Creating More and Better Jobs for African Youth through School-to-Work Transition Programs

The policy brief examines the challenge of youth unemployment in Africa, noting that millions of young people, including tertiary graduates, struggle to enter the labor market. It evaluates various school-to-work transition initiatives, such as Ghana's National Service Scheme and NABCO, and identifies a critical trade-off between the scale of a program and the quality of its training. The author argues that for these programs to be successful, they must provide comprehensive skills training, ensure inclusivity, avoid political interference, and be coupled with efforts to create more high-quality jobs in collaboration with the private sector.

• Africa faces a severe youth unemployment crisis, with approximately 13 million young people unemployed and 60 million not in employment, education, or training as of 2022. The challenge is expected to intensify as Sub-Saharan Africa's population is projected to double by 2050, with over half the population under 25.
• School-to-work transition programs in Africa often suffer from a trade-off between impact quantity and quality. Large-scale programs frequently lack the relevant training needed for the job market, while high-quality, comprehensive programs often lack the capacity to reach a significant number of youth.
• Specific initiatives in Ghana show limited success in securing permanent employment. The Ghana National Service Scheme (GNSS) is hampered by payment delays and career mismatches, with only 10 percent of graduates finding permanent work. The Nation Builders Corps (NABCO), which ended in 2022, saw only 38,000 of its 100,000 beneficiaries transition to permanent employment before the program's conclusion.
• Effective transition programs must move beyond training to prioritize the actual creation of dignified, high-quality jobs. This requires the active involvement of the private sector, employers, and development partners, as well as the implementation of labor market information systems to help youth make informed educational choices.

APA

Moors, R. (2023). Creating More and Better Jobs for African Youth through School-to-Work Transition Programs. African Center for Economic Transformation. https://acetforafrica.org/research-and-analysis/insights-ideas/policy-briefs/creating-more-and-better-jobs-for-african-youth-through-school-to-work-transition-programs/

Chicago

Moors, Rik. Creating More and Better Jobs for African Youth through School-to-Work Transition Programs. African Center for Economic Transformation, 2023. https://acetforafrica.org/research-and-analysis/insights-ideas/policy-briefs/creating-more-and-better-jobs-for-african-youth-through-school-to-work-transition-programs/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Moors |first1=Rik |title=Creating More and Better Jobs for African Youth through School-to-Work Transition Programs |publisher=African Center for Economic Transformation |date=21 September 2023 |url=https://acetforafrica.org/research-and-analysis/insights-ideas/policy-briefs/creating-more-and-better-jobs-for-african-youth-through-school-to-work-transition-programs/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{moors2023creating, author = {Moors, Rik}, title = {{Creating More and Better Jobs for African Youth through School-to-Work Transition Programs}}, institution = {African Center for Economic Transformation}, year = {2023}, month = sep, url = {https://acetforafrica.org/research-and-analysis/insights-ideas/policy-briefs/creating-more-and-better-jobs-for-african-youth-through-school-to-work-transition-programs/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }