Youth and tourism

Africa benefits from a young workforce, and owing to changes in its population structure, the continent will benefit from a demographic dividend. While this is an immense opportunity for the continent, its realization will depend on the creation of sufficient and decent jobs, especially for the young. With half of all workers in the hotels, catering and tourism sector being under the age of 25 (ILO, 2017a), tourism can contribute to absorbing the youth that are eager to work and grow.

3.3.1 Youth and employment

Owing to declining mortality and fertility rates, the size and structure of the African population will be transformed. The proportion of working-age people (ages 15–64) will increase from 54 per cent of the overall population in 2010, to a peak of 64 per cent in 2090 (Drummond et al., 2014). This change in population structure is expected to provide Africa with a demographic dividend, that is, a boom in the working age population, which could rapidly accelerate economic growth if harnessed effectively.

The total number of young working people (ages 15–24) has increased rapidly in Africa, from 44 million in 1950 to 230 million in 2015, while its share in the total population has remained stable at around 19 per cent (Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2015). According to forecasts, it is estimated that Africa will have almost 300 million more young people by 2060 (Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2015). The continent has, however, struggled to provide employment opportunities for youth. While unemployment is a widespread phenomenon in Africa, figure 13 demonstrates that young people are particularly affected.

Amare (2014) finds that in Africa youth are twice as likely to be unemployed as their elders. In the last 25 years, the youth unemployment rate in Africa has fluctuated around 18 per cent. The employment challenge for youth in Africa, however, extends beyond

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job creation, as underemployment of youth is also a widespread concern in rural areas and in the agricultural sector (Fox et al., 2016; UNCTAD, 2013b). Data from six African countries indicate that the average youth underemployment rate was approximately 15 per cent in 2011 (ILO, 2017a).

There are significant subregional variations in this. Figure 14 shows that youth unemployment is especially a concern in Northern and Southern Africa. In these subregions, young people also constitute a higher proportion of the total population than in other subregions, having already begun developing a significant demographic dividend. For the rest of Africa where youth populations and corresponding youth unemployment has yet to swell, there is a need to prepare accordingly.

Across Africa, unemployment rates are higher among young women than young men, reaching 19.2 per cent and 15.8 per cent respectively in 2014. Furthermore, unemployment is not only a major concern for the uneducated but also educated youth. Almost half of the 10 million graduates of African universities each year fail to

Figure 13

Africa: Unemployment rates by age and sex, 1991–2014 (Percentage)

0 5 10 15 20 25

1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Female youth unemployment

(of female youth labour force) Male youth unemployment (of male youth labour force) Male unemployment (of male labour force) Female unemployment

(of female labour force)

Source: World Bank, 2017.

Note: Youth defined as comprising ages 15–24.

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Figure 14

Africa: Youth unemployment rate by subregion, 1991–2014 (Percentage)

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999

North Africa East Africa Middle Africa Southern Africa Western Africa

Source: World Bank, 2017.

find a job (African Center for Economic Transformation, 2016). In the United Republic of Tanzania, unemployment rates are higher among people who have completed secondary education than those who have not (Amare, 2014). A total of 31.1 per cent of those unemployed in Egypt had completed tertiary-level education in 2013 (World Bank, 2017a).

These unemployment rates point to an apparent paradox of a chronic skills deficit reported by employers and the number of educated but unemployed youth. This suggests that there is a mismatch between the training and education received by young people and the skills most in demand by African employers. According to EY (2015), technical and professional skills are reportedly most in demand by employers across all sectors, including tourism, in Africa.

A demographic dividend is generally viewed as an enormous opportunity as the dependency ratio of the population decreases. But to realize the benefits of that dividend, jobs are needed and young workers must have skills that correspond with those jobs. It is thus imperative that countries prepare for this opportunity. Tourism can contribute to harnessing the demographic dividend through several means.

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3.3.2 Enabling youth to participate in the tourism sector

In line with the discussion on poverty, tourism could provide significant employment opportunities to young people owing to its labour intensity and some of its underlying characteristics. Many tourism jobs are high-energy pursuits particularly suited to young able-bodied employees as they often demand long shifts of standing and walking (Baum, 2013). Additionally, the variety of jobs and associated transferable skills can make the tourism sector attractive to those beginning a career (London School of Economics, 2015). Some 25 per cent of African youth are illiterate (African Development Bank, 2011a) and the sector could also contribute to their employment via low-skilled jobs. While this may be an entry point, it cannot be an end in itself as these youth should be enabled to build up their skills.

A key factor for enabling youth to enter the tourism workforce and grow is the ability to acquire the skills needed and valued by the sector. Analysis of the national development plans has shown that most African countries (39 of the sample of 49 countries) have at least one tourism or hospitality school or a dedicated hospitality department at one of their universities. Though the quality of such training facilities varies, it indicates the countries’ interest in the sector and awareness of the need for capacity-building in tourism. For instance, in Ghana, various institutions offer a range of courses in tourism and leisure management, but the country lacks an international-class tourism school. The Ghana Tourism Authority is thus seeking to establish a tourism school through a public–private partnership with an international hospitality institution, which could provide teaching relevant to industry demands (Oxford Business Group, 2017).

The project aims to create a school that immerses students in practical tourism work, rather than using tourism education models in Africa focused on learning management and tourism-sector theories.

Enhancing hospitality schools is a positive externality for tourism employers who still often absorb staff training costs. Tourism business owners have indicated that the burden of staff training and development is currently too great (Khowala, 2015).

The World Travel and Tourism Council (2015) also maintains that tourism firms globally and across Africa should invest significantly in employee training to address skills shortages in the tourism sector.

Compared with other world regions, youth in Africa have few opportunities to acquire practical relevant skills through vocational training. For instance, only about 3 per cent of African students are enrolled in technical vocational education and training courses, compared with 18 per cent of Chinese students (UNCTAD, 2014d).

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89 24 According to ILO (2017b), an informal apprenticeship is a “system by which a young appren-tice acquires the skills for a trade or craft in a micro [enterprise] or small enterprise learning and working side by side with an experienced practitioner […] a training agreement that is embedded in local norms and traditions of a society”.

ILO has recommended that informal apprenticeship systems²⁴ should be extended to the tourism sector to boost vocational attainment (ILO, 2012b). This could contribute to young talent being available to both large- and small-scale tourism enterprises and promote greater youth entrepreneurship in tourism.