Skills and Employability in the 21st Century

An Africa Region Perspective

World Bank Human Development NetworkCross-Sector Learning Event

Washington D.C., June 8, 2009

Jee-Peng TanAfrica Region Education Advisor

World Bank

Outline of Presentation

Overview of Context in Sub-Saharan Africa

Challenges and Africa Region Responses

Knowledge Gaps

Sub-Saharan Africa, circa 200648 countries (E20, F22, P5, S1)Population: 782 million (30 persons/sq. km)Per capita GDP: $580 in 2006 dollarsPoverty rate: 40% to 69%Life expectancy: 51 yearsPopulation growth rate: 2.5%HIV/AIDS infection: 2 - 26%Beginning to grow in tandem with rest of the

world until global crisis of late 2008

SSA economies largely informal

Total population (5-59): 100%

Inactive: 14.0

Economically active: 86.0

Unemployed: 6.9

Employed: 79.1

Informal sector: 71.0

Farming: 51.3

Non-farm: 19.6

Modern sector: 8.2

Private: 4.3

Skilled:4.8

Public:3.9

Unskilled: 3.4

Distribution of Out-of-School Population Ages 15-59 by Employment Status, 23 SSA Countries, circa 2003

High unemployment among the educated

25-34 years 35-49 years

Upper secondary

Higher education

Upper secondary

Higher education

Employed:Modern sector (%) 36 55 46 76

Informal sector (%) 46 20 47 19

Unemployed (%) 18 26 7 6

Inactive (%) 8 3 5 3

Total (%) 100 100 100 100

Employment Status by Age Cohort and Educational Attainment, average for 23 African Countries, circa 2003

Limited options for skills development

Enrollments by level and type of education and training, 33 SSA countries, circa 2005 (in millions)

Primary education 100.4

Lower secondary education 13.8

Upper secondary education 7.2

Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) 0.2

School-to-work transition programs 0.0

Tertiary education 3.0

Key Challenges and ResponsesDiversify pathways into labor marketAlign skills development with growth strategyLeverage partnerships to enhance skills

development

Africa Region Responses ESW and Operations (e.g., Ghana,

Mozambique, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Liberia, etc.)

Policy dialogue (e.g., via South-South Learning Visits)

Regional program on new economy skills

New Economy Skills for Africa Program (NESAP)

Initial focus on Information and Communication Technology (NESAP-ICT)

A Joint AFTHD/ GICT/ AFTFP Flagship Program

Responds to the Leadership Roundtable ICT Skills Development Initiative

Overview of NESAP-ICTWhy NESAP-ICT?

Objective of NESAP-ICT

Strategy for IT/ITES Skills Development

Implementation status

Why NESAP-ICT?Scarcity of ICT skills in Africa amid rapidly

growing telecom (35% of total FDI) and services sectors. Skills gap reduces potential returns on ICT investments, discourages new investors.

Potential for job creation for youth over a short period of time. Every ICT job indirectly creates 3-4 other non-ICT jobs.

Potential for wealth creation through export of IT/ITES products and earned wages. India ICT exports $49 billion per year ; global markets projected at $500bn in 2008, 15% tapped.

Rising demand but poor performing ICT components in Bank education projects.

Canada 29%

India54%

Philippines1%

Ireland8%

Central and Eastern Europe

3%

China3%

Others2%

Canada 27%

India37%

Philippines15%

Ireland5%

Mexico5%

Central and Eastern Europe

4%

China2%

Others5%

Source: Tholons 2006

ITES marketIT services market

Source: NASSCOM-Everest 2008

SSA has yet to exploit the IT/ITES opportunity

Objective of NESAP-ICTSupport ICT skills development and meet

educational needs of targeted African countries

Build Bank staff and client capacity to better design, implement and ICT projects/components

Pilot a new way of working collaboratively across sectors to address a common development challenge, within the Bank and at country level

Leverage strong results commitment of senior Bank management, Bank TTLs and country counterparts

Strategy for IT/ITES Skills Development

Link to ongoing & pipeline Bank operations

Pilot & scale up framework for skills development:

Needs and skills assessments

Skills development plan for: (a) IT services (generic, specialized, lightweight, advanced and researcher; and (b) IT-enabled services (generic and company-linked)

Certification and international benchmarking of skills (essential to strategy for attracting “anchor” FDI)

Training infrastructure requirements (hi-speed networks, training labs)

Institutional structures to align skills development with market needs; private sector partners involved from the start

NESAP-ICT Implementation StatusMay 2008 launch, with endorsement by Directors of 3 Bank

departments

8 participating countries: Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania; endorsed by country “Champions”

February 2008 South-South Learning Visit to India for policy makers and practitioners from the 8 countries, resulting in draft country-specific actions plans.

Nigeria Pilot Project developed, ready for implementation

Kenya and Mozambique needs and skills assessment underway.

FY10 Plans: needs and skills assessment in 2 more countries; publication on IT/ITES industry in Sub-Saharan Africa

The Nigeria Pilot Objective: Expand IT/ITES employment opportunities through skills

benchmarked to global industry standards and certification

Focus areas: IT Service: Software developer skills ITES: Business process outsourcing skills Supporting ecosystem (infrastructure, institutional framework, regulatory environment,

cyber security)

Funding and Supervision: STEPB Project (AFTHD) and GEMS Project (AFTFP)

Nigerian Institutions involved: Digital Bridge Institute (DBI),

Outsourcing Development Initiative in Nigeria (ODIN, an industry association) and partner post-basic institutions

Partnership with 10 global companies: Microsoft, HP, Intel, Carnegie Mellon University, Oracle, SAP; expected to produce software development certification, knowledge hub, continuous structured student assessments, trainer of trainers

Knowledge gapsHow can SSA countries diversify, in a cost-

effective and sustainable manner, the pathways for school-to-work transition into the largely informal labor markets?

How can SSA countries leverage FDI to create modern sector jobs and the relevant skills?

What are the implementation challenges for skills development? How can the Bank help facilitate cross-country learning, particularly among practitioners?

Thank You!