The root cause, nature, and solutions to youth unemployment on the continent of Africa were the subjects of discussion at the Grant Close-Out Workshop organised by the ARUA Centre of Excellence for Unemployment and Skills Development (ARUA-COE) at the University of Lagos on Wednesday.
Held at the Bank of Industry/UNILAG Co-Working & Incubation Hub, the blended event provided opportunities for the Centre to present the works of its researchers in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa; and the impacts of its activities in the respective countries.
In his welcome address, the Director of the Centre, Professor Sunday Adebisi, described the workshop as the culmination of a three-year journey, funded by a UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) grant that has yielded immense dividends.
“The UKRI grant which we used to kickstart our research started in September 2019. It was used to establish our centre and to finance our project titled, “Partnership, Research, and Capacity Building for Youth Unemployment Solutions in Africa (PRAC-4-YUSA)”. Within one year of operations, we got the supportive attention of the Nigerian president; and from our grant, we have hosted three conferences and three Youth Business and Innovation Competitions (YoBIC) in Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa. We believe that if the problem of youth employment is solved, Africa will become globally competitive; and we are here today to tell you how far we have come with that”, he said.
Delighted at the success story, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Folasade Ogunsola, who was present at the occasion with some other members of Management, lauded the centre and the continental impacts it is already making.
The VC said, “I am proud to be here to share the results of this Centre with the world. I am equally delighted to say that the outcomes of the work done here typify the great solutions that can ensue from South-South collaborations if we take them more seriously.
“It is becoming clear that as knowledge generation accelerates, Town and Gown must work more closely together for the advancement of the society that we seek to serve. There can be no development when the Ivory Tower is divorced from the market for which it produces manpower.”
Common threads that ran through their findings include the incidence of high youth unemployment on the continent, a plethora of interventionist programmes by the government that hardly address the problem, and the immense potentials that exist among the youths for building successful enterprises.
Professor Tony Bailetti of Carleton University, Canada, made a virtual presentation at the workshop.
Among other things, he posited that good governance and the confidence of African youths in themselves are key to the emergence and flourishing of youth enterprises in Africa.
