Youth employment in Africa the next frontier
- Dr David Francis
Africa is undergoing a set of significant, intersecting transitions, which have the potential both to disrupt the intergenerational transmission of poverty and inequality, but also to reinforce them. While some components of the transition – the demographic transition for example – are well understood, comparatively less is known about economic transitions, particularly about young people in rural and peri-urban areas across the continent. Given the well-documented rise of Africa’s youth, there are urgent questions about their economic prospects. As SCIS, we are particularly interested in understanding the opportunities and barriers to Africa’s youth in developing sustainable and resilient economic lives.
South Africa’s Youth Month is an important moment to reflect on the role of youth in Africa’s economic future, and itself raises interesting and important questions about the similarities and differences between youth in South Africa and young people on the rest of the continent. As South Africa’s youth unemployment rate climbs ever higher, there may be important lessons to learn from countries elsewhere in Africa.
Answering these questions underscores the importance of research alliances between African universities and the opportunities afforded by collaborative problem solving and policy engagement.