Rabat, 6 March 2023 (ECA & Oxford Economics Africa) – The ECA Office for North Africa and Oxford Economics Africa launched on 6 March their second joint study, entitled “Human Capital and Productive Employment Creation: Addressing Africa’s Skills Gap”.
The full report is available here. Media may reproduce our charts with attribution to ECA and Oxford Economics Africa.
Key points:
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Mastering the appropriate skills will become increasingly important as the global economy evolves into a more sophisticated, interconnected, and digital landscape.
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To ensure that Africa is not only able to adapt but thrives under these circumstances, governments have to follow a two-pronged approach.
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Firstly, governments need to put in place the education and training facilities and channels to ensure that the ability to acquire skills is widespread. Education programmes should be responsive and adaptive, and there should be clear feedback loops between that what the economy needs and the skills being produced.
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Secondly, governments need to ensure that the policy and infrastructure (both hard and soft) allows for the development of economic sectors of the future. Crucially, it should be noted that labour market outcomes should not be seen as a product of labour market policies alone, but rather as a positive offshoot of the broader policy environment.
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This will not only be important in reaching a more desirable employment equilibrium, but will also be central for economies to adapt for the future.
"Since the Industrial Revolution we have seen how technological advances have necessitated the development of the skills needed to leverage those technologies, with the outcome being a more productive and prosperous society. Technology has never before evolved at such a rapid rate as we see today, meaning it is more imperative than ever that our leaders should take action to ensure that our people are prepared for the future economic landscape." Noelani King Conradie, Managing Director, Oxford Economics Africa
“The future world of work will require a workforce that not only has digital skills but also has the entrepreneur mindset to recognize opportunities and can adapt to them.” Zuzana B. Schwidrowski, Director, ECA Office for North Africa
Note to editors
About Oxford Economics
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About United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)
As one of the five regional commissions of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) supports Africa’s economic and social development, fosters regional integration and promotes international cooperation in support of regional development through research and technical support to governments. For more information, visit https://www.uneca.org and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Youtube!
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