The divide between the digital skills young people possess and the needs of employers is a big challenge and contributes to a high youth unemployment rate, particularly in the Global South. The SAP Educate to Employ initiative is set up as a digital pathway through Youth Agency Marketplace (YOMA), a public-private-youth ecosystem from UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited. The program aims to address this challenge and enable young people’s skills for a digital economy.
Nearly 90 percent of the 1.8 billion young people between the ages of 10 and 24 in the world today, are in low-and middle-income countries. An estimated 22 percent do not have jobs and are not in education or training.
Globally, young people are three times more likely to be unemployed than adults. Edmond Shange is one of the many young people who have faced difficulties navigating the employment market right out of high school. “In South Africa there’s not a lot of opportunities when it comes to the employment sector,” the 27-year-old shared.
Making copies of a CV or resume and going to a potential employer to drop them off costs money, something in very short supply among South Africa’s unemployed youth. Despite this, Shange says that as many as 300 young people often queue up to drop off their CVs at a potential employer. “I faced a lot of challenges trying to apply for jobs,” he said. “It’s very tough for young people like me.”
Shange is not alone. “In Africa over 70 percent of the population are young people and another 4 million join the job market every single year competing for less than half a million new jobs,” said Nadi Albino, deputy director at UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited.
