Africa Policy Academy to Tackle Youth Skills Crisis on the Continent

Academy to bring together senior policymakers, World Bank task-team leaders, and private-sector representatives to drive skills reform across Africa

The World Bank Group is convening a high-level Africa Skills for Jobs Policy Academy to address the growing skills gap across the continent.

The event, scheduled for 30 September to 3 October 2025 in Nairobi, Kenya, will focus on sharing evidence-based approaches, examining emerging skills demands in priority sectors—including agribusiness, energy, health, manufacturing, and tourism—and developing actionable plans to reform technical and vocational education and training (TVET).

Organized in collaboration with the Government of Kenya and the Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA), the Academy will bring together senior policymakers, World Bank task-team leaders, and private-sector representatives to co-create solutions to Africa’s skills crisis.

The gathering coincides with the official launch of the African Continental TVET Strategy 2025–2034, which outlines a shared vision for transforming TVET across the continent. It will also build on successful programs such as the East Africa Skills for Transformation and Regional Integration Project (EASTRIP), which has demonstrated the impact of targeted investments in flagship training institutions.

“The Skills for Jobs Africa Policy Academy brings governments, industry, and development partners together to co-create solutions and reforms that will lay the foundation for a brighter future for Africa’s youth and generations to come,” said Ndiame Diop, Regional Vice President for Eastern and Southern Africa at the World Bank Group. “We invite policymakers, donors, and businesses to engage, invest, and partner with us to transform Africa’s skills landscape.”

The Academy comes at a time when more than one million young people enter Africa’s labour market every month, with up to 86 percent of jobs concentrated in the informal sector. Yet many young people lack the job-relevant skills needed to thrive in both informal and growth-priority industries.

According to Prof. Gaspard Banyankimbona, Executive Secretary of the IUCEA, persistent system-level challenges continue to hinder skilling efforts: limited funding, fragmented training provision, weak coordination with industry, poor foundational skills, mismatched curricula, and the absence of effective career guidance and job-matching platforms.

“Africa’s youth need quality, hands-on technical and vocational education to thrive in a rapidly changing labour market. TVET can be a catalyst for economic growth and social inclusion when aligned with industry demands,” said Prof. Banyankimbona.

The Academy will also address how global megatrends—including digitalisation, Artificial Intelligence, green skills, and climate change—are reshaping the future of work. It will highlight the urgency of building demand-driven, inclusive, and resilient skills systems that support upskilling, reskilling, and lifelong learning for diverse groups, particularly youth and women across both formal and informal sectors.