ADAMON Mukasa, Senior researcher, Africa Development Bank has said that to curb unemployment, the governments of African States need to develop policies to facilitate school-to-work transition of their youths in order to reduce skill- mismatch.
During the ongoing 2019 African Economic Conference in Egypt tagged; “Jobs, Entrepreneurship, and Capacity Development for African Youth”, Mukasa, said that often times, youths accept job positions that they are not equipped to manage as an alternative to being unemployed.
He revealed that the continent has under-skilled youths in different sectors representing 28.9 per cent which more than doubles 13 per cent recorded in other developing regions of the world.
“More than half, 56.9 per cent, received basic to secondary education only, compared to 36.4 per cent in other parts of the developing world. This mismatch impacts earnings, job satisfaction and job stability, Mukasa added.
“African countries must develop policies to facilitate school-to-work transition of their youth,” he said.
Report from the conference host by the ADB, the United Nations Development Programme, and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa posits that “in education, around 8.3 per cent of youth had reached tertiary education versus 20.6 per cent of their peers in other developing regions.
The researcher suggested more attention should be shifted to the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in the academic sector.
A move he said would help provide leverage for youths at the labour market.