Promoting employment-oriented skills development in Africa: Reality, relevance and research as enablers

Abstract

Overcoming the alarming youth unemployment challenge in Africa will entail youths acquiring employable skills. For the millions of young people who are illiterate or have never been to school, the learning of high-level technical skills for operating in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) work environment is a pipe dream. However, these poorly educated young Africans also need relevant skills for gainful employment and sustainable livelihoods. This thought piece argues that employment-oriented skills development in Africa should be multi-pronged and tailored to the educational profiles and needs of learners. Young people with a sound basic education and foundational STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) skills can benefit from the learning of higher-order 4IR skills, while those who have never been to school or have dropped out of the school system at an early age could benefit from modern national apprenticeship schemes by qualifying as competent artisans who could serve the various sectors of the economy. Implementing such a disaggregated strategy for enhancing the employability and employment prospects of all young Africans, regardless of their educational background, will have to be anchored in the reality of the employment situation in each country, be informed by the relevance of the skills training programmes to the needs of the learner and the economy, and be driven by empirical research evidence.