With 60% of its population under 25, Africa is the most youthful continent globally. However, the shortage of economic opportunities constitutes hardship for young people on the continent. According to reports, 53.4% of Nigerians aged 15 to 24 are unemployed. In South Africa, 46.3% of individuals aged 15 to 34 are unemployed. Such a vast population of youths alongside a massive unemployment rate is problematic.
On the other hand, the booming ICT sector in Africa is proving to be a resort to young people in search of economic empowerment. Since the start of the millennium, Africa has witnessed massive ICT coverage growth. A 3G or faster internet connection covers about 79% of Africa’s population. The ICT sector has changed human interaction on the continent and provided economic opportunities for youths.
This article answers the following questions: How is Africa’s youth benefiting from ICT? What can be done to scale the positive impact on Africa’s youth population?
An open-source platform for on-demand skills for youths
A fundamental cause of youth unemployment in Africa is the lack of employability skills among graduates. A study in East Africa revealed that employers perceive graduates lacking employable skills. The absence of employability skills among graduates of higher institutions extends across several continents. Due to the disconnect between higher institutions and the labour market, graduates need to train specific in-demand skills to get employment.
However, with the ICT revolution, the cost of acquiring skills has been reduced to the barest minimum. With a smartphone and internet connection, young people can access open-sourced training on various in-demand talents on the internet. One of such open-source platforms is YouTube which provides access to billions of free video training facilitated by experts in multiple fields such as communication, data analysis, project management, engineering and a thousand applications. Other social media platforms where young people access skills training include LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram. The free training content has imparted millions of young Africans with employability skills, thus enabling them to find jobs or start their ventures.
A surge in Global Demand for Talent: Remote Work
The current possibility of telecommuting has made it possible for firms to hire talents residing in other countries. This innovation has provided opportunities for young Africans to seek well-paying jobs outside the continent, even while they continue to live in their indigenous nations. These firms, which typically are based in Europe and the United States of America, enjoy skilled labour services at a reduced cost. Given the shortage of jobs in the continent, this comes as an excellent opportunity to increase the pool of economical options available to the youths of Africa.
ICT enabled Youth Migration
ICT has also made the migration of youths easier by reducing the cost of access to information. African youths can migrate for education and skilled work. Countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States of America have enabled millions or thousands of Africans to relocate to their lands through graduate schemes that would allow migrants to stay and seek employment. With employment, these young people can earn an income and support their families back in Africa. Such opportunities for skilled migrants have been made famous by the internet. The entire process of a job application to contracts agreement and a large part of the immigration processes can be processed online.
Going Forward
ICT brings immense opportunities for the African youth through open-sourced learning, remote jobs and opportunities for skilled migration. To ensure that the youths of Africa continue to enjoy the possibilities made available by the ICT revolution, it is essential that African governments -with the support of the private sector and development organisations – facilitate the provision of good internet services to enhance learning opportunities for its young citizens. Internet-enabled training supplements skills developed in conventional institutions of learning. Telecommuting has made it possible for economic opportunities to move from a country of abundance to a country with opportunities. To prepare the youths of Africa for these opportunities, the African private sector will do well by investing in youth training, thereby building a globally competitive labour force that will benefit the African industries.
