Transforming youth education for employment in Rwanda: A decade’s lessons

• In Event: Getting there: Achieving scale and sustainability through long-term investment and a commitment to iterative, incremental growth

Proposal

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has the world’s youngest and fastest growing population. With 62% of the population now below the age of twenty-five, and a population that is projected to double over the next three decades, it is estimated that over the next 15 years in SSA, 375 million youth will enter the workforce. Alongside this demographic transformation, the structure of African economies is changing and require a workforce that is adaptable to changing market demands, that can innovate across the supply chain, and that has entrepreneurial skills to harness employment gains from growing sectors. Work readiness skills—also known as “soft skills”—are becoming increasingly important to employers around the globe. They are also foundational to the success and growth of young entrepreneurs.
While many education reform efforts in Sub-Saharan Africa have focused on the development of technical and vocational skills, increasing evidence finds that soft skills are a predictor for employment and earnings. Importantly, these work readiness skills are acquired not only in the classroom but also through a variety of supports (family, peers, mentors) and opportunities such as internships, service learning, leadership and project-based experiences.
EDC is playing a pivotal role in the transformation of youth education and employment in Rwanda. For the past decade, it has worked closely with the government of Rwanda to develop state-of-the art soft skills curriculum, introduce accelerated learning programs for out-of-school youth, strengthen the quality of public and private youth education and employment services, and establish a model that demonstrates relevant and affordable youth education. Our experience of working with the ebbs and flows of national policy and emerging civil society/private sector opportunities provides insights into the extended and incremental process of reforming education systems to meet the needs of changing markets and youth populations.
This presentation will highlight pivotal moments and key points of intervention and collaboration in the 10-year span of our work in Rwanda, focusing on efforts to
• Establish cost-effective, scalable work readiness skills training and employment services that narrow the skills gap between labor supply and demand, and
• Support national education reforms that better prepare youth to navigate changing markets and meet the need of the country’s economy, namely by strengthening relationships between government, local service providers, businesses, and thousands of small- and medium-sized enterprises.

Author

• Melanie Sany, Education Development Center