Africa Skills for Jobs
Policy Academy
Africa Skills for Jobs Policy Academy
The Africa Skills for Jobs Policy Academy is a capacity-building initiative that brings together senior policymakers, experts, key local partners, and World Bank Group staff to tackle the skills crisis and promote more and better jobs. It brings together senior policymakers from across sub-Saharan Africa, global experts, the private sector, and multilateral representatives to enhance skills development, particularly through Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), as a central pillar of economic and social progress. The Academy offers an intensive learning and exchange platform focused on strengthening national skills development systems through evidence-based strategies, peer learning, and practical tools.
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Why Do Skills Matter?
Africa’s dynamic and growing youth population is entering a labor market dominated by informal, low-productivity jobs. Yet, education and training systems across the region often fall short in providing the foundational and job-relevant skills young people need to thrive. Enrollment in formal TVET remains limited, and employers frequently cite a disconnect between training content and real-world job requirements. Meanwhile, rapid shifts driven by digital transformation, climate change, and urbanization are redefining the skills needed for the future. To meet these challenges, countries must reimagine skills development systems making them more inclusive, demand-driven, and responsive to the evolving needs of both workers and economies.
What is “Skills Development” or TVET?
The terms “skills development system” and “TVET” are used interchangeably throughout the Academy. They are broadly defined to refer to a single, unified system that delivers flexible, demand-driven training both industry-aligned and learner-centered across formal and informal segments of the labor market. Training typically occurs after 8 to 10 years of basic education, but may also include foundational learning in contexts where learning poverty is high. In some countries, TVET extends to higher vocational education programs, such as professional diplomas and applied degrees, which correspond to ISCED levels 5 and 6, thereby overlapping with higher education but distinguishing itself with its competency-based and job-focused approach to education and training.
About
Why Attend
The Academy offers policymakers a unique opportunity to engage with peers, technical experts, and World Bank teams to explore reform options grounded in data and real-world experience. Participants will examine tools and frameworks for strengthening both the supply and demand sides of the skills development system from employer engagement and governance to financing and quality standards. Through interactive sessions, case studies, and site visits to local institutions, the Academy fosters peer exchange and supports the design of country-specific strategies and action plans. It also aims to build lasting networks among stakeholders committed to improving youth skills and employment outcomes across Africa.
Discussions & Focus Areas
Each focus area invites participants to engage with cutting-edge insights, real-world case studies, and peer learning to co-create actionable strategies for national reform.
💡Skills Demand
Explores how economic and sectoral policies shape demand for skills, and how governments can anticipate future trends to better align training systems with job opportunities in high-growth sectors like agribusiness, energy, and digital services.
🌍 Skills Supply Systems
Focuses on building responsive training systems that cover pre-employment, on-the-job, and targeted upskilling, while addressing key challenges such as fragmentation, limited funding, and weak governance and institutional coordination.
📊 Quality Assurance & Pathways
Ensures training meets quality standards and creates flexible pathways, allowing learners to move between vocational and academic programs and progress to higher education.
🏭 Industry Engagement
Highlights the role of industry partnerships in shaping curriculum, offering apprenticeships, and ensuring training is relevant to evolving labor market needs, especially in contexts dominated by informal employment.
🎓School-to-Work Transition
Examines strategies to support young people in transitioning successfully from education to employment, including mechanisms for recognition of prior learning, certification, and labor market intermediation.
Keynote Guests
Meet the Speakers
The biggest minds from various African countries and beyond
Ndiamé Diop
Vice President, Eastern and Southern Africa, AFEES
World Bank Group
Dr. Ndiamé Diop oversees $76 billion in projects across 26 countries, driving growth, resilience, and development, backed by 25+ years of global economic leadership.
Mamta Murthi
Vice President, People Vice Presidency,
World Bank Group
Mamta is an economist with a D.Phil from Oxford, she has held senior leadership roles across operations, strategy, and country programs, and is recognized for her research on poverty, demography, and education.
Full list coming soon
Stakeholders
Partners & Conveners
The conference has been organised with support from partners.
