High Level Policy Dialogue Seminar on Youth Employment in Africa

The African Development Bank is organizing a High Level Policy Dialogue Seminar on Youth Employment in Africa in Lusaka, Zambia, that will focus on the challenges and opportunities faced by the following countries in the Southern Africa region: Angola, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique and Zambia.

The policy seminar will provide a platform for discussion of the menu of policy priorities available to countries to tackle the issue of youth employment. Labor market policies need to be tailored to the particular circumstances of each country.
The Global Youth Innovation Network has been invited to join this very important meeting. Our GYIN ambassadors will advocate once again the need to make youth employment focused policies and share the experiences and the strategy on how GYIN is tackling youth poverty across the globe.
Below is the menu of Policy Priorities
1. Place (decent) employment creation at the forefront of the policy agenda: Mainstream employment creation programmes in national development strategies.
2. Address open unemployment: target young workers through labour intensive public works schemes.
3. Implement economic policies conducive to growth and structural change: Governments will need to focus on three interrelated objectives: creating an export push, building firm capabilities, and supporting agglomerations. The typical low income economy in Africa needs to accelerate the growth of agro-industry, manufacturing and tradable services to create higher productivity jobs.
4. Increase both foreign and domestic private investment: Governments should continue to deepen enabling environment for private sector investments.
5. Invest in education while reforming the system: Adopt reforms aimed at skills training that keep abreast of labour market dynamics with a focus on post-primary education.
6. Reform labor legislation and institutions: Consider deregulation of the labour market. Separating social insurance from formal job status and social insurance contributions from formal sector wages should be an important long term goal.
7. Ease demographic pressure: National sexual and reproductive health programs have a role to play.
8. Focus on gender: promote gender equity in the labour market through supporting policies that ensure gender equality in access to health, education, credit etc.
9. Improve labor market information systems: countries will need to strengthen data collection, analysis and dissemination of labour market information.