African Union Agenda 2063 target of 70 percent of high-school graduates entering tertiary education , with 70 percent of them graduating in science and technology related subjects ( compared with the current SSA average of 8 percent ). This means raising the quality of early STEM teaching and the number of teachers , and expanding access to cost-effective online learning where ICT can deliver STEM subjects through virtual laboratories and simulations , instead of resource intensive , on-site labs .
TVET reform is also critically important , not as a stand-alone , but as part of a wider economic strategy that focuses on priority sectors and needs , with clear implementation plans that include monitoring and evaluation . Efforts are underway to improve TVET in SSA in terms of modern facilities , better pedagogical skills and more practical experience among TVET trainers .
Private sector engagement in designing and delivering TVET is crucial for quality and relevance . TVET must be demand-driven and responsive to market situations . Besides industrial attachments and apprenticeships , students need entrepreneurship training and business literacy .
Governments are also looking to the private sector to help fund TVET costs through taxes and levies . The goal is to prepare better-educated youth for productive , formal and informal self-employment , especially along the agribusiness value chain .
SSA has been advised to attain universal lower secondary education , then prioritize the quality and relevance of upper secondary and TVET , before gradually expanding uptake to meet labour demand . It is also recommended that trade-offs must be identified and adapted to specific country circumstances .
Africa ’ s youth are both an asset and a time bomb . At current trends , nearly half of these vibrant young people will be unemployed , discouraged , or economically inactive by 2025 . A well-publicised fraction is migrating , often by dangerous routes , to search for jobs .
More disturbingly , some 40 percent of youth joining rebel and terror groups reportedly cite the lack of economic opportunity as the key motivation . The lessons for SSA are clear . The demographic dividend is not automatic ; it requires strong institutions , policies to create productive jobs and a workforce with appropriate skills .
SSA needs to create about 20 million jobs each year until 2035 , double the number created in the last five years .
It will also need to boost female education and higher labour force participation by women in formal sector jobs as these help lower fertility rates and spur the demographic transition .
Currently females are over represented among youth not in education , employment or training .
Africa must prepare for two gamechangers : climate crisis and technological revolution . Overcoming the challenges and taking advantage of the opportunities will demand new and higher levels of clarity and commitment from national and regional leadership .
Anthony Muiyuro is President ISACA Kenya Chapter And An Associate Director , Cybersecurity , Privacy & Trusted Technology , Africa , India & Middle East ( AIM ) at Ernest & Young LLP . You can commune with him on this or related matters via email at : T . Muiyuro @ gmail . com .