Context
Growing youth unemployment is a fundamental challenge for Africa. Although access to quality educa-tion and appropriate job opportunities are essential for the reduction of poverty, political stability, par-ticipation, sustainable development, they are hard to come by in many African countries. The lack of educational opportunities results in both poor personal and occupational prospects and is one of the reasons why many young people choose to leave their homes in search of a more prosperous future elsewhere.
Objective
In the Member States of the African Union, the conditions for employment-oriented skills development are improved.
Approach
In response to these challenges, the African Union Commission (AUC) and the German Federal Minis-try for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) initiated the Skills Initiative for Africa (SIFA) in 2016.
SIFA consists of a technical component supported by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, the International Labor Organization (ILO), and the European Training Foundation (ETF). The SIFA Financing Facility provides funding to innovative employment-oriented skills development projects, following a competitive application process.
GIZ supports AUDA-NEPAD and the AUC in facilitating a continental dialogue on employment-oriented skills development. The gathering and disseminating of good practice approaches in African countries aims at improving the quality, access, and relevance of skills development projects. Exchange and dialogue take place through the African Skills Portal for Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship (ASPYEE) as well as national, regional, and continental dialogue platforms such as Africa Creates Jobs (ACJ). To ensure that the private sector is involved, SIFA works closely with employers’ associa-tions at the national and continental levels. The acquired knowledge also informs investment decisions of the Finance Facility in the pilot countries.
The ILO is implementing measures to develop labor market information systems, and ETF is support-ing the development of an African Continental Qualifications Framework.