NEW YORK (ILO News) – Generating decent jobs for the youth is one of the most pressing post-2015 challenges in the Africa region, reiterated Aeneas C. Chuma, ILO Regional Director for Africa, at the Africa Week held from 12-16 October in New York under the theme, “Agenda 2063 & the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: Moving from Aspirations to Reality”.
“Africa’s youth need guaranteed full access to quality education & skills for jobs & economic opportunities”, Chuma said during the High-Level Event entitled “African Continental Framework on Youth Development: Mainstream into Agenda 2063”.
The forum attended by the CEO of the NEPAD Agency, the USG for OSAA, AUC Commissioner for Trade and Industry, the Executive Secretary of ECA, the Executive Director of UNFPA, the UN Secretary-General’s Youth Envoy, and senior representatives from UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa and McKinsey Company, focused on the forthcoming African Continental Framework on Youth Development, which aims to assist African Member States to define national employment policy schemes with operational action plans in line with the objectives of inclusive growth and the creation of decent and sustainable jobs.
“Youth unemployment is a structural issue in Africa that cannot be addressed by economic growth alone”, he explained highlighting the important role of youth employment in accelerating achievement of the aspirations of Agenda 2063.
The event was meant to address the role of global, regional, sub-regional and national actors in youth development on the continent and forging partnerships between stakeholders for youth development.
“Creating opportunities for decent jobs for Africa’s youth is a recipe for peace, greater social stability & economic progress”, concluded Aeneas Chuma.
Participants expressed support for the urgent inclusion of youth in the process leading to the establishment of the African Continental Framework on Youth Development. The Framework is to be launched in early 2016 in line with the implementation of Africa’s transformative Agenda 2063 and the global 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
