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Africa’s youth population is rising exponentially, but many African graduates are failing to find good jobs. A new African Development Bank Group paper recommends that African countries invest in vocational training across education institutions and industry. It also highlights the immediate benefits that more apprenticeships could provide for young Africans and employers. Foreign institutions recruiting in Africa should conduct thorough research to identify skills shortages and mismatches in order to better target labour market demand. The AfDB recommends that: “African countries should create skills enhancement zones where governments, the private sector, academic institutions, and nongovernmental organisations collaborate on the design and implementation of plans for selected industries with strong competitive potential (mainly agroindustry, light manufacturing, and tourism). They are public-private centers where (mostly) young people are exposed to a wide set of skills across sectors, connected to industrial clusters, and prepared for entrepreneurship.

Africa’s youth population is rising exponentially, but many African graduates are failing to find good jobs. A new African Development Bank Group paper recommends that African countries invest in vocational training across education institutions and industry. It also highlights the immediate benefits that more apprenticeships could provide for young Africans and employers. Foreign institutions recruiting in Africa should conduct thorough research to identify skills shortages and mismatches in order to better target labour market demand. The AfDB recommends that: “African countries should create skills enhancement zones where governments, the private sector, academic institutions, and nongovernmental organisations collaborate on the design and implementation of plans for selected industries with strong competitive potential (mainly agroindustry, light manufacturing, and tourism). They are public-private centers where (mostly) young people are exposed to a wide set of skills across sectors, connected to industrial clusters, and prepared for entrepreneurship.