Joining the Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth
We are joining the Global Alliance on Decent Jobs for Youth by pledging a commitment to share education data in sub-Saharan Africa.
Photo:
Students at university in Accra, Ghana
We have pledged a commitment to Decent Jobs for Youth to share education data in sub-Saharan Africa. The goal of data sharing is to improve tertiary education and employment opportunities for young people in the region.
Poor access to and use of data hampers the education community in sub-Saharan Africa, preventing the formulation of evidence-informed policy and reform of the education system. In order to tackle this problem, in partnership with Zizi Afrique and the Ed Tech Hub, we are committing to form a coalition to increase access to education data in Africa, with a particular focus on tertiary education.
Openly sharing education data would give decision-makers in sub-Saharan Africa a fuller picture of the state of education in their countries, provide scholars with local knowledge, and support universities to grow local capacity for analysis where primary data collection is often beyond their resources.
This coalition will bring together data users: policy-makers, national statistics officers, representatives of workers’ and employers’ organizations, bilateral and multilateral development partners, researchers and civil society, to design solutions that fit demand.
Several knowledge products are envisioned as a result of this coalition; products that will ultimately be used to influence and change policies and practices surrounding tertiary education and decent job opportunities for young people in the region.
If your organisation is interested in joining the above collective, please contact us.
To join the collective would mean to participate in the conversations, contribute information to increase the collective understanding of the state of play as regards education data in Africa and, where there is capacity, to help drive forward initiatives identified as priorities by the collective.
The Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth Team said:
"The Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth welcomes ESSA’s commitment on leveraging data-sharing for more effective decision-making on education and employment in Sub-Saharan Africa. The commitment will contribute to knowledge generation and open data-sharing aimed at improving policies on education and youth employment in the region."
This partnership will boost action and impact on Youth Entrepreneurship and Self-employment, Transitions to the Formal Economy and Youth in the Rural Economy. Our commitment to support data sharing on education in sub-Saharan Africa is important to understanding the education ecosystem in the region and consequently to adapting it to fit the demands of the labour market.
The Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
Decent Jobs for Youth was launched in 2016 as a UN system-wide effort, focusing on the youth employment challenge that is central to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It has emerged as a global, multi-stakeholder initiative that brings together governments, social partners, the private sector, youth and civil society organizations, and others. They work together to share knowledge, leverage resources and take action at country and regional level, to support young people in accessing decent work and productive employment worldwide.
For more information on Decent Jobs for Youth, please contact:
Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth I decentjobsforyouth@ilo.org