ILO, ITU and the AU gather stakeholders to advance a new joint programme to boost decent jobs and enhance skills for youth in Africa’s digital economy
ABIDJAN (ILO NEWS)– The International Labour Organization (ILO), International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the African Union (AU) held a virtual roundtable on 22 October 2020 to build sustainable partnerships and explore funding mechanisms for their recently launched joint continental programme, entitled “Boosting Decent Jobs and Enhancing Skills for Youth”.
Launched under the aegis of the Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth, the programme’s overarching goal is to increase the number of young Africans who access decent work in the digital economy in selected target countries: Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and South Africa.
“Through the roundtable we wanted to highlight the priorities, needs and challenges of target countries to create jobs, promote entrepreneurship opportunities, reduce digital skills gaps, and streamline labour intermediation for young people in the digital economy,” explained Cynthia Samuel-Olonjuwon, ILO Assistant Director General and Regional Director for Africa.
Noting the importance of the new joint programme for the continent, ITU Regional Director for Africa Andrew Rugege said that: "Young people are Africa's most important source of human capital: the achievement of all countries’ development goals will depend on skilled young people contributing their energy, creativity and expertise.”
The programme will implement interventions to create jobs, strengthen digital skills and improve employment services, establish partnerships and networks at the continental level, and provide policy advice through new data, diagnostic tools and investments to understand what works to boost youth employment in the digital economy. Furthermore, it will integrate each participating country’s own plans for youth employment and digital skills development.
The participants of the virtual roundtable agreed that the joint programme’s objectives have become even more important in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and its systemic, deep and disproportionate impact on young people’s education, employment and mental well-being. The immense dependency on digital technology for education and work during the pandemic has further revealed the need to accelerate digital transformation in Africa.
The virtual roundtable featured multi-stakeholder dialogues with participants representing governments, workers’ and employers’ organisations, youth-led organisations, UN organizations, bilateral and multilateral development partners, development banks, the private sector, including firms operating in the digital economy, and financial service providers.
“Today’s event brought together key stakeholders who are investing in enabling young people to work and innovate in Africa’s digital economy,” said Mr. Rugege. “We look forward to increasing the impact of this joint programme through meaningful partnerships for the benefit of African youth and the continent’s digital transformation,”
According to ILO estimates, 20.7 per cent of young people are in Neither Employment Education or Training (NEET). Young women (at 25.8 per cent) are affected at much higher rates than young men (at 15.7 per cent) showing that gender inequalities in accessing the labour market remain pervasive.
“Youth employment and youth empowerment are critical components for promoting and realising inclusive digital societies hence, rapidly creating new opportunities for Africa’s youth is not a luxury but a necessity, concluded Ms. Samuel-Olonjuwon.
Contact information:
Jonas Bausch, bausch@ilo.org
Christine Sund, Naomi Falkenburg itu-ro-africa@itu.int
Visit: ILO Africa and ITU in Africa
Launched under the aegis of the Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth, the programme’s overarching goal is to increase the number of young Africans who access decent work in the digital economy in selected target countries: Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and South Africa.
“Through the roundtable we wanted to highlight the priorities, needs and challenges of target countries to create jobs, promote entrepreneurship opportunities, reduce digital skills gaps, and streamline labour intermediation for young people in the digital economy,” explained Cynthia Samuel-Olonjuwon, ILO Assistant Director General and Regional Director for Africa.
Noting the importance of the new joint programme for the continent, ITU Regional Director for Africa Andrew Rugege said that: "Young people are Africa's most important source of human capital: the achievement of all countries’ development goals will depend on skilled young people contributing their energy, creativity and expertise.”
The programme will implement interventions to create jobs, strengthen digital skills and improve employment services, establish partnerships and networks at the continental level, and provide policy advice through new data, diagnostic tools and investments to understand what works to boost youth employment in the digital economy. Furthermore, it will integrate each participating country’s own plans for youth employment and digital skills development.
The participants of the virtual roundtable agreed that the joint programme’s objectives have become even more important in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and its systemic, deep and disproportionate impact on young people’s education, employment and mental well-being. The immense dependency on digital technology for education and work during the pandemic has further revealed the need to accelerate digital transformation in Africa.
The virtual roundtable featured multi-stakeholder dialogues with participants representing governments, workers’ and employers’ organisations, youth-led organisations, UN organizations, bilateral and multilateral development partners, development banks, the private sector, including firms operating in the digital economy, and financial service providers.
“Today’s event brought together key stakeholders who are investing in enabling young people to work and innovate in Africa’s digital economy,” said Mr. Rugege. “We look forward to increasing the impact of this joint programme through meaningful partnerships for the benefit of African youth and the continent’s digital transformation,”
According to ILO estimates, 20.7 per cent of young people are in Neither Employment Education or Training (NEET). Young women (at 25.8 per cent) are affected at much higher rates than young men (at 15.7 per cent) showing that gender inequalities in accessing the labour market remain pervasive.
“Youth employment and youth empowerment are critical components for promoting and realising inclusive digital societies hence, rapidly creating new opportunities for Africa’s youth is not a luxury but a necessity, concluded Ms. Samuel-Olonjuwon.
Contact information:
Jonas Bausch, bausch@ilo.org
Christine Sund, Naomi Falkenburg itu-ro-africa@itu.int
Visit: ILO Africa and ITU in Africa