The African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET) in partnership with Ghana’s Ministry of Education and Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations will convene a stakeholders’ engagement meeting on Youth Employment and Skills (YES), with particular focus on Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and secondary education on 24th April 2018 at La Palm Royal Beach Hotel in Accra.
Africa has the world’s youngest population with more than three fifths of its population under the age of 25, and the numbers are expected to rise significantly.
“Africa’s large and fast-growing youth population could be a great asset for development and a source of comparative advantage on world markets, with the right education and training, coupled with national economic strategies and policies that provide the right environment for rapid economic growth and creation of employment opportunities,” says ACET’s President, Dr. K.Y. Amoako.
But, in addition to the existing challenges of high and rising unemployment and vulnerable employment among its youth, African countries must face future challenges as technology advances. For example, the rapid evolution of robotics, 3-D printing, artificial intelligence and the “internet-of-things” is diminishing the importance of labour as a factor in manufacturing production.
The YES Platform focuses on the levers through which youth unemployment can be reduced by enhancing skills development to help meet the future job needs of young people. Ghana is convening the first platform series to identify specific challenges facing the country, propose policy recommendations to the government’s education and youth employment strategy, and support the successful implementation of such policies.
The meeting is structured around three key sub-themes: TVET, curriculum development and the role of the private sector. A key outcome expected from the meeting are clear and deliverable policy recommendations to successfully implement an excellent TVET system that supports youth employment and skills development in Ghana, in line with the government’s education and youth employment strategy.
Key government officials including Minister of Education, Hon. Dr. Mathew Opoku Prempeh, and Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Hon. Ignatius Baffour Awuah, will speak at the meeting. Participants include representatives of youth groups, development partners, the private sector, academia, and employer and labour associations.
Youth Employment and Skills is one of the thematic chapters making up the Pan-African Coalition for Transformation. ACET acts as the secretariat to PACT, which was launched at the first African Transformation Forum, held in March 2016 in Kigali, Rwanda. PACT is a network of stakeholders sharing valuable knowledge about successful initiatives, policies and reforms to speed up implementation of transformation strategies in Africa. It is organized around a number of thematic chapters, including agriculture, manufacturing, extractives, resource mobilization and management, and youth employment and skills.
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