Digital skills & youth entrepreneurship: talent 2 market

Young people represent more than 60% of Africa’s total population and about 50% of the youth population exhibit skills irrelevant to current market demand.

The initiative attempts to address the issue highlighted above by developing models that develop the technical skills and the skills required to create enterprises.

Initially, GESCI sought, through practice and action research, to: 

a) Identify the critical link between skills development, learning & innovation and job creation and to inform policy on how new technology-driven skills could be efficiently developed among the youth in Africa. 

b) Identify new technology-driven training scenarios that enable new skills development which will facilitate employment and job creation in the emerging knowledge societies in Africa. 

c) Fully integrate entrepreneurial-ism practice (not just theory) in the training scenario and facilitate start-up creation.

GESCI has developed a new and innovative training model which facilitates commercial - standard skills and entrepreneurial abilities which will lead on to small enterprise creation in technology-based arenas supported by whatever supports currently existing for start-ups. 

Crucially, the model is also applicable to traditional employments in services areas and to new and emerging ICT-based service opportunities for start-ups and self- employment. 

This is a one year integrated training and enterprise programme which provides: 

1. ICT –based skills to a standard that is commercially relevant. Appropriate digital tools and software are incorporated in the modernised training curriculum. 
2. Training has a clear emphasis on guidance and direction together with technical, advisory, mentoring and consultative supports at every phase of the project rather than a re-establishment of the traditional teacher/student environment. 
3. Trainees experience team-working and collaborative project design and development to simulate real-world employment environments and market-place standards. 
4. In the third quarter, practical entrepreneurial advice, guidance and mentoring from existing industries and experts is provided followed by the establishment of small start-ups which have marketable products or services to offer and which, ideally, already have commissioned work in hand.

Youth unemployment remains a barrier to Africa’s development. The large unemployed youth population indicates lost potential. It is within this context that the initiative seeks to: 1) consolidate the deepening of digital skills development to bring them up to industry standard and match them with industry demand and requirements for the DCM industries;  2) identify the challenges, opportunities, solutions  and synergies for high end skilling and for enterprise development;  3) develop  start-ups for enterprise development and job creation; and 4) provide an innovation framework and model for digital skills development that governments, their agencies and other entities could draw on.

The ToC  presents a logical chain of results expected to flow from the SKILLS-BIZ training and innovation curriculum, open space and digital tools enabling conditions, mentor-student co-design of curriculum and ideas for prototypes relevant to new industry and consumer demands (Output 1), ‘skills deepening and innovation’ results based on team-working and collaborative product project design and development simulating real-world environments and industry standards (Output 2); ‘business innovation skills’ results based on practical entrepreneurial guidance and mentoring from industries and experts (Output 3) all of which contribute to developing the SKILLS-BIZ framework with focus on the establishment of start-ups (Outcome).

- ideas for prototypes relevant to new industry and consumer demands generated

- prototypes developed

- digital and creative media start-ups created

- ideas and prototypes generated

- prototypes developed

- start-ups created

1) Tutors from industry ICT - enabled services sectors train project tutors.

2) Constant evolving curriculum based on relevancy to current and emerging technology-driven sectors where products are evolving. Living Lab approach applied to demonstration and development phases.

3) While demonstration projects are in one area of economic activity and strong potential for employment (digital creative media in the case of Africa) generic versions of the new pilots will be produced to allow for incorporation of digital technologies in existing traditional areas where youth demonstrate entrepreneurship.

4) Seamless transition from digital skills to start- ups.

5) Entrepreneurship is practiced.

This project is overwhelmingly focused on the participants supported by tutors and business mentors. Creativity in the use of digital technologies, investigation of business opportunities, team work and self- directed learning, liaison with mentors are key and dynamic features of the programme.

This solution is designed and driven so to be accessible all youth in both formal (TVET) training centres as well as in informal community scenarios. There will be initial start-up costs which may be sourced through the Ministry for youth and training for widescale roll out. Linkage with ministries and the "selling" of this new model will be necessary. Initial phase start up costs for informal community training will need the support of donors/NGOs

As an organisation we currently still have access to some core funding which enables us to devote some staff time to research and development of innovative models. We have developed a knowledge management system and effective processes  we can draw on to facilitate creation, adapting, and re-packaging of knowledge, frameworks and models for new projects and scaling of initiatives. This enables us to submit relevant proposals to pilot our models with strategic partners (including government Ministries and agencies) and based on the results of and lessons learned from the pilot, to grow and scale up in collaboration with the same and/or new strategic partners. We also continuously work with several networks of experts who we can draw on for their inputs, advice and advocacy on particular aspects. 

It takes time to develop appropriate solutions to address particular challenges and to do advocacy with partners and stakeholders to obtain their support and buy-in. Our solutions are targeted primarily at improving education and training in collaboration with government agencies and red tape and their bureaucratic procedures can slow down and delay implementation. Despite working closely with partners and stakeholders, it is not always possible to influence change and policies to provide a more conducive environment for the solution to be implemented as planned. This requires smaller steps and longer timeframes to build understanding, strong coalitions and trust.

http://gesci.org/our-work/technical-vocational-skills-developmenttvsd-digital-skills-and-youth-entrepreneurship/african-knowledge-exchange-ake-program/

https://gesciakemediaventure.net

http://gesci.org/our-work/technical-vocational-skills-developmenttvsd-digital-skills-and-youth-entrepreneurship/african-knowledge-exchange-2016/

- looking for partners and funders to pilot and scale

Ministry of foreign Affairs - Finland 

African Union Commission

University of Aalto

we have not identified any competitor