Africa Skills Week (ASW) 2024 has drawn to a triumphant close, with participants calling for the institutionalisation of ASW as a biennial event to foster dialogue, collaboration, and knowledge sharing on skills development and employment across the continent.
The outcome statement and call to action from the inaugural conference highlight significant achievements, including enhanced policy dialogue on the importance of skills development in driving economic growth and social inclusion.
The communiqué outlines seven key points in its call to action. It urges governments to prioritize effective and inclusive skills development policies and encourages strengthened partnerships between governments, educational institutions, and productive sectors. It calls for the promotion of entrepreneurship through training, mentorship, access to financing, and the leveraging of technology and innovation to enhance skills development and digitize educational systems.
The statement further emphasizes the need to continue the dialogue around skills development, including making ASW a biennial event and declaring 2025-2034 as Africa’s Decade of Skills and Jobs. Additionally, it calls for the implementation of the Youth Summit on Skills action plan and the establishment of mechanisms to monitor and evaluate progress, ensuring innovation, accountability, and sustainability.
With Africa’s workforce projected to double by 2050, the communiqué emphasizes that addressing the continent’s skills gap is vital to creating a prosperous and inclusive future.
A separate Youth Statement echoed these sentiments, emphasizing that skills development is essential for cultivating sustainable livelihoods and inclusive economic growth. The youth participants expressed their vision for a future where employability is increased, marginalized groups are included, and opportunities are expanded for all, particularly in preparation for the technological revolution.
Africa Skills Week, held in Accra from 14 to 18 October 2024, revolved around the theme “Skills and jobs for the 21st century: quality skills development for sustainable employability in Africa,” aligning with the African Union’s Year of Education.
The conference, hosted by the Government of Ghana in partnership with the African Union, was supported by Germany through the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the International Labour Organization (ILO), UNESCO, the World Bank, Ghana’s Commission for TVET (CTVET), and Ghana’s Ministry of Education and Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration.
Throughout the week, daily themes centred on youth, skills development, jobs, and technical and vocational education and training (TVET), with a focus on inclusivity for women, displaced people, and persons with disabilities. Delegates from around the world participated in plenary sessions and panel discussions, sharing insights and best practices.
On the final day, themed “Africa’s digital transformation on skills development and jobs,” Professor Saïdou Madougou, Director of the AU’s Education, Science, Technology, and Innovation (ESTI) initiative, emphasized that digital transformation in education goes beyond merely adopting technology.
“True innovation in education involves rethinking how we teach, what we teach, and who has access. It’s about building an inclusive system that equips every child, no matter where they are born, with the skills to thrive in a rapidly changing world,” Prof. Madougou said.
He urged stakeholders to ensure that technology addresses the diverse needs of students, considering different learning styles, languages, and internet access, while emphasizing that true innovation means creating systems that meet the needs of all students.
The success of Africa Skills Week 2024 has set the stage for future collaboration on skills development and employment across Africa, with the hope that these efforts will lead to a brighter, more inclusive future for the continent.
