The African Union (AU) is an intergovernmental union, consisting of 55 countries in Africa. One of its major roles besides promoting democracy and peace on the African continent, it is that of creating employment and ensuring skills development for its people, that will have mostly the youth involved as they are the future leaders of this continent, as “modern problems require solutions” and with this task also comes the responsibility to creating sustainable jobs.
The AU during April 2015 held a sedentary and drafted a document about the aspirations they have for the future of Africa and its people. The document is called the Agenda 2063 which is a plan of things to be done or problems to be addressed and consists of 7 aspirations that the AU would like to achieve. The focus here is on 2 aspirations that speak on the human resources development and at what level the continent aspires to compete with skills and knowledge that will be put into developing the youth to meet and help solve issues that this continent is facing. These are issues of hunger, unemployment, lack of skills, gender-based violence, to name a few.
Africa which is home to countries that are ranked the highest with unemployment rates like South Africa and Lesotho, will with this agenda have the youth at the forefront of skills development to change the current status. The agenda is planned to be successfully achieved within 48 years from 2015, meaning there is a lot that needs to be done to catch up with the rest of the world. African leaders understand it will take a lot of other resources in achieving this goal but have imagined an Africa that is capable and willing to be the best.
The focus is on the below aspirations that speak directly to the human resources that will be required to achieving the goals set in this agenda and at what level the development and investment in the youth will see Africa competing and solidifying its place amongst economic giants like the USA and China.
Aspiration 6.- An Africa whose development is people-driven, relying on the potential of African people, especially its women and youth, and caring for children. It can be debated that the 4IR (Fourth Industrial Revolution) with all its technological advancements, and is already taking place in some countries, may render human resources inoperable as people are seeking efficiency at all costs, with this said it is important that future employees/ employers demonstrate skills that machines cannot perform to remain relevant, competencies that are character-based will be important and not routine work or programmable work. The AU is saying that even with these global tech developments we are still people-centric and the human element can never be replaced by a “machine”. It is saying as technology evolves, so should our people as Africa desires for its goods and services to be produced locally, for the African person. Every country provides services that meet its people’s needs. Africa as a country that still believes in interacting with people and forming personal relations.
The World Economic Forum (WEF) estimates that 15 to 20 million young people will join the African workforce every year for the next two decades. By 2030, Africa will be home to more than a quarter of the world’s population under 25, who will make up 60% of the continent’s total population. What makes these statistics more striking is that Africa will be unleashing this considerable human capital at a time when the rest of the world is getting older. So investing in the African child should start now in preparation for these exciting times, where the youth will contribute meaningfully to the economy and become game changers and influence the rest of the world, where innovation will be the order of the day.
Laying a foundation for Africa’s future workforce will require deliberately drafting policies that approach employment differently and rigorously, the private sector commitment, and institutional reforms. It is important that all sectors, private and public investment in skills that not only focus on today’s problems but establishing a sustainable pipeline of talent (youth) to meet future skills needs.
Aspiration 7: Africa as a strong, united, and influential global player and partner.- Africa can be seen as a country that is divided in itself as the leaders of some countries still do not believe in democratic participation or inclusion and make use of a “might hand” in the ruling, the late Robert Mugabe can be seen as such one leader, where he made decisions without the people of the country participation, one can argue the positives of his actions but how many families went to bed hungry, how many people lost their jobs on the farms. Unity is needed within countries themselves if the continent is to achieve this mandate on a global scale.
When the youth of the African continent have the necessary skills set to meet the needs of the continent and transform natural resources, Africa will be able to compete on a global scale with developed countries. Africa is home to an abundance of natural resources like diamonds, gold, oil, natural gas, uranium, platinum, copper, etc. should be a global player and partner and not be subject to exploitation for its natural resources, meaning that other countries that need these natural resources will work in partnership with the people of Africa and turn to contribute to further youth development and economic activity.
African leaders not will be influenced to trade off their people in exchange for money, but would rather opt for the development of the youth and empowering of women of Africa. It is investing in the youth of today and the leaders of tomorrow, it is about legacy and being a key partner with other continents. With this agenda Africa will be seen as a continent leading in youth development and employment, this will prompt other continents to follow the example that Africa will be setting through youth initiatives and development.
In achieving these aspirations Africa as a continent that needs skills that can transform its natural resources into everyday usable goods and services, will need to adopt an attitude and work ethic like China which is known as the manufacturing hub of the world, although their air pollution is a concern, China has made tremendous changes where it has deployed a number of novel technologies designed to clean the air, including a 100-metre-tall smog-sucking tower, surpassing the USA and India in renewable capacity growth, according to WEF. This will allow Africa to have leverage on their natural resources and use that to its competitive advantage. Human resources are essential in moving economies forward, for machinery to operate a human would have assembled it, thus humans cannot become obsolete but are important to remain relevant through the development of skills and acquiring knowledge.
When the youth and women of a continent like Africa are empowered it will allow them to participate in crucial roles in governance and also contribute to the GDP of the continent through education, political involvement, and wage equality. It is not necessarily about how many people (human resources) are available but it is how these resources are put to use that can be a game-changer for the African continent.
“They are not human resources. They are resourceful humans” ― Venkat Kumaresan
By Katlego Confidence Masha
Katlego Confidence Masha is a 31-year-old student from South Africa. She currently works for a government parastatal. She holds a Diploma in Public Finance and Accounting and is completing her BCom: Degree in Supply Chain Management. She is passionate about leadership, mental health, and life coaching and is doing a course in life coaching. Her passion for people has her settling in a Human Resources Management role for her future career with Employee Relations being the main focus hence being registered for an Advanced Certificate: Labour Law.
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