Paper short abstract:

Introductory QUIZ to the panel discussion

Paper long abstract:

In Africa, an estimated 122 million young people will join the labour force in the next decade - nearly three times more than the rate at which stable wage paying jobs are expected to be created. Youth unemployment and underemployment is influenced by the level of macroeconomic growth, as well as the quality of this growth (Baah-Boateng, 2016, p. 427; see also UNECA & AUC, 2017; African Development Bank, 2016; Filmer & Fox, 2014). Although Africa's share of global production has increased by 30%, its share of trade by more than one-third, and its share of world foreign direct investment has doubled, this progress has not trickled down (Chemutai & Low, 2016). Most African countries experience low productivity and low competitiveness among enterprises (formal and informal) in virtually all sectors. This constrains the creation of new and productive jobs (Dekker & Hollander, 2017). These constraints apply to both urban and rural youth. Despite youth employment being one of the top priorities on the global political agenda, coordination and implementation gaps persists on the African continent.

The paper proposed by INCLUDE will be based on information gathered in four evidence synthesis papers published between 2019-2020. These papers brought together information from a range of robust sources on key areas relevant to youth employment in Africa, such as: work-based learning schemes (WBLs), sustainable job creation, gender barriers and constraints on the labour market, and employment creation for peacebuilding. The most interesting findings will be presented in an interactive way to engage the audience. The objective is to draw a background of the youth employment challenge in Africa and provide a starting point for the more in-depth case studies presented by other panellists.

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