Khartoum, 11 October 2022 (ECA) – The Office for North Africa of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and theNational Population Council of Sudan launched on Tuesday 11 October in Khartoum (Sudan) a national capacity development workshop on employment and job creation. This two-day event will be followed on 13 October by a high-level policy dialogue to present policy makers with key recommendations.
The national capacity development workshop seeks to equip Sudanese officials with tools to better understand the evolution of employment and labour market conditions, identify key constraints, adapt their policies to changing conditions and mitigate the impact of COVID-19 and climate change on job creation. Participants will also examine African best practice in job creation to identify useful options for their country and ensure women and youth employment is at the heart of national priorities.
These events will be taking place with the participation of policy makers and senior officials from the Sudanese Ministries of Labour and Administrative Reform; Education; Higher Education; Industry and Trade; Finance and Economic Planning; Agriculture and Natural Resources; Social Development; Youth and Sports as well as representatives of the Sudanese private sector and civil society.
In the context of cascading crises, with severe climate change consequences, investing in climate-proof infrastructure will facilitate sustainable employment creation. Focusing on upskilling the agricultural sector, involving private sector, and intervening at different parts of the value chains are among the characteristics of successful employment-generating initiatives in Africa, said Zuzana Brixiova Schwidrowski, Director of the ECA Office for North Africa ahead of the workshop.
Moving forward, job creation and employability initiatives will have to reinforce economic development strategies and target youth to be impactful in youthful and labour abundant countries like Sudan, she added.
Given the rapid growth of Sudan’s labour force, short term job creation will be a critical component of the national development strategy. However, the dire consequences of COVID-19, climate change and the Ukraine-Russia crisis on the global economy are now showing policy makers that investing in resilient and sustainable development has become a necessity.
Sudan’s working age population is currently estimated at 26 million and is projected to reach 33 million by 2030 and 66 million by 2063. The country is currently facing multiple challenges including a high inflation rate, food shortages, rising food and energy prices, low health and education levels, rapid urbanization, the influx of refugees from neighbouring countries and the impacts of COVID-19 and climate change. At the same time, the job market largely favours men over women, thus further increasing social discrepancies.
This situation means that youth unemployment will remain and can increasingly become a national concern if no direct policies and actions are taken to reduce the growing imbalance between the rapidly growing workforce and slowly growing employment and job opportunities, warned Amal Elbeshbishi, economist at the ECA Office for North Africa.
To face this challenge, key actions would include aligning public sector employment objectives and private sector business objectives and leveraging private sector resources by providing training incentives or by collaborating in public-private partnerships.
Parallel to the national capacity development workshop and high-level policy dialogue on employment and job creation, a delegation from the ECA Office for North Africa has met with Sudanese officials to discuss existing and future areas of cooperation.
Note to Editors:
ECA is one of the five regional commissions of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Its Office for North Africa aims to support the development of seven countries across the sub region (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia and Sudan) by helping them formulate and implement policies and programs that support their economic and social transformation.
Issued by:
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Economic Commission for Africa
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E-mail: eca-info@un.org