November 21, 2025 | Online
PEP hosted an interactive webinar to launch two major new resources that will support youth employment policymaking in Africa.
At a time when African governments face increasing pressure to respond to widening youth unemployment, demographic change, and global economic uncertainty, PEP is calling for a shift away from fragmented, short-term interventions towards coordinated, system-level evidence-based youth employment strategies.
November 21, 2025 - PEP launched two major new resources to advance inclusive and sustainable youth employment policymaking in Africa. During an online event, PEP celebrated the publication of the book Youth Employment Programmes in Africa and unveiled an open-access repository of research from the What Works for Youth Employment in Africa initiative, supported by PEP in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation.
“The repository represents one of the most comprehensive evidence bases available to help governments, funders, and researchers design more effective, equitable Youth Employment Programmes,” explained PEP’s Executive Director Prof. Jane Mariara. Meanwhile, the book offers evidence-based insights into what drives programme success in real-world settings. Co-editor Lucas Ronconi said that the book details “which policies are equitable, scalable, and responsive to the needs of Africa’s rapidly growing youth population.”
The launch aligns comes at a moment of renewed global focus on jobs and skills under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 8), ongoing African Union discussions on youth and employment, and international debates on how to prepare young people for rapidly changing labour markets shaped by climate change, technology, and economic restructuring.
A Large-Scale, Evidence-Based Continental Review
Opening the event, Prof. Mariara emphasised the scale of the three-year research initiative, which combined desk reviews with extensive consultations across ten African countries. “By examining what exists, how systems function, and where the gaps lie, these country projects provide some of the clearest insights on how to strengthen the impact and coordination of youth employment efforts,” she said.
To comprehensively understand how Youth Employment Programmes (YEPs) operate in practice, the project teams conducted over 500 in-depth interviews and engaged more than 1,500 focus group participants. Those consulted included youth, youth leaders, policymakers (including parliamentarians), civil society representatives, academics, media actors, and international organisations.
The research followed a co-production model: each country team included researchers, government officials, and youth organisation representatives. This structure, combined with the broad consultations, ensured the evidence reflected lived experiences, policy realities, and technical expertise.
Key Findings: Coordination Challenges and Systemic Gaps
The findings reveal systemic issues that weaken the impact of YEPs across the continent. While presenting the book, Lucas noted these include: “insufficient and uncoordinated resources, weak targeting of vulnerable youth, siloed implementation across ministries, and the absence of robust evaluation frameworks”.
During the launch, a panel discussion moderated by Tadzie Madzima, PEP’s Director of Communications, brought together Lucas and three country representatives: Lissan Meless (Ethiopia), Thembelihle Makhubela (South Africa), and Hennery Sebukeera (Uganda). The panellists underscored how poor coordination and weak labour market information systems undermine programme effectiveness. Lissan explained how fragmented mandates and a lack of integrated data systems in Ethiopia lead to duplication and weak accountability. Hennery added that Uganda faces the “silo approach,” where ministries run overlapping job creation programmes without shared information systems or coherent planning. Lucas noted that international partners may unintentionally contribute to duplication by introducing parallel programmes.
These findings challenge the dominance of project-based, donor-driven approaches and call for nationally coordinated, long-term systems transformation. As a Southern-led research network, PEP emphasises that these lessons are not only to African policymakers, but also to global development actors shaping youth employment programming.
Moving to Sustainable Strategies
Discussing how African governments can move from reactive, short-term crisis responses toward strategic, sustainable approaches, Thembelihle called for multi-year funding, integrated national strategies, and investment in emerging sectors. Lissan argued for a standalone youth employment policy with long-term objectives and clear institutional leadership. Lucas emphasised the importance of giving vulnerable youth a voice in policy processes and recommended creating interministerial committees to improve coordination.
Bridging the Gap Between Research and Policy
The panel also examined how to close the evidence-to-policy gap. Hennery highlighted the embedding research within planning and budgeting cycles. Lissan emphasised the value of PEP’s co-production model, which includes developing policymakers’ capacities to interpret and use evidence.
Throughout the presentations, panel discussion and Question and Answer session, participants stressed the importance of involving youth—including vulnerable youth and minorities—in designing YEPs to ensure their relevance, inclusivity, and effectiveness. Additional concerns included sector bias within YEPs and the need for stronger labour market information systems.
Evidence Made Accessible: The New Research Repository
After the Q&A, Prof. Mariara officially unveiled the new What Works for Youth Employment in Africa Research Repository. This open-access online platform brings together the full set of outputs from each of the ten country studies and the cross-country analysis. These include working papers, policy papers, policy briefs, scale measurement assessments, and policy message summaries.
Organised by country, publication type, and action area, the repository is—as Prof. Mariara explained—“deeply contextualised and comparable across countries, allowing users to identify patterns, contrast approaches, and understand how different policy environments shape results.” She also emphasised it is designed as a practical, living resource that will support evidence-informed policymaking and strengthen YEPs long after the initiative’s conclusion.
Broad Demand for Evidence
More than 90 participants from 27 countries attended the launch event, including representatives from government ministries, national statistics offices, youth networks, universities, international organisations, and think tanks. Their diverse backgrounds underscore the growing demand for high-quality evidence and the potential for these resources to shape policy debates across Africa.
As governments and development partners intensify efforts to promote dignified and fulfilling work for young Africans, the book and repository offer practical guidance on moving from reactive, short-term interventions to coordinated, data-driven, and sustainable solutions.
For policymakers, this evidence offers a roadmap for strengthening youth employment systems and improving inter-ministerial coordination. For donors and development partners, it calls for longer-term, harmonised investments that support integrated national strategies.
PEP will continue to engage governments, regional bodies, and global platforms to ensure this evidence informs policy cycles, budgeting, and youth employment reforms across the continent and beyond, reinforcing PEP’s role as a leading Southern voice in the global youth employment narrative.
