Youth unemployment is a global trend today. More and more graduates struggle to find work. The scholarship on youth unemployment suggests that, in Africa, this is partially due to a gap between educational systems and labour market demands. Nkamta’s study on skill acquisition in Cameroon finds that communication, team work, ICT capabilities, and problem-solving skills are scarce from the graduate pool. For those lacking the academic capability and skills, the entrepreneurial spirit of the informal sector provides a refuge. This is especially true for women, whose opportunities for tertiary education remain statically lower than those of men.

Much of the literature suggests that dynamism in the education sector must focus on the nexus between knowledge and practice. McGrath suggests that this could be achieved through vocational education and training. This training, geared towards creating job ready graduates may have adverse or inefficient results if both the voices of young people and the formal sector are not listened to and prioritised. Mobit and Mbella corroborate this by outlining the need for improving graduate programmes, developing apprenticeship and formalising training for students in Cameroon.

The rate of youth unemployment highlights severe obstacles, not only for those whose potential fails to be harnessed, but for the alarming negative externalities which might rise as a result such as child labour, crime and terrorism. Often, recruitment tactics of groups like Boko-Haram target unemployed, young men who are seduced by ‘money security and networks’. The quest for social mobility, unobtainable through formal channels, may lead young people to make unfavourable decisions. These potential externalities become compounded when we begin to pay attention to the demographic trends across the continent: a growing number of young people. 

These tactics have been observed by separatists in the conflict affected regions in Cameroon who claimed a boycott on education. Following an escalation of attacks, intimidation and damage, the government joined the safe school declaration in 2018 to reiterate its commitment to keep schools safe and accessible even in the times of conflict. Yet young people in this area have still struggled and experienced significant interruption in their learning, negatively impacting their education.

Whilst skill acquisition plays a role in youth unemployment, McGrath points out that simply focusing on skills can be misguided as the size of the formal economy creates a larger barrier to youth seeking professional opportunities. In Cameroon over 80% of jobs are in the informal economy, thus, the much smaller formal economy cannot always support the educated people available to work. Within the informal economy, high educational attainment has been found to have a negative effect on wage potential. Over 50% of those in the informal economy are paid under the minimum wage of 60 USD a month. Therefore, although entrepreneurship is a mechanism for economic growth and development, the majority of today’s entrepreneurs are not by choice. These trends, however, demonstrate the entrepreneurial spirit of the global youth, and more specifically, how the Cameroonian young people continue to flourish.

This is also why Management International University is committed to working alongside International Communities Organisation and Valens Emerging Markets to invest into our countries of focus such as Cameroon. We work to bring together education, large scale investments and research to make an impact both on local communities and the larger economy supporting new entrepreneurs and learners, facilitating new job development and building partnerships to provide gateways for students.

Sources

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• McGrath (2012), Vocational education and training for development: A policy in need of a theory? International Journal of Educational Development, (32)5, pp. 623-631.
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• Mobit, M, O and Mbella, E. (2016). An Assessment of the Effect of Entrepreneurship on Youth Unemployment in Africa: The Cameroonian Experience, Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship, 4(1), pp. 32-43. 
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