Regional Workshop on Social Cohesion and Youth Employment 3-4 June, 2013; Dakar, Senegal Brief Report by Edward Chileka-Banda (Participant) Introduction The Regional Workshop was held from 3-4 June in Dakar Senegal to mark the closure phase of the UNDP programme for Social Cohesion and Youth Employment in Sub-Saharan Africa (YERP). The Programme specifically aimed towards the strengthening of the systems, procedures and competencies of the African Union Commission (AUC) in order to formulate regional trade strategies, as well as integrate trade, the private sector, gender and youth employment strategies within the region. Malawi was one of the 12 countries that were selected for the pilot phase. Therefore, the Regional Workshop provided an opportunity for all the stakeholders to exchange experiences and discuss on ways to address the burning issues pertaining to youth employment in Africa, based on results and lessons learned from the implementation process. It also provided a platform to discuss on ways of sustaining and capitalising on the gains made so far. Malawi participated at the workshop through Mr. Brian Ng’oma of the Ministry of Labour and Edward Chileka-Banda of the Youth Consultative Forum (YCF). The Malawi Experience The Malawi delegation shared the local experience with the YERP. The overall objective of the Malawi programme was to facilitate the creation of decent employment particularly the young people in Malawi through achievement of the objectives of the Decent Work Country Programme and the Malawi growth and Development Strategy (MGDS). The programme focused on two major components. The first component headed by the Ministry of Labour focussed on the development of National Labour and Employment Policy, enhancing youth participation in the employment dialogue and ensuring the availability of up-to-date and quality labour market information. The other component, coordinated by the Ministry of Youth and Sports was the Integrated Youth Development Programme (IYDP) that was modeled on Songhai Center in Benin. The programme aimed at promoting access of youth, men and women to appropriate agri-entrepreneurial, leadership and management skills while focusing on the promotion of effective youth participation in the creation of and investments in commercially viable agro-enterprises in Malawi. The Malawi programme has resulted in: 1. The drafting of National Employment and Labour Policy yet to be adopted. 2. Labour Force Survey whose process is in its final stages. 3. Youth Employment Situation Analysis 4. Establishment of the Neno Center for Integrated Youth development. Lessons Through discussions and sharing of best practices, the workshop highlighted the need and new demand for Africa to focus on the issue of youth employment if the continent is reap from the youth population bulge. The following are the major lessons on regional initiatives aimed at creating jobs for young people: 1. The Songhai Centre of Benin is a model for integrated youth development Programme that has been replicated in many countries. 2. ECOWAS has developed a Youth Employment Action Plan (2013-2015) which can provide lessons for other regional Economic Blocks like SADC. 3. Gender mainstreaming has been one of the topical issues within YERP. For example, Guine-Bissau implemented an empowerment programme targeting Teenage mothers as a special group that needs support. 4. National Skills development programmes such as volunteer programmes have been considered as an intervention to narrow skills gap and enhance youth employability: The case of Liberia and Guinea. 5. Some countries and UNDP country offices taking ownership and providing extra support of the programme; The case of Malawi and Kenya. 6. Focus on emerging sectors for job creation such as green jobs, agribusiness and mining sector. Common Challenges Despite the obvious progress and impact amplification on the YERP programme, the following were observed as the common challenges in the implementing countries: 1. Lack of effective integration of youth employment issues in sectoral policies. 2. Weak legal and policy frameworks for youth employment. 3. Lack of meaningful participation of key sectors such as the Private Sector in the job creation topic. 4. Lack of ownership of employment creation initiatives by governments threatens the sustainability of the programme as evidence by over-reliance on external financial and technical support. 5. Lack of strong support mechanisms for youth beneficiaries such as problems in accessing capital for businesses. 6. Absence effective mainstreaming of youth voices and actions in the programme. 7. Lack of Effective coordination among key stakeholders Workshop Recommendations The delegates to the workshop highlighted the following as recommendations to inform future youth employment initiatives: 1. Investment in youth employment for sustainable development in Africa must consider social cohesion, skills gap, mentorship programmes and the mainstreaming of youth employment in government policies. 2. Consideration of reforms for winning and sustainable approaches that promote the employability of youths that focus on vocational training, rural/urban discrepancies and migration. 3. Governments must prioritise the creation of conducive legal and policy environment for youth employment. 4. Employment opportunities for youths must be in new growth areas such as green jobs and agri-business and be supported by availability of labour market information and value addition approaches. 5. Supporting the culture of productivity through school curriculum to narrow down the skills gap that is worsening youth unemployment. 6. Youth employment should support social cohesion programmes through availability of labour data, national ownership and promotion of interagency coordination. The Post 2015 Youth Agenda The workshop also highlighted youth aspirations in the Post 2015 development agenda based on country consultations that include: 1. Sustainability of youth employment and creation of decent jobs. 2. Youths should be considered as catalysts of development. 3. Effective youth participation must be priotised. 4. Access to funding capital for entrepreneurship and wealth creation. 5. National budgets should be sensitive to job creatio Implication for Advocacy Considering the progress made and challenges encountered in Malawi, there are several advocacy issues that need to be pursued by stakeholders. These include the adoption of the National Labour and Employment Policy, availability of labour market information, employment data, capitalisation and sustainability of the Integrated Youth Development Program. In addition youth participation must be promoted in order to mainstream their views and actio Conclusion The Youth Consultative Forum (YCF) is grateful to UNDP for its participation at the Regional Workshop through its National Coordinator. The workshop provided a great opportunity to expand the debate on youth employment issues in Africa and Malawi in particular. The workshop came at the right time when the issue of job creation is within policy dialogue in Malawi and the outcome is expected to enrich the employment debate. The workshop outcomes will also inform advocacy interventions by YCF and other stakeholders on question of youth employment in Malawi.
Posted on: Tue, 11 Jun 2013 19:17:45 +0000