The African Capacity Building Foundation says many African countries are experiencing some high economic growth rates which unfortunately have not translated into tangible job opportunities for their youth

By Maureen Chigbo, reporting from Cameroon

THE two-day 27th Annual meeting of board of governors of the African Capacity Building Foundation, ACBF, opened in Yaounde, Cameroon, on Thursday, July 19, with discussion focusing on youth employment in Africa and developing critical skills needed for the economic advancement of the continent.

The meeting, which was attended by delegates from about 45-member countries of the ACBF saw speakers x-raying progress the continent made after it declared the decade for the youth which will end this year.

Welcoming delegates to the high-level forum with the theme: Youth Employment in Africa: Focus on Developing the Critical Skills”, Goodall Gondwe, chair of the ACBF Board of Governors, observed that the Decade for Youth Development (2009–2018) “is coming to an end, with many African countries experiencing some high economic growth rates which unfortunately have not translated into tangible job opportunities for our youth”. Consequently, youth unemployment remains a major developmental challenge for many of countries in Africa.

“In this regard, despite concerted efforts it appears we are yet to record meaningful achievements that could lead us to celebrate the ‘Decade for Youth Development’. Time is now of the essence. We must act purposefully to ensure the successful implementation of developmental programmes that will create diverse and accessible employment opportunities for the youth.

“The key questions therefore are, why are we not achieving the progress we had anticipated? Are we lacking effective policy options? Is it due to an inadequate skill base? Is there a lack of demand for labor, or is it labour rigidity?’ Gondwe asked.

To move forward, he said: “we must have conceptual clarity on where the challenges lie so we can design appropriate solutions with specificity to our different contexts on the continent.  This high-level forum brings together stakeholders from government, the private sector, youth organizations, development partners and the academia. This is a rich and diverse group with the capacity to comprehensively consider the root cause of the youth unemployment challenge and propose recommendations for consideration by relevant authorities.”

He called on delegates to reflect on the critical technical skills needed for the successful implementation of the flagship programmes and projects under the Agenda 2063 First 10-year Implementation Plan, and the Agenda 2030, enjoining them to carefully reflect on country specific challenges and to explore opportunities to share experiences across countries and regions.

He suggested that discussion at the meeting should be on the specific capacities and critical technical skills required to enhance youth employment opportunities; how can African countries and the various stakeholders tap into the expertise of universities, Think Tanks, and the private sector to build the required technical skills? What are the existing initiatives in our respective countries aimed at building the required critical skills and what can we learn from each other when it comes to effectively strengthening the capacities to better support skills development?

Also, Erastus Mwencha, chair, ACBF executive board, called on governments and non-state actors to collaborate in a synergistic way in addressing capacity gaps relating to youth employment on the continent.

According to him, the initiatives undertaken by the Foundation on the continent demonstrate its continued relevance as a credible interlocutor in addressing capacity challenges.

He said the theme of the meeting is relevant and topical as it aligns with the continent’s development goals. “The ACBF Strategy 2017-2021 allows the foundation the scope to effectively engage in and contribute to the body of knowledge on how to address youth unemployment and related challenges. More specifically, the foundation stands ready to assist in the analysis of prevailing constraints such as poor policy formulation and implementation,” he said.

He pointed out that disconnect between tertiary education and labour market needs on the continent necessitates sustained policy focus, particularly with regards to effective programmatic design and intervention.

Perhaps, this is why the 2018 Africa Think Tank Summit organized by the ACBF in April discussed how to use innovative solutions to tackle youth unemployment. Overall, the summit recommended the creation by all stakeholders a conducive environment within which think tanks can support the eradication of youth unemployment. It urged governments and other non-state actors to consider research produced by think tanks in their decision-making, design, implementation and monitoring of programmes addressing the challenge of youth unemployment; and enhanced reference to and engagement of think tanks and capacity building organisations by African governments and key stakeholders to support expansion of critical skills for youth employment.

Mwencha underscored that successful resolution of the unemployment challenge requires cohesive efforts and a multi-stakeholder approach.  “We all have a duty to understand the nature and magnitude of the problem and to play our part in resolving the challenge. This may include sharing of best practices relating to policy development, strategic interventions and establishing of key priorities to address the challenge of unemployment on the continent.

“Now more than ever, Africa needs ACBF to not only continue playing its current capacity building coordination role, but to intensify efforts being made to effectively address development bottlenecks and better support skills development interventions. The Foundation is well placed for this role on the continent given that it has accumulated immense experience and knowledge on capacity development, and in light of the growing impact of its operations and interventions, which indicates the centrality of capacity to the development agenda.”

He urged development partners, multilateral partners and other partners, to continue supporting the foundation to allow it to continue providing the services which are so badly needed by its member countries.

On his part, Emmanuel Nnadozie, executive secretary of the ACBF, provided evidence that today highlights the unstable economic conditions besetting the youth in Africa. A 2016 AfDB publication on “Jobs for Youth in Africa” states that, of Africa’s nearly 420 million youth aged 15-35, one-third are unemployed and discouraged, while another one-third are employed vulnerably, largely due to skills mis-match with labour market requirements. This is indeed a paradox as the continent is currently grappling with serious shortages of key technical skills.

Another study in 2016 on Capacity Requirements for the Implementation of the First 10 Years of Agenda 2063 indicated that Africa had about 55,000 engineers of an estimated 4.3 million needed. Similarly, the continent only had about 80, 000 agricultural scientists while needing an estimated 150,000 agriculturalists.”

What these figures show is that while Africa is investing in education, whether the scope and quality is sufficient to deal with the problem, remains a vexing question, Nnadozie said.

– Jul. 19, 2018 @ 18:15 GMT