Powering Youth Employment through the Mobile Industry in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2025 - Spotlight on Ghana, Senegal and Nigeria - GSMA
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Powering Youth Employment through the
Mobile Industry in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2025
Spotlight on Ghana, Senegal and Nigeria
COPYRIGHT © GSM ASSOCIATION 2020
GSMA Mobile for Development
The GSMA represents the interests of mobile For more information, visit our website at: This research has been funded by the
operators worldwide, uniting more than 750 www.gsma.com/mobilefordevelopment MasterCard Foundation.
operators and nearly 400 companies in the
broader mobile ecosystem, including handset Follow us on twitter @GSMAm4d
and device makers, software companies,
equipment providers and internet companies, Authors
as well as organisations in adjacent industry
sectors. The GSMA also produces the GSMA Mobile for Development
industry-leading MWC events held annually Akanksha Sharma, Kim Viljoen, Sam Ajadi
in Barcelona, Los Angeles and Shanghai,
as well as the Mobile 360 Series of regional
conferences. Archipel & Co
Mathilde Martin Moreau, Philippe Muheim
and team
For more information, please visit the GSMA
corporate website at www.gsma.com
Published
January 2020
Follow the GSMA on Twitter: @GSMA
Executive Summary
The mobile industry will continue The ‘skills gap’ is the greatest The mobile industry has a role
to be a significant job creator for challenge for youth seeking to play in supporting youth
youth in Sub‑Saharan Africa employment in the mobile employment journeys
industry in Sub-Saharan Africa
• Sub-Saharan Africa has the largest • The mobile industry has a role to
growing youth population in the • Ineffective education systems and play in not only creating jobs, but
world. This increasingly educated a disconnect between industries also in supporting youth through
but inadequately skilled workforce and educational institutions has their employment journeys.
poses a challenge for economies created a ‘skills gap’ for youth in This includes bridging the skills
that must not only generate more the region. gap, providing lifelong learning
jobs, but also support youth in and training opportunities,
• Behavioural and digital skills, the
their employment journeys. and ensuring decent working
most in-demand skills across all
conditions.
• The mobile industry in job levels, are also in the shortest
Sub-Saharan Africa directly supply, indicating a critical skills • In the short term, the industry can
employed 1.2 million youth in 2018, gap. engage with youth by improving
and this number is expected to access and raising awareness
• Other barriers to youth
grow to 1.5 million by 2025. This about job opportunities in the
employment include the expenses
growth will be driven primarily by industry, implementing more
associated with skill development
increased network coverage, inclusive HR practices and
and job searches, progressing
smartphone penetration and considering social incentives to
in their careers, poor human
mobile services innovation, all of benefit informal workers.
resource practices, and challenges
which are expected to create jobs
specific to vulnerable groups, • Long-term strategies include
by increasing demand for existing
including women, persons with supporting youth upskilling
and new mobile services.
disabilities and rural youth. programmes developed in
• However, over two-thirds of these collaboration with educational
jobs will be in the informal sector, institutions, development
a challenge to ensuring decent organisations and other tech
and quality employment for youth. organisations. The industry
can also accelerate support for
entrepreneurship in the broader
ecosystem through incubators
active in the region.
3
Research objectives
and scope
Youth employment in Sub-Saharan Africa Context
The mobile industry A job creation catalyst for youth in Sub-Saharan Africa
Youth employment The ‘skills gap’ and other barriers
Youth employment A roadmap for the mobile industry
Country profiles Ghana, Senegal and Nigeria
Appendix
Research objectives and scope
Research Summary of
objectives methodology
This research aims to reveal the Information collected, analysed and
direct employment potential presented in this research comes
of the mobile industry in three from three sources:
markets: Ghana, Senegal and
• 45 key informant interviews with
Nigeria. It explores contextual issues
mobile operators and industry
surrounding youth employment
experts, youth employment
in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) by
organisations, universities,
investigating:
investment funds, innovation hubs
• Current and future contribution and digital platforms.
of the mobile industry to job
• A two-day workshop held in
creation;
Accra in November 2019 with this
• Barriers youth encounter in their expert group to create a roadmap
employment journey; and for the mobile industry to create
quality jobs for youth in the
• The role of the mobile industry in
region.
fostering quality and decent work
opportunities for youth. • Desk-based research on quality
job creation for African youth.
5
Research objectives and scope
Youth employment
in Sub-Saharan Africa
Context
The mobile industry A job creation catalyst for youth in Sub-Saharan Africa
Youth employment The ‘skills gap’ and other barriers
Youth employment A roadmap for the mobile industry
Country profiles Ghana, Senegal and Nigeria
Appendix
Youth population is growing at unprecedented levels
Sub-Saharan Africa has the largest growing Education levels are set to improve
Youth employment in Sub-Saharan Africa
youth population in the world. In the last couple
• 52 per cent of Africa’s total workforce is expected
of decades, the youth population has grown by
to have at least a secondary education by 2030
70 per cent in the region to reach 366 million in 2019.1
(versus 36 per cent in 2010).3
This is expected to grow by 17 per cent in the next
five years and nearly double by 2050.2 • However, the education system is perceived as low
quality by students and employers, and is failing
to meet the needs of the changing economy. The
Figure 1 SSA youth population growth (aged 15–34)
likely shift in the nature of work in the region will put
800
2050 additional strain on an already inadequate education
70% 729m system.
700
Figure 2 Quality of Africa’s education systems
600
5
500
2025
4
17% 430m
3.8 world average
Million
400
2019
Quality rating, 1–7 (best)
70% 366m
300 3
2000
219m
200
2
100
South Africa
Madagascar
1
Cameroon
Mauritania
0
Tanzania
Ethiopia
Senegal
Rwanda
Burundi
Uganda
Zambia
Nigeria
1940 1960 1980 2000 2020 2040 2060
Ghana
Kenya
Benin
Chad
0
Source International Labour Organisation Source World Economic Forum
1 United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. 3 These statistics refer to all of Africa, not just the Sub-Saharan countries. World Economic Forum (WEF) (May 2017), The Future
World Population Prospects of Jobs and Skills in Africa: Preparing the Region for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Data sourced from Lutz et al., IIASA/VID
Educational Attainment Model, GET Projection, Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Global Human Capital
7 2 Ibid.
Lack of quality formal employment is a big challenge
The emergence of an educated but underskilled Figure 3 Non-agricultural informal employment by world regions
Youth employment in Sub-Saharan Africa
workforce presents an opportunity to stimulate Sub-Saharan Africa
local innovation and economic growth. However, it is
challenging for economies to generate more jobs for
this increasingly educated workforce. 77%
Lack of formal employment opportunities
in Sub‑Saharan Africa has made informal
employment the norm. The International Labour World
Organisation (ILO) estimates over 75 per cent4 of all
non‑agricultural employment in 2018 was informal. 61%
Ninety-five per cent of youth aged 15–24 years
are employed in the informal sector. This is due to
underdeveloped social security systems in the region
Asia Pacific
that oblige youth to take up any form of employment
to meet basic living standards.5
59%
Lack of opportunities for highly skilled workers
is leading to migration. The lack of quality
opportunities in countries of origin and relatively long
transitions from school to work have increased. In Americas
2017, about 23 million people from Sub‑Saharan Africa
lived outside their country of origin, accounting for
36%
over 90 per cent of total migrants from the African
continent.6 The lack of high-quality jobs and the
prevalence of working poverty are also driving rural-
urban migration within the region. Europe and Central Asia
The challenges are worse for vulnerable groups, such
as women, rural youth and persons with disabilities 21%
(PWDs), who tend to face discrimination in access to
education and other services from a young age.
Source International Labour Organisation
4 ILO, Women and Men in the Informal Economy, A statistical Picture (2018)
5 Ibid.
8 6 Ibid.
Research objectives and scope
Youth employment in Sub-Saharan Africa Context
The mobile industry
A job creation catalyst for
youth in Sub-Saharan Africa
Youth employment The ‘skills gap’ and other barriers
Youth employment A roadmap for the mobile industry
Country profiles Ghana, Senegal and Nigeria
AppendixThe mobile industry is a significant job creator in
Sub‑Saharan Africa
• With 456 million unique mobile subscribers and contributing 8.6 per cent
Employment through mobile industry
to GDP, the mobile industry has a huge footprint in Sub‑Saharan Africa.7 What about indirect employment?
The value created by other sectors that purchase
• In 2018, the industry employed 1.9 million people directly and over
materials and services from providers in the mobile
2.4 million in the broader mobile ecosystem.8 industry’s supply chain has an indirect multiplier
• The majority of formal sector jobs are in the distribution and retail sector effect. Employment created under this category is
classified as ‘indirect employment’.
(61 per cent, 420,000 jobs), followed by infrastructure and network
providers/device manufacturers (20 per cent, 140,000 jobs), mobile In 2018, indirect employment in the mobile industry
network operators (15 per cent, 110,000 jobs) and content, application and represented approximately 2.4 million jobs.
This could increase to 2.8 million jobs by 2025.
service providers (4 per cent, 30,000 jobs).
This study focuses solely on direct employment.
1,200 1,900
Figure 4 1 .9 million direct jobs in the mobile industry in SSA
(number of jobs, thousands)
64%
100%
140 30 700
420
110 37%
Mobile network Distributors Infrastructure and Content, Total formal sector Total informal sector Total formal and
operators and retailers network providers/ application and informal sectors
device manufacturers service providers
Source Estimates by Archipel and Co. based on data in GSMA Mobile Economy Sub-Saharan Africa reports (2018, 2019)
7 GSMA, The Mobile Economy Sub-Saharan Africa (2019)
8 Estimates by Archipel and Co. based on data in GSMA Mobile Economy Sub-Saharan Africa reports (2018, 2019)
10This job creation will continue, and informal jobs will
continue to dominate in the future
• As of 2018, three out of five people (1.2 million) directly • By 2025, total direct employment in the sector is expected
Employment through mobile industry
employed by the mobile industry work in the informal sector, to grow by 26 per cent, accounting for 2.4 million jobs,
predominantly associated with informal distribution 500,000 of which will be new jobs. The split between the
(e.g. airtime resellers). Meanwhile, the formal sector employs formal and informal sector is expected to remain until 2025,
nearly 700,000 people. with the informal sector expected to employ 1.5 million people.
The formal distribution and retail sector will account for the
largest proportion of formal jobs (530,000 direct jobs) in 2025.
Figure 5 C
hange in mobile industry employment in SSA Figure 6 C
hange in direct formal employment in the mobile industry in SSA
(thousands) (thousands)
900
1,500
700 530
1,200 420
26%
190
900 140 130
700 110
50
30
2018 2025 2018 2025
Direct formal Direct informal Direct formal (total)
Mobile network operators Distributors and retailer (formal)
Infrastructure and network providers/device manufacturers
Content, application and service providers
Source Estimates by Archipel and Co. based on data in GSMA Mobile Economy Sub-Saharan Africa reports Source E
stimates by Archipel and Co. based on data in GSMA Mobile Economy Sub-Saharan Africa reports
(2018, 2019) (2018, 2019)
11Majority of future jobs in formal sector will require
middle‑level skills
Most jobs created by 2025 are predicted to be low-skilled jobs In the formal sector, 65 per cent of jobs created will be
Employment through mobile industry
in the informal sector middle‑skilled jobs
By 2025, 1.5 million people will be employed in the informal • The industry will create 130,000 middle-skilled jobs, including
sector (as per Figure 7), one million of whom will be youth 72,000 for youth, such as call centre technicians, sales and
(as per Figure 6). Almost all these jobs, including newly distribution teams and IT technicians or network deployment teams.
created ones, will be low-skilled jobs, such as mobile money
• 40,000 high-skilled jobs will be created, such as data analysts,
sales agents or airtime retailers.
pricing teams, project managers, product managers, engineers
and accountants. Youth will occupy 21,000 of these jobs.
Job types by skill level
Figure 7 Direct formal jobs created by 2025 by level of qualification (thousands)
Low-skilled • Low-skilled jobs: require almost
no qualification and can be learned
Total
through experience or on-the-job
17 13 30,000 (e.g. airtime resellers, street hawkers
selling mobile services).
• Middle-skilled jobs: require at least
technical/vocational/specialised
Middle-skilled
training to occupy skilled or semi-skilled
Total
job positions (e.g. web technicians,
72 58 130,000 technical support advisor, sales
assistant, customer services advisor,
marketing assistant).
• High-skilled jobs: require qualification
High-skilled usually acquired through tertiary
Total education that implies an understanding
21 19 40,000 of interrelated issues and concerns.
These jobs also involve responsibilities
in management/executive teams
(e.g. marketing manager, business
0 50 100 150 intelligence manager, data analyst, HR
Workforce 15–34 (youth) Workforce aged 34+ manager, network engineer).
Source Estimates by Archipel and Co. based on data in GSMA Mobile Economy Sub-Saharan Africa reports (2018, 2019), ILO/ UN statistics and assessments
obtained through interviews with industry experts.
12Youth will account for nearly 70 per cent of direct
employment in the mobile industry by 2025
• The mobile industry employed 1.2 million youth in 2018, nearly two thirds
Employment through mobile industry
(800,000) in the informal sector and the other third in the formal sector.
• By 2025, the mobile industry is expected to directly employ 1.5 million
youth and create 300,000 new jobs. About a million of these jobs will be
in the informal sector and 500,000 in the formal sector.
Figure 8 Youth employment in the mobile industry in SSA (thousands)
1,000
800
500
400
2018 2025
Direct formal youth jobs Direct informal youth jobs
Source Estimates by Archipel and Co. based on data in GSMA Mobile Economy Sub-Saharan Africa reports (2018, 2019) and ILO/UN statistics
13Factors likely to affect job creation in the mobile industry
until 2025
• We have identified seven trends (henceforth called drivers How were the drivers identified?
Employment through mobile industry
of employment change) likely to have a significant impact 1 A preliminary list of drivers was identified through rigorous
on growth in the the mobile industry, as well as the type and literature reviews.
number of employment opportunities available in the region by 2 Further insights were gathered from subject matter
2025. experts from the mobile industry and broader ecosystem.
• These include factors directly related to the industry’s core 3 The shortlisted drivers were then validated in a two-day
workshop with industry experts.
business and to the business environment (see table below).
Restrictive regulation limits industry
development, particularly the provision of
In SSA, 3G and 4G coverage will be key financial services, competition and licence
Increased Enabling
connectivity accelerators by 2025. Coverage attribution and renewal. Enabling laws can
network will contribute to improving mobile technology regulation foster business activity and encourage new
coverage access through upgrades of existing networks partnerships between the industry and other
and by serving previously unserved areas. sectors (finance, health, energy, etc.).
BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
Current tax burdens restrict the ability of
Evolution of industry players to invest in new technologies
mobile sector and improve connectivity. More favourable tax
CORE BUSINESS
More affordable smartphone and smart policies could contribute to increased investment
Increased smart taxation
feature phone options will provide additional and customer usage.
feature phone/ socio‑economic benefits (communication,
smartphone business and financial applications) to
consumers, increasing their demand for mobile AI and machine learning may automate certain
penetration
internet and associated digital economy services. job functions, optimise some human-performed
Development tasks and enable new capabilities and services.
of disruptive Improvements to the Internet of Things (IoT)
technologies will increase the use of mobile technologies
and support growth in business activity and
associated opportunities (R&D, retail, etc.)
Mobile Continued innovation by mobile network
operators, particularly in mobile financial
services services, will diversify mobile use and create new
SSA has the lowest energy access rate globally.
innovation Increasing access to electricity and other forms
services. Advancements
of energy will improve private and business
in energy supply consumers’ connectivity and growth in the
mobile industry.
14Drivers of employment change: effort vs. impact
on job creation
• We analysed the cost-benefit ratio of each driver to determine the potential for a
Employment through mobile industry
positive impact on job creation by 2025.
• This cost-benefit assessment was based on
− The potential of the driver to create jobs (thousands of jobs); and
− The effort required by the industry to make these scenarios a reality, both
Enabling environment
in terms of financial investment and difficulty of implementation (Figure 9).
These drivers will have a positive impact on
• Based on this analysis, the drivers were grouped into three categories: job creation, but are not directly controlled by
Industry-led drivers; Enabling environment; and Disruption. the industry, making it difficult to leverage them
(besides advocacy/lobbying). These drivers
depend primarily on political will or investment
from other sectors.
Figure 9 Cost-benefit analysis of drivers employment in mobile industry
Positive
Industry-led Enabling environment
drivers
Industry-led drivers Disruption
Impact on jobs
Increased network
The most cost- coverage Advancements in energy supply Associated with
effective employment the contradictory
catalysts for the Mobile services innovation impact that disruptive
industry by 2025. Enabling regulation technologies, such
These three trends as AI and IoT, may
Smart feature phone/
– increased network smartphone penetration have on employment.
coverage, smartphone/ These drivers have
smart-feature phone Evolution of the
the potential to make
penetration and mobile Neutral mobile sector taxation several positions
services innovation obsolete in the near
– will create jobs by future, particularly
increasing demand low-skilled jobs, but
for existing and new Disruption Development of could also create
disruptive technologies
mobile services. high-value jobs.
Negative
Medium High
Effort (investment × difficulty of implementation)
Source GSMA Mobile for Development
15Research objectives and scope
Youth employment in Sub-Saharan Africa Context
The mobile industry A job creation catalyst for youth in Sub-Saharan Africa
Youth employment
The ‘skills gap’
and other barriers
Youth employment A roadmap for the mobile industry
Country profiles Ghana, Senegal and Nigeria
AppendixThe role of the mobile industry in ensuring job supply
and creating demand
• The mobile industry plays a two-pronged role in
Barriers to youth employment
youth employment: on the supply side, creating
opportunities for decent work, and on the demand SUPPLY DEMAND
side, enabling access to job opportunities, providing
decent working conditions and opportunities for
training, upskilling and career advancement for Ensure youth can
employees. Create decent
find, retain, engage
work opportunities
• However, the mobile industry faces several and progress in jobs
challenges, which can differ depending on the
nature (formal/informal) and level (entry, mid,
senior) of jobs, the country and cultural contexts,
vulnerability of certain groups (women, PWDs, etc.)
and many other factors.9 Top challenges in youth employability in Sub-Saharan Africa
• We spoke with 45 experts from the mobile 1 Lack of skills relevant to find, engage and progress in the jobs
industry and broader ecosystem (henceforth called
‘our expert group’) to better understand these
2 Specific barriers for vulnerable groups (women and persons
challenges and found that the ‘skills gap’ is by far
with disabilities)
the biggest challenge in youth employment in
SSA. We discuss this and other barriers in detail in
this section. 3 Lack of on-the-job training and development opportunities
4 Generational gap between employers and youth
5 Adaptation to innovation
6 Informality of jobs and associated barriers
9 ILO, Palmer R., Jobs and Skills Mismatch in the Informal Economy (2017). This data comes from the ILO’s
School to Work Transition Survey (SWTS). Methodology: target group of the survey is youth aged 15 to
29. Self‑employment is used as a proxy for informality.
17The ‘skills gap’ is the greatest youth employment challenge
Defining the skills gap: The ‘skills gap’ is a situation Understanding the skills gap
Barriers to youth employment
in which the level or types of skills available do
• Although more youth are
not correspond with labour market needs. In
completing tertiary education,
Sub‑Saharan Africa, across all the industry sectors, Youth do not have enough
the education systems in
nearly 46 per cent of employed youth are either over experience. There is a need
Sub-Saharan Africa are often
or underqualified for their jobs. This gap is even more to provide [them] with
perceived as ineffective.
evident among the self-employed, nearly 50 per cent professional experience
of whom have a skill mismatch.10 • There is a disconnect between before they apply for jobs:
universities and industries, apprenticeship, internship,
which results in curricula not etc.
being designed with market
Youth employment organisation,
Figure 10 S
kills most in demand and shortage in mobile needs in mind. Nigeria
industry across Sub-Saharan Africa
• There is a shortage of early
Demand work experience opportunities.
Before joining the workforce,
youth often do not come across
opportunities for internships,
17% 17% 20% 47%
apprenticeships and other
early professional learning
Young people who arrive
opportunities.
on the job market are
Shortage • Cultural barriers (respect passive brains: the dominant
for elders, compliance with culture says that elders are
hierarchies and gender right and that one should
biases) discourage youth from not challenge the status
9% 22% 30% 39%
expressing their opinions and quo so young people
asserting themselves, limiting are completely passive
the development of their and have a low sense of
behavioural skills and ability to autonomy and agency.
Technical skills Analytical skills
be proactive on the job. Youth upskilling organisation,
Digital skills Behavioural skills
Senegal
Ranking of responses in order of importance according to the number of occurrences in expert
group interviews
10 ILO, Palmer R., Jobs and Skills Mismatch in the Informal Economy (2017). This data comes from the ILO’s
School to Work Transition Survey (SWTS). Methodology: target group of the survey is youth aged 15 to
29. Self‑employment is used as a proxy for informality.
18Key skill-sets required in the youth employment journey
Analytical skills refer to the ability to understand complex Technical skills refer to the knowledge, expertise and
Barriers to youth employment
ideas, adapt effectively to one’s environment and learn interactions required to perform a specific job, including
from experience and reason.11 the mastery of the materials, tools or technologies.12
Writing Critical Thinking
Technical / Vocational Science
Technology
Numeracy Problem Solving Engineering
Mathematics
Financial / Accounting (STEM)
Reading Decision Making
Digital skills are a particular type of technical skill. In this Behavioural skills refer to the ability to navigate
report, digital skills are divided into three categories:13 interpersonal and social situations effectively and include
leadership, teamwork and self-control.14
Basic
Communication Creativity
Intermediate
Entrepreneurial Leadership
Advanced
11 Definition from the World Bank 12 Definition from the World Bank
13 Definitions from IFC and International Telecommunication Union 14 Definition from the World Bank
19Behavioural and digital skills are most in demand,
but in shortest supply
Behavioural skills are in short supply Digital skills are in high demand but often unavailable,
Barriers to youth employment
particularly in middle- and high-skilled jobs
While technical skills might be expected to be the most
valued in a tech-driven sector, it is in fact behavioural • Our expert group identified a lack of digital skills as the most
skills, such as communication, negotiation, teamwork and pressing issue in hiring middle-skilled workers. Intermediate
leadership, that are most in demand. digital skills, such as the use of professional software and
email, are essential to perform tasks effectively and progress
Interestingly, behavioural skills were also identified as those
in one’s position. Employers in the mobile industry often
in shortest supply in the region, signifying a clear gap
have to provide intermediate digital training after hiring
between in-demand and available skills.
young graduates.
• High-skilled jobs often require advanced digital skills (big
data analytics, web development, etc.). The shortage of such
skills among employees leads employers to rely on external
consultants offering bespoke services. However, this is less
Hard skills can get you through the doors, but it is soft of a concern than the shortage of intermediate skills, as it
skills that keep you in. relates to fewer employees and to specific jobs
Expert group member • Low-skilled jobs require just basic digital skills as these
positions require minimal use of digital tools. However, the
expert group noted that a shortage of these skills hinder
youth from accessing better opportunities.
Youth are losing out on their dream jobs because they
lack the needed soft skills: communication, teamwork
and leadership [behavioural skills].
Youth employment organisation, Ghana
There is also an enormous shortage in digital skills as
young graduates sometimes do not even have basic
digital solutions such as word processor or online
mailing system.
Youth employment organisation, Senegal
20The skills gap differs by job type
Barriers to youth employment
Young people finishing school today lack We studied the impact of short vocational training for low-
problem‑solving skills: which is what we do at skilled informal workers. In the medium run, they all remained
work! And they need to be able to take decisions. in the informal sector but still all increased their revenues.
Mobile network operator, Zambia Youth upskilling organisation, Sub-Saharan Africa
HIGH-SKILLED JOBS MIDDLE-SKILLED JOBS LOW-SKILLED JOBS
Shortage
Shortage
Shortage
FINANCIAL
ACCOUNTING
PROBLEM
SOLVING
ADVANCED LEADERSHIP INTERMEDIATE
ENTREPRENEURIAL DIGITAL SKILLS DIGITAL SKILLS ENTREPRENEURIAL
PROBLEM
SOLVING
ADVANCED INTERMEDIATE
LEADERSHIP DIGITAL SKILLS DIGITAL SKILLS
CREATIVITY
CREATIVITY BASIC DIGITAL
SKILLS
COMMUNICATION CREATIVITY
ENTREPRENEURIAL COMMUNICATION COMMUNICATION
CRITICAL FINANCIAL BASIC DIGITAL FINANCIAL TECHNICAL
THINKING ACCOUNTING SKILLS ACCOUNTING WRITING VOCATION NUMERACY
Importance Importance Importance
• Most required: Financial skills, critical • Most required: Creativity, communication, • Most required: Basic digital skills,
thinking and communication financial accounting, intermediate digital communication, technical/vocational,
skills numeracy
• Greatest shortage: Entrepreneurial
skills, advanced digital skills and problem • Greatest shortage: Problem solving, • Greatest shortage: Entreprenuerial,
solving. leadership financial/accounting
Technical skills Analytical skills
Digital skills Behavioural skills
21Other barriers to employment:
Financial constraints and lack of social protections
While skills gaps underpin most barriers to employment, our experts highlighted other challenges faced by the mobile industry in
Barriers to youth employment
hiring and retaining a talented workforce.
Limited awareness of existing job opportunities — Lack of financial resources hinders skill Low-skilled workers, especially informal workers,
where to find them and how to apply for them development and job search have limited prospects for job advancement and
often lack social protections
• Finding the right job requires a lot more skill than • The region’s education system is not in tune
merely spotting job postings. Youth in the region with market requirements, forcing youth to seek • According to our expert group, youth with
experience difficulties identifying the right career additional training. Accessing relevant training low skills working as sales agents often feel
path and then ‘selling’ their skills to an employer. courses or recruitment consultants to find jobs is not discouraged because they perceive few
Often, they do not have access to recruitment affordable for youth most in need of these skills. opportunities for job advancement. Lack of
agencies or consultants who can help them. opportunity is compounded by difficult working
• Training programmes, specifically those related to conditions: most are informal jobs without
• There is a disconnect between expectations and soft skills, tend to be unsuccessful or unpopular social protections or job security, and unstable
opportunities for youth. One survey has revealed because they are not perceived as income revenues.
that nearly a quarter of Francophone African generating. High unemployment rates and acute
youth want a job in the public sector, which financial pressure often steer youth towards • In a region where informal work is the norm,
accounts for only about four per cent of new courses linked to professional qualifications or few are covered by social protection schemes.
jobs.15 certifications that can lead to quick employment. In Ghana, 18.3 per cent of the population is
covered by at least one social protection, which is
• Youth cannot afford to wait for attractive job significantly lower than in other regions. Nigeria
offers without a source of income (there are few ranks much lower, however, with only 4.4 per cent
unemployment benefits in the region), leading of its population covered.17
them to accept positions for which they are
overqualified. According to the ILO, 16.1 per cent
of young employees in SSA (formal sector) are
overqualified.16
Access to information is an issue as there are Launching digital training is complicated: youth Jobs [such] as street hawkers distributing
no digital platforms communicating updated often cannot afford not to work for six months mobile services are hard and can be
and relevant offers for all profiles. Finding a job and to live in the capital city without financial demotivating. Upskilling them to keep them
depends a lot on who you know. compensation. motivated is important.
Youth employment organisation, Senegal Mobile network operator, Côte d’Ivoire Youth employment organisation, Senegal
15 IDRC (2015), Youth Employment in Sub-Saharan Africa, Taking Stock of the 16 ILO, Palmer R. (October 2017), Jobs and Skills Mismatch in the Informal Economy. 17 ILO, World Social Protection Report (2017). Based on World Social Protection
Evidence and Knowledge Gaps. 1-2-3 Surveys conducted in Francophone African Data from ILO’s School to Work Transition Survey (SWTS). Methodology: target Database, ILOSTAT, national sources
country capital cities. Extracted from Cling et al. (2007) group of the survey is youth aged 15–29 years
22Other barriers to employment:
Poor human resources practices
Human resources (HR) recruitment practices: do high Employers face challenges retaining highly skilled talent and
Barriers to youth employment
qualifications or better connections guarantee a good understanding the aspirations of the millennial generation
employee?
• Some in our expert group noted a lack of attractive jobs
• According to some youth employment experts, private for the most talented workers, who tend to look abroad
companies often recruit top achievers from the best for better opportunities. MNOs also face competition from
schools and set high academic achievement criteria. Some other sectors (insurance, banking, tech companies, etc.).
believe ‘youth potential’ is not assessed or valued. They mentioned wages, lack of career progression and a
culture of authority as some of the contributing factors.
• According to a Cambridge University survey about youth
experiences in low and middle income countries, the lack • A lack of opportunities for employees to build their
of ‘right personal and family connections’ was considered skills contributes to the problem of attrition. This is most
a key barrier to their job search.18 This means that youth common among youth in middle-skilled jobs, such as
who do not attend the best universities or have the call centre agents, who tend to feel more limited by the
necessary connections cannot secure formal jobs with opportunities in their organisations to learn and expand
good employers in the mobile industry. their skill-sets to progress in their career.
• This not only creates barriers for job seekers, but also • Our expert group pointed out that the industry is also
significantly limits the talent pool for employers. The grappling with issues related to the generation gap
industry primarily recruits from top universities, which between employers and job seekers. With the advent of
tend to have the right networks with employers. A lack of the gig economy, job seekers are increasingly presented
available platforms to connect employers with youth was with informal employment opportunities that offer a
highlighted as a key barrier by our expert group. secondary source of income, making them less reliant
on employers. This is a new perspective for an older
generation recruiting young graduates, and training is
required to sensitise both employers and employees and
help them adapt to the changes.
HR should be reminded that the skillset Jobs in sales and call centres offer little
Millennials don’t want to stay in the same
and demographics of the current youth are advancement opportunities; people may spend
company for more than six years. This is an issue
changing, and they should change their many years there and they do not gain many
since telcos invest a lot in training.
recruitment criteria to match this. skills in doing so.
Mobile network operator, Nigeria
Recruitment and training agency, Ghana Mobile network operator, Ghana
18 Barford & Coombe (April 2019), Getting By: Young People’s Working Lives, University of Cambridge. 249 respondents aged 18 to 35, predominantly from Sub-Saharan Africa, followed by Asia.
23The specific challenges of vulnerable youth groups:
Rural residents
Vulnerable youth groups enter the labour market
Barriers to youth employment
with fewer assets
There are significant imbalances in education among Rural youth face higher poverty
vulnerable youth: and geographical barriers
• The percentage of rural youth aged 12 to 14 who
• The main barrier for rural youth is geographical: universities,
have not attended school is considerably higher training centres and most formal job opportunities are usually
than that of urban: 18 per cent versus 6 per cent.19 located in major cities.
• In SSA, 35 per cent of females aged 15–24 are • Rural populations are also significantly poorer than their urban
counterparts:23 38 per cent of the rural population in Ghana is
not in employment, education or training (NEET)
poor compared to 11 per cent of city dwellers. In Nigeria and
compared to 20 per cent of males.20 Senegal, the rate is considerably higher: 53 per cent versus 34
per cent, and 57 per cent versus 33 per cent, respectively.
• Young women are 41 per cent less likely than young
men to use mobile internet, and rural populations • Higher levels of poverty influence training and employment
opportunities: rural youth often cannot afford to leave their
are 58 per cent less likely to use mobile internet hometown to study or find employment in major cities. They are
than those living in urban areas.21 also more likely to drop out of school than urban youth,24 which
considerably limits their chances of accessing quality, decent
• Primary school completion rates are 10 points work.
lower for girls with disabilities than for girls without
disabilities in SSA, and 13 points lower for boys with
disabilities.22
Rural connectivity issues […] There are a few good trainings
hamper rural youth access to outside of Dakar but they remain
information in real time. rare in Senegal. Everything
is centred around the capital
Mobile network operator, Cameroon and it costs a lot of money for
rural youth to study far from
home. Moreover, most work
opportunities are in Dakar, except
for some sales jobs...
Youth employment organisation,
Senegal
19 World Bank Group (2015), Why Do Sub-Saharan African Youth Drop Out of School? Sources: Feda and Sakellariou (2013) 23 World Bank data. Rural poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines (% of rural population).
20 World Bank Data. Derived using data from ILO, ILOSTAT database. Urban poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines (% of urban population)
24 21 GSMA, Mobile Internet Connectivity: Sub-Saharan Factsheet (2019) 24 World Bank Group, Why Do Sub-Saharan African Youth Drop Out of School? (2015)
22 World Health Organisation, World Report on Disability (2011)The specific challenges of vulnerable youth groups:
Females and persons with disabilities
Barriers to youth employment
Young women face systemic and Youth with disabilities face accessibility
self‑reinforcing employment barriers barriers and social stigma
Our expert group and the literature agree that cultural barriers • Many education systems are not designed to be inclusive of
limit access to education and training for young women. persons with disabilities (PWD), resulting in lower educational
achievement.27
• There is often a lack of HR policies encouraging work-life
balance (e.g. parental leave, flexible hours) for women. A • The literature also shows that PWD are considerably less likely
recent survey found that 32 per cent of female respondents in to be employed: in SSA, the employment to population ratio
the ICT sector in Ghana said they would not be able to keep is 34 per cent compared to 53 per cent for persons without
their job if they became pregnant. disabilities.28
• Sexual harassment and gender discrimination are also a • In terms of inclusiveness in the workplace, some mobile industry
concern. Some members of the expert group indicated that players admit they lack suitable infrastructure to welcome PWDs
companies do not always align their values with internal and/or are not proactive enough in their efforts to employ youth
policies to make women feel safe and valued at work. with disabilities. Persistent stereotypes also have an impact on
the hiring of PWD.
• Consequently, women are less represented in senior positions
(fewer than one in 10 senior leaders in African ICT companies • The Digital Accessibility Rights Evaluation (DARE) index
according to the GSMA) and female youth have fewer female score29 assesses the progress of 121 countries in regulation and
role models to inspire their education and career choices. policy implementation for PWDs. Nigeria ranks 97th with very
little regulation and medium-low implementation capacity.
Ghana is 59th, with many laws and regulations, but also
medium capacity for implementation. Senegal falls between
them at 87th, with average results in both regulation and
implementation.
Barriers faced by women exist before We apply international standards to welcome PWDs, so we
employment (family pressure) and after could hire them but there are few candidates and not a lot of
employment (sexist attitudes in the workplace). communication towards them.
Youth upskilling organisation, Nigeria Mobile network operator, Madagascar
25 BSR, Women’s Economic Empowerment in Sub-Saharan Africa: Recommendations for the Mobile 27 World Health Organisation, World Report on Disability (2011)
Telecommunications Sector (2017) 28 United Nations, Realisation of the SDGs by, for and with Persons with Disabilities (2018)
25 26 GSMA, Accelerating the Digital Economy: Gender Diversity in the Telecommunications Sector 29 The Global Initiative for Inclusive ICTs, DARE INDEX Country Dashboard (2017–2018)Research objectives and scope
Youth employment in Sub-Saharan Africa Context
The mobile industry A job creation catalyst for youth in Sub-Saharan Africa
Youth employment The ‘skills gap’ and other barriers
Youth employment
A roadmap for the
mobile industry
Country profiles Ghana, Senegal and Nigeria
AppendixObjectives and strategies for the mobile industry
Overview Solutions that mobile industry players can implement quickly and Solutions to complex challenges that often require collective solutions
with limited investment. These include programmes or activities that and/or structural changes. These will take longer to implement, often
depend primarily on internal resources and can be led within their own require collective actions and partnerships with other stakeholders
organisation. (non‑profit, government and public authorities, technology and other
Youth employment
private companies and international organisations, such as development
agencies) and medium to large investment. They also refer to advocacy
efforts the mobile industry could be required to promote to create long-
term structural transformation
SHORT-TERM STRATEGIES MID/LONG-TERM STRATEGIES
Bridge the skills • Develop scholarships, internships, graduate and apprenticeship • Support and accelerate youth upskilling programmes in
gap for current and programmes for students. partnership with upskilling organisations and other partners
future employment • Support educational institutions to build their capacities. (e.g. tech companies). Encourage affirmative action to ensure
opportunities accessibility for vulnerable youth groups.
• Promote future-ready education and curricula by working with
education providers and universities.
• Encourage the provision of student work placements through
sectoral incentives for participating companies.
Increase information • Improve access to information and increase awareness of • Partner with employment organisations to increase the visibility
and awareness employment opportunities in the mobile industry. of job offers, including among vulnerable youth groups.
about employment • Implement more inclusive HR practices to create more diverse • Accelerate and support entrepreneurship in the mobile industry
opportunities and recruitment profiles and shift away from the ‘culture of the ecosystem, including organisations that foster entrepreneurship
ensure inclusiveness diploma’. among vulnerable youth groups.
for all • Investigate decentralising certain job functions, especially to rural
areas.
Ensure decent • Consider social incentives to improve benefits for informal • Advocate for better social protections and health schemes,
working conditions workers. especially for informal workers.
to help youth achieve • Create mechanisms that promote gender equality, such as
their full potential parental benefits and flexible working hours.
• Raise awareness of gender violence and establish mechanisms
to improve women’s safety in the workplace.
• Improve accessibility for youth with disabilities.
• Launch dedicated research/teams to better understand the
expectations and needs of millennials.
Develop lifelong • Design capacity building programmes that target low-skilled
learning and on- and informal workers.
the-job training • Accelerate mentorship programmes in companies associated
opportunities with the mobile industry.
• Promote lifelong learning and on-the-job training.
27Bridging the skills gap
Develop scholarships, internships, graduate and Support educational institutions to build their
Youth employment
apprenticeship programmes for students capacities
• Industry players are facing increased competition • To build the skills of youth, it is important to train
from other sectors (banking, insurance, etc.) teachers and trainers and support educational
to recruit talent. Scholarship and graduate institutions with expertise (e.g. teacher training,
programmes make it possible to identify and retain conferences) and pedagogical tools (e.g.
talent from universities while also improving access laboratories, computers, machines). Through its
to higher education for youth, including vulnerable Teacher Training programme33 in Nigeria, 9mobile,
groups. Since its inception, the MTN Nigeria in partnership with the British Council, strengthen
Foundation30 has awarded annual scholarships teaching skills and English language proficiency.
(200,000 Naira or $550) to over 3,300 STEM 33 9mobile CSR reporting
(science, technology, engineering and mathematics)
students and about 500 visually impaired students
attending Nigeria’s public universities.
• From vocational and technical degrees to tertiary
degrees, internship and apprenticeship programmes
provide students with work experience and improve
their work readiness and skills. In Nigeria and
Ghana, Microsoft’s Apprenticeship Factory31 gives
apprentice developers an opportunity to spend up
to six months with senior software technicians and
get priority access to jobs through the Microsoft
ecosystem. Competitive programmes for young top
talent, such as Andela,32 provides students with six
months of intensive on-the-job training, after which
students are employed in a remote position for 3.5
years with a partner company in one of Andela’s
four African offices. Andela is backed by the IFC
and Google Ventures, among others.
30 MTN Foundation
31 Microsoft4Africa
28 32 AndelaBridging the skills gap
CASE STUDY
Support, accelerate and invest in youth upskilling GLOBAL ALLIANCE
Youth employment
programmes
FOR YOUth
• To address the skill needs of the mobile industry and create
Global
a pool of future candidates, mobile industry players can
partner with youth upskilling organisations to co‑design and
support training programmes at all skill levels. Emphasis can
be placed on skills most in demand but in shortest supply
Global Alliance for YOUth38 is a business-
(behavioural and digital skills). These courses can range
driven movement founded by Nestlé and
from awareness raising at an early age (Vodafone’s Instant
20 other global companies (Firmenich,
Schools,34 which provides online access to educational
EY, SAP, Microsoft, Vodafone, Mastercard
resources from primary to secondary level) to training for
and others). Established in 2014, it has
young professionals (Google Digital Skills for Africa,35
supported 150,000 opportunities for
which trains job seekers and small and medium enterprises
youth to date. In 2019, initiatives were
on digital tools, with two million people trained to date).
launched in Côte d’Ivoire, Angola and
In Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire, social start‑up Simplon36
South Africa. In Côte d’Ivoire, MTN joined
supports vocational training and education programmes
the initiative and pledged, along with
that teach technical skills and provide training for youth in
other corporate partners, to create more
digital professions (web developers, etc.).
opportunities for youth and to foster
• Joint efforts from MNOs, development organisations youth employment and entrepreneurship
and private sector companies, including the tech sector, by investing in specific initiatives.
could support upskilling programmes at scale. Coding for
Employment,37 an African Development Bank programme
supported by the Rockefeller Foundation and private
companies such as Microsoft, Facebook and Safaricom,
aims to equip African youth with basic to advanced digital
skills. Each of the 130 centres is expected to train at least
1,800 youth over two years. Global Alliance for YOUth38
(see case study) also demonstrates the importance
of building coalitions to foster youth employment and
training and accelerate opportunities.
34 Vodafone Instant School 38 Global Alliance for Youth
35 Google Digital Skills for Africa
29 36 Simplon CIV
37
Coding for Employment press releaseBest practices in youth upskilling programmes
Link upskilling programmes with employment Develop pricing models that consider the target
Youth employment
opportunities audience
Placement is the key to a successful upskilling programme. There are different points of view on the price of training courses.
Partnerships between trainers and future employers are necessary Some believe training should be free to enable as many youth as
to ensure that trainees get access to quality work opportunities. possible to have access. Others suggest that free access can lessen
In South Africa, Harambee39 provides training to unemployed the commitment of participants. Mobile industry companies should
youth aged 18–28 and partners with over 30 employers to secure consider pricing decisions carefully and be aware of the constraints
placements. Placements also require proper assessment of skill of their target audience.
demand at the local level. In Kenya, the Vusha project, through the
African Centre for Women in Information and Communication
Technology40 (ACWICT), assesses which digital skills are most in Design incentives to keep trainees on the programme,
demand locally and have a placement rate of 80 per cent (in jobs or especially the less privileged
online work).
Beyond pricing, incentives could be introduced to reduce attrition.
Incentives can take different forms and range from financial
Seek co-funding partners incentives to benefits in kind. While Orange, through its partnership
with Open classrooms,42 guarantees access to free training to
Funding a business model linked to a training programme is unemployed people in some countries (such as Benin and Togo),
challenging. Stakeholders should look for alternative funding and other incentives could include meals or transportation.
support, such as international organisations and donors, which are
increasingly interested in these issues. The African Development
Bank41 has invested $1.64 billion in programmes over the past Ensure programmes are accessible to vulnerable
15 years to prepare youth for careers in science, technology and
youth groups
innovation.
Extra effort should be taken to attract women, who are less likely
than men to demand upskilling, to the digital ecosystem. Affirmative
Be aware of infrastructure constraints action and quotas can be implemented to ensure equitable access.
Some organisations focus on women alone: in Nigeria, Women
Many youth (especially those living in rural areas) still do not have
Tech Empowerment Centers43 provide ICT training to women only
access to stable electricity or mobile data. Training programmes
(27,000 women have been reached and 86 per cent are pursuing a
should provide solutions to overcome infrastructure barriers (space,
STEM-related career).
tools, etc.) to ensure training is accessible.
Other youth groups, like youth with disabilities or rural youth,
require specific measures to follow training programmes. Blended
approaches, such as mixing online and offline courses, can provide
interesting alternatives, especially for people who cannot attend
in‑person training.
39 Harambee South Africa 42 Orange press release
40 BSR, Telecommunication Brief (2017) 43 WTEC
30 41 Coding for Employment press releaseBest practices in youth upskilling programmes
CASE STUDY
Promote future-ready Encourage student work Seeds Of Hope, European
Youth employment
education and curricula placements through
by working with education incentives for participating Institute For Cooperation
providers and universities companies And Development (IECD)
Limited connections and lack of • Internships and apprenticeships Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire44
communication between academia are initiatives the industry can
and the professional world were often take to increase work experience
raised by the experts interviewed for for youth. To foster this practice,
this research. Two important steps government and public authorities
can be taken to close this gap: should consider providing financial IECD is a non-profit organisation that
incentives (e.g. direct funding,
• Provide data and information on tax incentives) to companies that
promotes education and vocational
skill demand: Collect and share up- provide work placements. In Nigeria, training in emerging economies. Seeds of
to-date data on industry needs and the government established and Hope is a flagship programme developed
trends to inform education policies. funded the Students Industrial in collaboration with electricity and
• Foster and participate in national Work Experience Scheme
(SIWES).45 SIWES is a mandatory energy industry players. The programme
dialogue with education providers:
Participate in discussions led by programme for all Nigerian provides low-skilled youth with skills in
education providers (public and university students in designated energy and utilities, and arranges work
technical fields. Ministries and
private) to co-design future-ready placements in partner companies.
curricula and publicly advocate for companies are obliged to provide
greater dialogue between industry industrial placements to students The programme was initiated in Lebanon
and educational institutions. for six months. The federal
government funds an allowance in 2007 and has since been replicated in
Such programmes have been
implemented successfully in other for all students (about $7/month) six countries, including Nigeria and Côte
industries, such as the IECD’s while employers pay them a salary. d’Ivoire. In addition to training, the IECD
The government also funds the
Seeds of Hope,44 which is currently promotes dialogue between employers
operational in Nigeria and Côte support structure that coordinates
the scheme (providing orientation and vocational education providers to
d’Ivoire in the energy and utilities
sectors (see case study). services, sourcing candidates, etc.). jointly develop work-oriented curricula. It
In South Africa, the non-profit also encourages all partners to advocate
Yes4Youth (YES)46 partners with
government and employers to
for the development of this curricula at a
upskill youth and provide them national level. In Lebanon, this approach
with work placement opportunities. led to the creation of a new official
The government assists employers vocational curriculum recognised and
with costs associated with the
training and a 12-month work scaled by the government.
placement.
44 Seeds of Hope
45 SIWES
31 46 Yes4YouthYou can also read
