Africa-Press – Rwanda. “The reason why I chose this program is because I need to get the skills on fashion design that will help me to develop myself” said Divine, a young Rwandan girl who recently started working as a trainee for a Rwandan clothing manufacturing company .
George, the managing director of the company, emphasizes the importance of programs like the one Divine has joined: “we had an important skills gap, but now we are filling it thanks to the training program” he said.
This win-win situation between Divine and George is not unique. Rwanda has an ambitious goal to become an upper-middle-income economy by 2035, and it understands that investing in its people and matching the demand of employers with the skills of workers are necessary to achieve this goal.
Over the past four years, the government has embarked on a skills development programme among young people at various levels of education as part of its 2018-2024 development blueprint – the National Strategy for Transformation (NST).
This strategy aims to equip the over 200,000 youths entering the labour market each year with critical skills to become productive citizens with access to good quality jobs that can catalyse economic development and help address the challenges posed by issues such as climate change and the digital revolution.
There has been progress, but many challenges persist. First, more than 90 percent of enterprises operate in the informal sector with few opportunities for upskilling.
Second, about 14 percent of the workforce in Rwanda is unemployed and not actively building market-relevant skills. Third, the unemployment rate is about 21 percent for the youth.
Fourth, about 60 percent of the employed are in subsistence agriculture, retail, construction, and in jobs that typically have low productivity. In other words, the country faces considerable levels of youth unemployment and insufficient access to quality jobs.
This situation is exacerbated by a changing global economy where labour markets are evolving at a fast pace. So how can these young people be supported to become active and productive economic players?
A holistic approach where skills development plays a crucial role is required. More specifically, Rwanda can find a path towards more productive employment by supporting skills upgrading in the informal sector to improve enterprise productivity and worker mobility.
The country also needs to enable the youth that are in training and those job-seeking to acquire the higher level and entrepreneurial skills needed by the formal sector, where better-paying jobs are found. This includes in growing sectors such as energy, construction, transport, logistics, ICT, and tourism.
The World Bank is supporting these efforts comprehensively through two programmes. The Rwanda Priority Skills for Growth (PSG), first supported the development of Rwanda’s national skills development and employment promotion strategy, setting a clear vision for the country.
Based on that the project is now helping to expand opportunities for young people to acquire quality skills demanded by employers. So far, the programme has supported training of over 27,000 to become change-makers in sectors such as climate change, energy, and transport.
Furthermore, PSG has helped revamped the Labour Market Information System to generate relevant evidence for young people to take control of their career and life trajectories while finding jobs that allow Rwanda to embrace the future and become a low-carbon and digital economy.
Photo Courtesy of Workforce Development Authority. The initiative is also guiding policymakers towards better labour market and education planning while leveraging the opportunities emerging from the COVID-19 crisis, particularly for the adoption of digital business.
In addition to youths with strong technical skills, growing economies require professionals who can lead the economic transformation and innovate to expand the possibilities for the country’s development.
Hence, the second programme, the Eastern and Southern Africa Higher Education Centres of Excellence (ACE II), is strengthening four centers of excellence at the University of Rwanda.
These centres deliver quality post-graduate education and build collaborative research capacity in energy, ICT, data science, and education. Going forward, these initiatives will need to be complemented by good quality jobs that can lead to sustainable and inclusive growth in the medium to long term.
There are at least three priorities to emphasize: i) it is crucial to strengthen the foundations for skills development. Basic education is a building block for further skills development and, ultimately, employment in quality jobs. Foundational learning and skills are critical for maximizing returns on investments in post-secondary education.
ii) stronger efforts are needed to ensure girls are not left behind, especially in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), typically male-dominated. Despite the government’s efforts to reach gender parity in in STEM by 2024/25, female students still account for only 32 percent of students enrolled in STEM programmes at the tertiary level. Structured pre-university or bridge academic support programmes can be considered to address pre-entry gaps for young women transitioning to tertiary levels.
iii) Rwanda’s vision to be a leading ICT Hub and become a digital and knowledge economy will require continued investment in digital skills and infrastructure. Digitization could generate about three million jobs by 2030, up from one million created in 2016, in professions such as content creation, processing and management, digital communication, analytics, hardware management, and software development and application management. In addition, specific skills and or professions associated with climate change adaptation and decarbonization will be required in solar power, climate-smart agriculture, and e-mobility.
The World Bank is a committed long-term partner supporting Rwanda on this journey. Today, Divine is part of a quality training program that facilitates development of her human capital. Soon, she will also be able to create jobs for other young people: “Thanks to the training I am receiving, I am expecting to create my own fashion company” she said. Investing in skills development from a holistic perspective will ensure that the youth of the current generation can become the leaders of the future and apply their skills in a modern economy while contributing to a more prosperous Rwanda for all.
For More News And Analysis About Rwanda Follow Africa-Press
