Twelve million young Africans a year, three million formal jobs: Harare's skills week takes on the gap

Harare — Every year more than 12 million young Africans enter the job market, and the formal economy absorbs about three million of them. Closing that gap was the task set for Africa Skills Week 2026, which the African Union Commission and Zimbabwe opened at the Harare International Conference Centre on 12 October, the AU said.

The third edition, running until 16 October under the theme "Skills for Resilient and Competitive African Industries: From Training to Value Creation", brought together leaders, policymakers, industry, training institutions and young people.

What was said

• President Emmerson Mnangagwa said Africa has the youngest population in the world, with over 60% under 35, and that this must become "a competitive force" through investment in relevant skills, work-based learning and enterprise incubation. He called for less theoretical and more practical education.
• The AU's education commissioner, Professor Gaspard Banyankimbona, urged technical and vocational training to be aligned with the African Continental Free Trade Area, a market with a combined GDP of about $3.4 trillion, and its priority value chains such as agro-processing, vehicle manufacturing and pharmaceuticals, with common skills standards so qualified workers can move across borders.
• He invoked Thomas Sankara's call to "dare to invent the future" and said that while AI is transforming education, "the human dimension of teaching remains irreplaceable".

Banyankimbona praised Zimbabwe's Heritage-Based Education 5.0 model and proposed an annual Africa Education and Skills Summit. Previous editions of the skills week were held in Ghana in 2024 and Ethiopia in 2025; Harare's discussions will feed into an AU ministerial meeting on education, science and technology in Addis Ababa from 2 to 6 November.

Source: African Union Commission, 12 October 2026.