The gap between youth aspirations and the reality of the labour markets in Africa is large. Career aspirations of young Africans have little in common with current and projected labour demand in the region, making it unlikely that they will go through a smooth school to work transition. Evidence from ten African countries shows that what youth in these countries value most is job security, such as work in the public sector. Agriculture-related work or medium-skilled jobs in manufacturing are the least attractive for young Africans. Policies can help address the misalignment between youth employment preferences and employment opportunities. A two-pronged approach is recommended: i) helping young people shape career aspirations that are realistic and that can fit with the world they will be entering, and ii) improving the quality of jobs with due regard to the job conditions that matter for young people.

Today, one in six is a young person aged between 15 and 24. The global youth population is expected to reach 1.3 billion by 2030 and to continue to increase until 2065, mostly led by Africa. In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) some 375 million youth are expected to join the labour force by 2030 (ILO, 2016[1]). Policy makers across the world, and particularly in Africa, are preoccupied with the great challenge of helping millions of young people find decent work, as conveyed in Goal 8 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The challenge is particularly daunting in developing countries where informal labour markets and weak enforcement of labour standards keep many young people in low-quality jobs and poverty.

Good jobs matter for development and deliberate efforts are needed to improve the quality of jobs and make work pay. However, little is known about what actually matters for young people in terms of job characteristics and employment conditions. A survey 1 across 32 developing and emerging economies provides new insights on youth career aspirations. This paper hones in on ten African countries as a compendium to the report Youth Aspirations and the Reality of Jobs in Developing Countries: Mind the Gap (OECD, 2017[2]). It is produced as part of the EU-OECD Youth Inclusion project. It places youth employment preferences at the forefront of the analysis and asks: What is the nature of youth career aspirations and job-related drivers of job satisfaction? What shapes such employment preferences? How likely is it that young people will be able to meet their job aspirations? What can policy makers do to reduce the gap between youth preferences and the reality of jobs?

In Africa, the majority of students aspire to work in the public sector. The share of students wishing to work in the public sector, including international organisations and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), ranges from 60% in the Republic of the Congo (Congo) to 78% in Zambia (Figure 1). This result confirms that public employment remains highly valued by young Africans, most likely because it combines characteristics valued by young workers such as job stability and security. These preferences are likely to influence the way young African men and women make decisions about subjects to study.

1) The study involved harmonisation and analysis of data from school-to-work transition surveys collected between 2012 and 2015 in 32 developing and transition countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean. Insights on youth career aspirations are derived from information gathered from students aged 15 to 29 about the sector of activity and the type of jobs they would like to hold later in life. This paper hones in on ten African countries as a compendium to the report Youth Aspirations and the Reality of Jobs in Developing Countries: Mind the Gap (OECD, 2017[2]