At the Africa Youth Employment Clock‘s launch, Prof. Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, emphasized the significance of data-driven decision making for employment and development in Africa.
Her remarks come amid rising rates of youth unemployment across the African continent and ongoing efforts by governments, development partners, and institutions to find solutions, noting that data is essential to this process.
The World Data Lab and the Mastercard Foundation collaborated to create the cutting-edge tool, which aims to improve awareness of and advocacy for youth employment opportunities. It is primarily a digital tool that forecasts employment trends in Africa up to 2030 and monitors real-time job growth.
Prof. Amfo also talked about how important real-time data is for policy planning and job market analysis in her keynote speech. She lauded the partnership between the MasterCard Foundation and platform developers for their dedication to providing decision-relevant, actionable data.
Prof. Amfo noted that Ghana’s youth unemployment rate of 32% presents a significant obstacle. She emphasized the importance of strategic planning across a variety of industries in order to prepare young people for a technology-driven job market and create future employment opportunities.
Prof. Amfo stated,
“The acquisition of critical skills such as digital literacy, presentation skills, critical thinking and analytical skills should be essential for young people and our training programmes. These skills are crucial in ensuring they are prepared for the expanding job market.”
Prof. Amfo cited the Student Venture Support Programme, the UGBS Innovation and Incubation Hub, the UG Internship Policy, and the various programs run by the UG Careers and Counseling Centre as examples of the University of Ghana’s efforts to ensure that its graduates have employable skills and are prepared to create self-employment opportunities.
The Vice-Chancellor stated that these platforms are intended to prepare students and young people for a job market that is increasingly driven by technology.
She repeated the significance of involving information for advancement and monetary preparation, praising the MasterCard Starting point for their constant help and devotion to youth work drives.
Ms. Rica Rwingamba, the Mastercard Foundation’s Country Director for Ghana, spoke at the meeting about the foundation’s work in Africa as well.
“Education and financial inclusion in Africa were the primary focuses of the Mastercard Foundation, which was established in 2006 as an independent organization in Canada by the Mastercard company. Now, through our Young African Work Strategy, we want to make it possible for 30 million young people across the continent to find work that is both dignified and fulfilling. Of this number, 3 million, or 10%, are going to be in Ghana, according to the Country Director.
Ms. Rwingamba went on to say that the foundation’s target audiences, highlighting the possibility of change given that Africa’s youth population is expected to grow significantly and reach 600 million by 2030.
“We view young people as innovators in Africa, ready to address global and local challenges. The launch of the Youth Employment Clock is a call to action for all stakeholders, clearly showing where we are and where we need to go. By leveraging this data, we can ensure that our efforts are impactful and contribute to the grand vision of transforming the African continent,” she added.
The World Data Lab’s Vice-President of Strategic Engagements, Dr. Reshma Sheoraj, gave an overview of the platform, outlining the things that can be tracked and the best ways the Clock can be used to help create jobs in Africa. She said that the platform could be used by young people to find industries with more job opportunities.
Providing a platform for data-driven advocacy and decision-making to create long-term employment opportunities for Africa’s youth, the launch of the Africa Youth Employment Clock is a significant step toward addressing youth unemployment.
The Clock, which was launched in Accra, aims to democratize data and assist policymakers, development actors, youth, and other stakeholders interested in promoting inclusive labor markets in making strategic decisions.
The Clock is a tool that is easy to use and available to the public. It uses surveys and datasets from national statistics offices, the International Labor Organization (ILO), and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) to create cutting-edge data modeling and visualization.
Credit: University of Ghana
