Job Creation in East Africa, India and Nepal: Insights from the Jobs Network

REPOA hosted an International Policy Research Workshop on Competence and Jobs Creation in May 2024. Through the Jobs Network, the event brought together policymakers from Tanzania and researchers from REPOA (Tanzania), Policy Studies Institute (Ethiopia), Social Science Baha (Nepal), and the Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI).

The network's primary objective is to address critical policy challenges related to job creation, emphasizing the pivotal role of research in driving effective solutions. By focusing on three key areas—job creation, labour markets, and worker skills — the Jobs Network seeks to disseminate knowledge from research that can contribute to policymaking for inclusive growth and development.

Key insights from the workshop:

• Sector-specific reforms: Participants emphasised the need for short-term reforms in labour-intensive sectors like agriculture and construction to create jobs.
• Rural development: Long-term focus on improving rural roads can enhance marginal labour productivity.
• Skills gap: Studies have identified a significant skills gap as a major challenge for the Tanzanian labour force.
• Government initiatives: The Tanzanian government has implemented various measures to create jobs, including attracting investments and promoting entrepreneurship.

Beyond these key findings, the workshop also explored:

• The role of education and training: Participants discussed the importance of ensuring that education and training programs align with the needs of the labour market.
• The impact of technology: The potential of technology to create new jobs and transform existing industries was a key topic of discussion.
• The challenges of informality: The workshop addressed the challenges of informality in the labour market, which can hinder job growth and limit workers' rights.
• The importance of international cooperation: Participants emphasised the need for international cooperation to address global labour market challenges and promote inclusive growth.

The workshop provided a platform for researchers to share their findings on competence building and labour markets in Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Nepal. Through in-depth discussions and knowledge exchange, participants aimed to inform policy formulation and accelerate the transition towards inclusive growth. There was also opportunity to discuss findings with policymakers, through panel sessions exploring creative solutions for job creation, and increasing competency in the workforce.

In the case of Tanzania, CMI Director Espen Villanger stated that “to create jobs – in the short run, Tanzania needs to embark on sector specific reforms for labour intensive sectors i.e., agriculture and construction. Yet in the long run, it should focus on marginal labour productivity through improvement of rural roads.”

Suzan Mkangwa , the Commissioner of Labour from Tanzania’s Prime Minister’s Office, said the Government has continued to take various measures to create jobs, including creating an enabling environment for attracting investors.

“President Samia Suluhu Hassan has herself been at the forefront of bringing investors to the country who have created many jobs for Tanzanians. However, we still have a long-standing problem of young people who graduate from colleges/ universities being unemployed, but most of them insist on staying in the cities while job opportunities can also be in farms and factories elsewhere,” she added.

These insights and others highlighted the importance of collaboration between policymakers and research institutions in addressing the complex challenges of job creation and fostering inclusive growth.

The Jobs Network organizes policy-oriented workshops on job creation and skills twice a year. The next workshop is planned to take place in Oslo in November 2024.