ICQN-TVSD Ministerial Conference on Africa's Youth Employment

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About the Conference

The 2014 Ministerial Conference on Youth Employment "How to Improve,Through Skills Development and Job Creation,Access of Africa's Youth to the World of Work" took place in Abidjan, July 21-23, 2014.

The conference addressed the crucial issues of training, professional integration and employment in Africa. Youth employment is one of the greatest challenges facing the continent as it strives to eradicate poverty, ensure social cohesion and accelerate sustainable development. 

Ministerial delegations from some thirty  African countries have been invited to the conference, coming from all of Africa’s sub- regions. The conference started with an expert’s meeting.

The ministerial meeting shared the lessons learned from strategies implemented by countries to integrate youth in the work force and create jobs. It adopted a Regional Plan of Action aiming at significantly improving youth’s access to employment. The meeting also adopted the ICQN-TVSD’s development plan for 2014-2017.  

National strategies to integrate youth and create jobs

Twenty eight countries have been invited to produce studies on national strategies to integrate and create jobs for the youth: Angola, Benin, Cap Verde, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroun, Congo, DRC, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea Conakry, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Zambia, Zimbabwe. 

These strategies will be shared during the conference. Their analysis will help draw a regional Action Plan to enhance the integration of youth in the work force and the creation of jobs for them. 

Organisers and partners 

The conference was organized by ADEA’s Inter-Country Quality Node on Technical and Vocational Skills Development (ICQN-TVSD).  The ICQN is led by the Ministry of State, Ministry of Employment, Social Affairs and Professional Development of Côte d’Ivoire. The ICQN brings together 25 anglophone, francophone and lusophone countries from Africa’s different regions. 

Partners that have brought their technical and financial support to the conference include:  the French Agency for Development (AFD), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the International Development Research Center (IDRC), the German Cooperation (GIZ),  Luxemburg’s development agency  (LuxDev), NORRAG and the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF).

Participants

In addition to the organisers and partners, experts working on themes related to youth’s integration in the world of work will also participate in the conference. The event brought together approximately 100 participants.

For more information, please visit the conference website