
trained for a period of 6 months to 3 years
under reputable Master Craftsmen.
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NOAS – Operations so far
 Over 600,000 unemployed youth have been trained
in over 80 different trades.
 Over 400,000 of these started their own microenterprises. Nearly 50,000 unemployed youth are
currently undergoing training.
 School-On-Wheels, an adjunct NOAS programme,
is a mobile three month training programme
designed to provide vocational training to schoolleavers and other unskilled persons in rural areas.
 To prevent NOAS graduates from falling back into
unemployment, NDE set up a resettlement
programme in 1991, to start their own businesses.
Close to 6,000 NOAS graduates have benefited
from this scheme.
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Cisco Internet Networking
Technology Training for African
Women
 Education and Training is a major activity of
the United Nations Economic Commission
for Africa (ECA).
 The training course follows the established
curriculum of the Cisco Networking Academy
Program.
 The training course involves a fully
sponsored six-month residential course.
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ECA - CISCO
In this project,20 to 25 African women
are trained each year over a two-year
period
In the first training course completed in
2002, 28% of women were under 25.
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Critical areas for discussion: Best
opportunities for promoting youth
employment in Africa
Education Reforms and Training
Promoting Entrepreneurship
among youth
Public Works Programme
Sound Macroeconomic
Management
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PROPOSALS FOR
FUTURE ACTI0N
Education and Training
Private Sector and Incentive
Schemes
Pressing on expanding on best
practices
Creating an enabling environment
Political Constituency
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Education and Training
 Policies must concentrate on creating a system
that is capable of inculcating young people’s
core skills and competencies.
 The Education and Training program should be
in such a way that it is capable of inducing or
encouraging through a system of regulations
and incentives.
 The Educational system should focus on
entrepreneurship development and governments
can further promote youth entrepreneurship by
assisting youth entrepreneurs with market
intelligence and identification of market
opportunities.
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Private sector and Incentive
Schemes
Create a system of incentives to encourage
the private sector to provide mentoring for
young entrepreneurs and training and skills
acquisition opportunities for young people.
Incentives may include: tax breaks or tax
holidays, wage subsidies, preferential
purchase agreements, etc.
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Expanding and Building on Best
Practices and Experiences
 There is no need to reinvent what has worked;
countries need to build and expand on what they
already have that have worked;
 Create a Learning Group on Youth
Entrepreneurship within and across countries to
share experience and ideas;
 Countries need to take ownership of the youth
entrepreneurship development programmes if
they are to be sustained over the long-run.
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ENABLING ENVIRONMENT
 Tax Reforms: tax break; reduction of income and
corporate income tax rates, wage subsidies;
 Regulatory Reforms – Simplify laws, translate some into
local languages - to reduce transactions cost associated
with setting up a youth-owned business;
 Promote youth entrepreneurship strategically – not ALL
but those in which youth have a comparative advantage
e.g. ICT, telecommunications.
 Promote ACTIVE peace and conflict resolution to reduce
unproductive, non-employment creating military
expenditures;
 Integrate employment creation in PRSP and trade policies
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Political Constituency
These programs will of course not take
off unless there is a political
constituency for youth employment.
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ECA’s ROLE
 Youth important actors in ECA’s activities – e.g. ADFI on
ICT, ADFII on HIV/AIDS and ADFIII on Regional
Integration;
 ADFIV – next year on Governance - will have Focus
Groups on four areas of importance to youth: a) Youth, b)
Employment, c) HIV/AIDS, and d) Higher Education.
 Workshops and meetings on Youth and on Employment;
 Creating a constituency for Youth and youth issues at
continental ministerial meetings such as the Conference
of African Ministers of Education and Conference of
African Ministers of Finance and Planning
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Finally
THANK YOU