BRUSSELS (ILO News) - The ILO addressed a public hearing on the creation of decent and sustainable employment opportunities for young people in Africa, organised by the European Parliament Committee on Development. The hearing focused on the strategies required to empower young people through skills development, supporting entrepreneurship and ensuring sustainable investment. It also looked at current EU development actions, particularly within the EU-Africa Global Gateway Investment Package.

During her intervention, Lieve Verboven, Director of ILO-Brussels, welcomed Europe’s efforts to accelerate sustainable growth and decent job opportunities in the region, particularly through the EU’s Global Gateway Strategy. She underlined that there is room for expansion for ILO-EC collaboration on employment impact assessment. This is currently carried out via the STRENGTHEN2 flagship project, a joint EC-ILO initiative which aims to leverage employment impact assessments for the creation of more and better jobs in Sub-Saharan Africa.

She presented some of the key policies needed to boost youth employment in Africa, underlining not only the value of targeted investments and policies, but also the right partnerships. In particular, she noted the importance of greater public and private investment in sectors such as green, digital and care and emphasised that the promotion of pro-employment macroeconomic policies should involve the social partners.

African youth (aged 15-24) constitute around two thirds of the continent’s population. The ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical crises continues to have long-lasting effects on the labour market and have increased difficulties for young people to secure decent employment. Scaling up action and investments for job creation, promoting youth entrepreneurship and ensuring skills development through technical and vocational education training are not only crucial for increasing opportunities for young people but also contribute to poverty reduction and ensuring a just transition.

Decent work opportunities are a key component to creating an environment for sustainable economic growth. A holistic, human-centred approach is crucial to enhancing economic and social resilience and fostering inclusive economies.

“Let’s empower youth in Africa through coordinated and collective action to ensure decent work creation,” said Ms Verboven.

Watch the hearing here.