Oliver Wyman conducted the ‘Youth Employment In The African Private Sector’ survey in collaboration with Junior Achievement Africa to derive insights upon which key stakeholders and decision-makers including governments, the private sector, non-government organizations and educational institutions; can act to best equip the African youth for the ever-changing job market.
The survey was taken by 2,600+ youth aged 16 to 35 from across six African countries and covered six specific areas such as perception of the private sector, perceived skills gap and workplace readiness.
Key Insights
The survey revealed that African youth have a generally positive outlook and entrepreneurial aspirations. 83% of the respondents expect to see growth in the private sector in the next five years, while an even higher 91% wish to go into business.
While entrepreneurship, multinational companies and public sector work emerged as the most preferred types of employment, 66% of employed respondents cited the lack of job security as a key deterrent to private sector preference.
Junior Achievement Africa (JA Africa) is a non-profit organization which builds skills and access to employment for youth across Africa. JA Africa’s mission is to foster social mobility and financial inclusion among African youth through financial literacy, improved employability and microenterprise creation.
Since its inception in 1979, JA Africa has built offices in 15 countries and collectively reaches more than 250,000 youth annually. Focus areas are entrepreneurship education, workforce readiness and financial literacy.
