African Leaders Urged to Turn Skills Training Into Jobs

African leaders have been urged to strengthen links between education, skills development and industry to ensure training translates into jobs, innovation and economic growth.

The call was made by President Emmerson Mnangagwa and other speakers at the official opening of Africa Skills Week 2026 in Harare on Monday, under the theme “Skills for Resilient and Competitive African Industries: From Training to Value Creation”.

Mnangagwa said Africa needed to combine its abundant natural resources with skilled labour, technology and industrial capacity to create sustainable wealth.

He urged African countries to end the export of unprocessed minerals and invest in local industries capable of turning raw materials into higher-value products.

“Our continent’s vast reserves of minerals, including lithium, platinum, nickel, cobalt, and rare earth elements should never be extracted and exported as primary raw commodities. This counter-productive legacy should end,” he said.

The President called for increased investment in technical and vocational education and training, digital literacy, artificial intelligence and specialised skills to prepare young people for changing labour market demands.

He also emphasised the need to strengthen regional cooperation and develop local industries to promote manufacturing, mineral beneficiation and value addition.

“Under Agenda 2063 and the Action Plan for the Accelerated Industrial Development for Africa, local mineral beneficiation and value addition is now an urgent necessity,” Mnangagwa said.

African Union Commissioner for Education, Science, Technology and Innovation Professor Gaspard Banyankimbona said the continent needed to harness its youthful population by equipping young people with skills that respond to the needs of industry.

He said more than 12 million young Africans entered the labour market every year, while the formal economy created opportunities for only about three million.

“This space represents our greatest opportunity for innovation, entrepreneurship, and the creation of new, high-value industries,” Banyankimbona said.

He called for technical and vocational education and training systems to be aligned with priority industries, including agro-processing, automotive manufacturing and pharmaceuticals.

“Our TVET systems should be directly linked to the African Continental Free Trade Area priority value chains, such as agro-processing, automotive manufacturing, and pharmaceuticals,” he said.

Banyankimbona urged African Union member states to translate continental education and skills strategies into practical national policies, backed by sustainable funding and stronger partnerships between governments, training institutions and industry.

United Nations Resident Coordinator Dr Rosemary Kalapuraka said the success of skills development should be measured by its impact on productivity, business competitiveness, decent employment and innovation rather than the number of people trained.

“But the question is not how many people we train. It is whether investments in skills must translate into greater productivity, stronger enterprises, decent jobs, innovation and higher value retained within African economies,” she said.

Kalapuraka said skills policies needed to be closely aligned with economic strategies so that countries could develop the workforce required to support their industrial ambitions.

She commended Zimbabwe for establishing a standalone Ministry responsible for Skills Audit and Development, saying the move recognised skills development as a strategic national priority linked to industrialisation, innovation, productivity and competitiveness.

Kalapuraka also highlighted Zimbabwe’s ambitions in mineral beneficiation, industrial development, digital transformation and the energy transition, noting that these sectors would require skilled technicians, engineers, entrepreneurs and other specialised workers.

She said the United Nations would continue supporting Zimbabwe’s efforts to connect education with industry, particularly in agriculture, agro-processing, mining, manufacturing and the emerging green economy.

“Our contribution will support Zimbabwe connect the dots between education and industry, investment and skills development, national priorities and continental ambitions, and ultimately between training and opportunity,” she said.

She added that aligning skills development with the country’s priority economic sectors would help ensure that training created meaningful opportunities for workers while supporting Zimbabwe’s broader development goals.

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