Best practises in job creation : lessons from Africa

Abstract

The present report contains the results of an examination of 34 employment initiatives in 15 African countries, highlighting the areas that the most successful initiatives have in common. Given the idiosyncratic nature of each country’s economic structure, labour force and state of socioeconomic development means, there is little evidence to suggest that the success of a specific initiative can be replicated in another country without taking into account those differences. However, by ascertaining which broader approaches have proven successful in these countries and identifying which focus areas have shown the most promising results, it is possible to gain insight into what constitutes best practice from an employment-creation perspective. A number of African nations have already ratified the Employment Policy Convention (No. 122) of the International Labour Organization. As an initial step, identifying the most common phrases emphasized in the employment-creation initiatives examined in the study has already provided some insight into important success drivers. These phrases, depicted in a word cloud below, include partnership, skills development, youth employment, investment promotion and access to credit.