Background:

One of the greatest challenges for Africa is to find productive employment for more than 200 million young men and women aged 15-24 years. Young people under 25 represent 3/5 of sub-Saharan Africa’s unemployed population, and 70 % of the youth population lives on less than $2 a day. The vast majority of jobs available to youth are low paid, insecure, and with few benefits or prospects for advancement.

Finding opportunities for young people is thus a critical imperative for Africa, where 62% of the population-more than 600 million young people-is below the age of 25. Simply put, Africa has the highest concentration of young people anywhere on the planet.

The challenge of youth employment in Africa, therefore, is not just to create more income and better jobs but also to increase the productivity, and hence remunerations, of the majority of young people who will be employed in the informal sector and small enterprises.

Decent employment for youth is already targeted in the Millennium Development Goals (Goal 1, target 1.B) but addressing efficiently the youth employment crisis requires a coherent and integrated response. In many countries interventions have focused on programs that are narrow in scope and limited in time.

The ILO is supporting the continental momentum to put youth employment at the heart of national macroeconomic policies. The ILO is part of a regional inter-agency job creation initiative for African youth equally involving the African Union Commission (AUC), the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the Africa Development Bank (AfDB).

Main Objectives:

- The signing of the Letter of Intent formalises a collaboration which has been shaping up for the past two years.

- The four agencies have independently carried out support for the respective constituents on the youth employment issue; the formal signature strengthens and enhances the bound between the agencies to deliver on youth employment. It is an incentive, as well as a commitment, to coordinate and increase effectiveness of interventions under the newly established common framework.

Expected Outcomes:

- The signing is the first step toward establishing a jointly managed, operational and self-financed structure which will provide joint assistance to African countries willing to devote resources and attention to the youth employment challenge.

- The rapid growth of the labour force implied in Africa’s demographic transition is posing serious development challenges as well as opportunities. How do we go from a “time bomb” situation to a “demographic dividend” state?

Facts and Figures:

- A year ago, the ten countries in the world with the youngest populations were all in Africa. The continent’s youth population is projected to continue growing until 2050 and beyond; At the projected rates of population growth, the number of young people in Africa will double by 2045.

- Africa is not creating the required amount of jobs needed to absorb the 10 to 12 million young men and women entering its labour markets each year. There is also the challenging trend of the unemployment of educated youth, including graduates of tertiary education institutions, that is emerging in several African countries.

- Lack of employment opportunities in the face of rapidly growing youth labour force in Africa is a ticking ‘time bomb’, as disaffection among young people can directly and indirectly result in actions including violent conflicts that undermine social cohesion and even threaten political stability - as some countries in the continent have already experienced.

- From a long-term demographic perspective, and in the light of recent impressive growth performance, African countries face the challenge of turning a young population into a development bonus.

- Africa’s demographic transition provides opportunities for the continent to become the next global centre for manufacturing and service industries. However, in order for African countries to benefit from this demographic dividend, young people need to be productively employed and integrated in the society. Countries need a comprehensive strategy and policies to provide young men and women with relevant skills and knowledge to take advantage of these opportunities.