GAN Global and Partners Rally African Stakeholders to Bridge the Skills Gap for Youth

Lagos, Nigeria – 23 July 2026

Apprenticeships and work-based learning (WBL) took center stage in Lagos as policymakers, employers, youth representatives, training institutions, and development partners from across Africa gathered to address one of the continent’s most pressing challenges: the persistent mismatch between available jobs and the skills young people possess.

The workshop, “Youth Employment and Skilling Initiatives in Nigeria and Beyond”, was organized by GAN Global, our funding partner, the International Organisation of Employers (IOE), and the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), with support from the European Union (EU). Bringing together participants from Nigeria, Kenya, Namibia, Burkina Faso, and Côte d’Ivoire, the workshop provided a platform for stakeholders to move beyond diagnosing the youth unemployment crisis towards focusing on practical employer-led solutions that strengthen apprenticeship systems, expand WBL, and improve school-to-work transitions.

Discussions during the day emphasized a significant paradox that Africa faces: employers struggling to recruit workers with the right skills while millions of young people remain unable to access decent employment opportunities. This disconnect has intensified calls for stronger collaboration between businesses, education providers, governments, and youth organizations to ensure training systems are aligned with labor market needs. Participants emphasized the following main points:

• Skills development and talent cultivation are essential to improving employability and driving economic growth across the continent.
• Apprenticeships are increasingly viewed as a proven pathway for equipping young people with practical, market-relevant skills while helping businesses develop the workforce they need to remain competitive.

As part of the program, we led participants towards a shared goal to identify partnership opportunities and develop national action plans to strengthen skills systems aiming support decent and sustainable youth employment. These roadmaps are expected to guide future collaboration between key stakeholders.

For GAN Global, the event reflects our ongoing commitment to strengthening apprenticeship ecosystems and promoting quality WBL models. We were proud to have facilitated regional dialogue where participants exchanged experiences, shared good practices, and identified concrete actions to improve skills development systems in their respective countries.

GAN Global Executive Director, Kathryn Rowan, highlighted the importance of developing sustainable solutions that address rising youth unemployment across sub-Saharan Africa and ensure that young people can access meaningful opportunities in the evolving world of work.

As Africa’s youth population continues to grow, participants agreed that stronger apprenticeship systems, closer employer engagement, and more responsive skills development programs will be critical to leverage the continent’s enormous demographic potential. The Lagos workshop reinforced a clear message that apprenticeships are not merely a training tool, but a strategic pathway for building resilient economies, empowering young people, and closing the skills gap that continues to challenge labor markets across Africa.

The workshop forms part of a wider regional project with the IOE that will culminate in the publication of a summary report on youth skills and apprenticeship pathways, capturing key insights, challenges, and opportunities identified by participants across the five participating countries. A global webinar will also be held to share lessons learned and promote continued dialogue among stakeholders.

Press releases:

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• Africa must bridge youth skills gap to tackle unemployment
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