Skills and Opportunities for Youth in Africa: A Conversation with Joshua Opey on How to Activate Youth Potential

Young people in Africa have tremendous untapped potential. On a recent trip to Accra, Ghana, I sat down with Joshua Opey , who shared insights from his experience as a young person and leader on the continent. Joshua is also a Youth Foresight Fellow, a member of the UNICEF Generation Unlimited Global Young People Action Team, and served on the External Reference Group to UNICEF's Africa Strategy.

By 2050, more than one third of young people aged 15 to 24 will live in Africa, representing the world’s largest labour force and offering a potential demographic dividend for the continent and beyond. But currently, the majority of youth in Africa are not in employment, education or training, and rely on the informal sector to sustain livelihoods that are insecure, under-resourced and vulnerable to exploitation.

Joshua Opey is an accomplished youth advocate from Ghana dedicated to empowering youth and sustainable development. He is the Chairperson of the Commonwealth Youth Council (CYC), which represents more than 1.2 billion young people in 56 countries around the globe. As a UNICEF Youth Foresight Fellow and the UNICEF Generation Unlimited Global Young People Action Team member, he has facilitated youth engagement workshops in Ghana on the future of skills and education. 

As underscored in UNICEF’s new Generation Unlimited strategy for Africa, the next 25 years will be a critical window of opportunity for realizing our vision of every young person being engaged in education, employment or training. During our discussion, Joshua shared his insights on the importance of this objective, key works in progress, and ideas for the next-step priorities.

Activating Africa’s youth potential: An interview with Joshua Opey

George Laryea-Adjei: Hello, Joshua, and thank you for engaging in this discussion with me. Let’s start with an overarching question: Why should we focus on teaching African youth new skills? 

Joshua Opey: The workshops I’ve facilitated have given me the opportunity to see first-hand how important jobs are for young people in Ghana, and really drove home some of the data I’ve seen. For example, the 2023 Afrobarometer report, compiled by a pan-African, non-partisan research network, found that while young Africans are broadly more educated than their elders, they are also more likely to be out of work.

By 2030, 30 million youth are expected to enter Africa’s job market every year. By 2050 its population growth will account for 85 per cent of the increase in the working‐age population worldwide. These workshops highlighted the importance of investment in building skills and creating opportunities for youth in Africa as a means of meeting future demand.

George: This demographic reality certainly highlights both the issues to overcome and the potential of Africa’s youth. How do the workshops aim to change the trend of youth unemployment into opportunities?

Joshua: UNICEF found that three out of four young people lack skills that would make them employable in the current job market. These workshops make sure we are providing training for youth that will empower them with in-demand skills, leading to greater employment and resulting in social stability.

George: What are the skills you think are most important for young people in Africa to be learning?

Joshua: Digital, STEM, entrepreneurial and leadership skills are crucial. Jobs are being digitized around the world, and Africa is no different. In fact, it is at the forefront of digitization – and the International Finance Corporation has predicted that 230 million jobs in sub-Saharan Africa will require digital skills by 2030.

George: So, what types of groups are working to provide skills-building opportunities for African youth?

Joshua: Many different groups are supporting action for building young people’s skills. The European Union, for example, launched new regional programmes this year to align skills training with employment opportunities, with a focus on prioritizing opportunities for women.

UNICEF, as I’m sure you know, is already very active in this sector. I loved reading about how UNICEF supported young innovators in Burundi during the March 2024 ‘grand finale’ of the Innovation Challenges. The UPSHIFT methodology, which inspires adolescents to approach the day-to-day challenges their communities face with an innovative mindset, is a great example of how we can equip Africa’s youth with skills that will both give them a leg up in the global job market and allow them to solve problems relevant to their communities.

George: And yet, we know that despite these initiatives, there are still major barriers to overcoming unemployment. What do you see as the reasons for this?

Joshua: Well, African youth still face many challenges outside their control, from a lack of connectivity and infrastructure to limited opportunities for skills practice and apprenticeships. In 2023, just 37 per cent of Africans had access to the internet. We need more than skills training to increase employability. We also need to create infrastructure to make African job seekers competitive in the global market.

George: What do you think we should we be doing differently?

Joshua: The first priority should be localizing skills workshops to make sure what we teach youth is directly relevant to their area’s immediate needs. The World Economic Forum found that Africa needs a skilled workforce that can supplement general knowledge to address specific issues in order to advance. But simply equipping youth with these skills isn’t enough. We need to find ways to connect Africa’s workforce with the rest of the world. Skills-building solutions must be relevant to the global context, so that African youth can provide solutions for other countries worldwide. 

I think that two specific areas would be beneficial – apprenticeship programmes and localized job search platforms. Most workshops end at the skills-acquisition stage and don’t provide opportunities for practical advancement. Investing in transition phases from training to working will ensure that young people acquire concrete experience that builds on the training they have received.

It is also really difficult for young people to find job listings that match their skill set. Online job portals are more common now, but most platforms are not Africa-focused and, once again, the lack of connectivity creates a huge roadblock for the continent.

George: I agree with your points, Joshua! We’ve seen the importance of this in our UNICEF programmes. And it’s something we’ll look to implementing in the future. Thank you so much for sharing your insights with us. We look forward to seeing more of your work.