The Future of Work in Africa: From Evidence to Action

Issue 19 of Southern Lens on Development by Prof. Jane Mariara 

Africa’s young people remain central to the continent’s future. More than 60% of Africans are under the age of 25, and by 2050, the region’s labour force will almost double. Yet millions continue to face barriers to accessing dignified and fulfilling work. Today, over 72 million young Africans, more than one in four, are not in employment, education, or training (NEET), and nearly 72% of young adult workers (25–29) remain trapped in insecure or informal employment. As global labour markets evolved by technological change, climate pressures, and demographic transitions, an urgent question emerges.

How do we prepare Africa’s youth for the future of work?

In my October newsletter, I reflected on lessons from ten African countries through the What Works for Youth Employment in Africa initiative, an initiative implemented by the Partnership for Economic Policy (PEP) in collaboration with local researchers and in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation. The findings revealed both shared challenges and inspiring reforms, demonstrating that evidence-informed policymaking can make a tangible difference in young people’s lives.

This month marks another milestone. We launched Youth Employment Programmes in Africa, an edited volume that brings together these insights and offers one of the most comprehensive comparative analyses of youth employment systems across the continent. Drawing on more than 500 in-depth interviews and insights from 1,500 focus group participants across nine countries, the volume provides one of the richest empirical examinations of youth employment programmes currently available. It goes beyond analysing programme performance to interrogate whether interventions reach vulnerable young people, how political clientelism shapes benefits, and the extent to which governments coordinate employment efforts. By combining qualitative evidence with labour-market data and institutional analysis, the book offers a nuanced political-economy perspective for researchers and policymakers.

These findings connect directly to the broader question that guided discussions at PEP’s 2024 Policy Conference on The Future of Work in the Global South. At the conference, we explored how technological shifts, climate pressures, and evolving labour-market demands are reshaping opportunities for young people—and why African countries must rethink training systems, programme coordination, and institutional capacity to keep pace. The lessons from the book and the earlier country reviews reinforce these themes, underscoring the need for deliberate, evidence-informed strategies to prepare Africa’s youth for the future of work.

Shared Challenges, Shared Commitment

During the 2024 year’s conference, participants highlighted persistent obstacles: fragmented youth programmes, weak monitoring and evaluation systems, and limited alignment between skills development initiatives and labour-market needs. The link between vocational training and access to decent work was clear—without market-relevant skills, young people struggle to transition into meaningful livelihoods.

The launch discussion of Youth Employment Programmes in Africa reaffirmed these concerns. Findings from the ten national policy reviews paint a consistent picture: structural and institutional barriers continue to limit young people’s access to work and addressing them requires coordinated and sustained action.

Insights from the Launch: What Holds Youth Employment Back?

Presenting cross-country lessons, Lucas Ronconi—one of the authors of the volume—noted that youth employment programmes (YEPs) across Africa often:

• Receive insufficient and uncoordinated resources.
• Target vulnerable populations poorly; and
• Lack strong evaluation frameworks.

Country researchers echoed similar concerns:

• Ethiopia faces limited coordination, inadequate data, and institutional turnover.
• South Africa struggles with overlapping mandates and fragmented programming.
• Uganda operates parallel job-creation initiatives that rarely align.

These coordination gaps matter. When delivery structures are fragmented, even well-designed programmes struggle to achieve the scale and impact required to address the continent’s youth employment challenge.

To address these gaps, the book’s authors propose establishing interministerial committees—with representation from academia, civil society, and development partners—to harmonize efforts, strengthen accountability, and improve coherence.

Moving from Reactive to Strategic

A key message from the launch was the need to shift from short-term, reactive interventions toward long-term strategies that:

• Promote entrepreneurship.
• Improve the quality, coordination, and dissemination of labour-market data.
• Strengthen technical capacity within programmes; and
• Balance political imperatives with evidence-based decision-making.

Participants also highlighted the value of PEP’s co-production model, noting that the collaborative design of the research—with policymakers and other stakeholders engaged from the outset—has strengthened the relevance and uptake of the evidence generated.

Priorities for Transforming Youth Employment

These priorities are especially urgent in a context where Africa will account for 42% of the world’s youth by 2030, and where climate and technological shifts are projected to transform or displace up to 65% of existing jobs across the region.

Across contexts, several cross-cutting priorities emerged:

• Creating national labour-market information systems that guide decision-making.
• Investing in entrepreneurship programmes tailored to youth needs.
• Improving the targeting of Youth Employment Policies to reach the most excluded.
• Addressing sector bias to ensure equitable opportunities; and
• Involving young people directly in the design of employment initiatives.

From Evidence to Success

Youth employment is not only a social priority—it is a core economic strategy. When young Africans thrive, their nations thrive. The deliberations during the 2024 Policy Conference, together with the newly launched volume, underscore an important truth: preparing Africa’s youth for the future of work requires both evidence and intentional, coordinated policymaking. Youth employment is not only a social priority—it is a core economic strategy. When young Africans thrive, their nations thrive.

With Africa’s labour force projected to nearly double by 2050, evidence-informed reforms are essential for turning demographic growth into economic opportunity.

The edited volume Youth Employment Programmes in Africa offers practical insights to support governments and partners in strengthening youth employment systems across the continent. I encourage readers to explore the findings and share reflections on how we can collectively move evidence into meaningful action.

📘 Learn more: Explore the new book Youth Employment Programmes in Africa 

🔗 Access resources: https://www.pep-net.org/youth-employment-repository

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