Implementing the Joint Youth Employment Initiative for Africa

15 August 2013

The Employment and Labour Sub-Cluster of the African Union-UN Regional Coordination Mechanism met to discuss the implementation process of the Joint Youth Employment Initiative (JYEIA) which will be officially kick-starting in mid-September 2013.

The JYEIA was launched in April 2013 during the 9th Session of the Labour and Social Affairs Commission by the AUC, UNECA, AfDB and ILO. The Joint Initiative is a response to an urgent call by AU member states to AUC and international partners to accelerate efforts to address youth employment challenges as expressed in the Malabo Declaration.

The objective of this initiative is to tackle the youth employment challenge in Africa with a focus on three main areas: (i) policy support, (ii) support to implementation of national, sub-regional and regional youth employment plans and policies and, (iii) knowledge building and dissemination.

The Joint Initiative will be implemented at national, sub regional and regional levels. Led by ILO and AfDB, pilot studies are being carried out in Senegal and Burkina Faso.

Youth employment is a major AU priority area and a core deliverable for the Employment and Labour sub-cluster for the year 2013.