Experts Urge Project Management Skills for African Youth

Experts, including Georg Asamani, Managing Director of PMI Sub-Saharan Africa, and Dr. Sanel Nhlabatsi, a senior lecturer in project management at UNISA, have called for young Africans to acquire project management skills to complement their university degrees.

They emphasized that Africa is home to the world's youngest and fastest-growing population, with 400 million people aged 15 to 35, expected to form the largest workforce by 2040. However, tertiary enrollment in Africa is only around nine percent, significantly below the global average of 38 percent.

Despite growth in university enrollment, higher education capacity struggles to keep pace with demographic demands, needing to expand nearly twelvefold by 2035. The experts noted that families place a high premium on university education, which is traditionally associated with better job prospects and social mobility.

However, the limited access to higher education creates pressure and anxiety among young people, who feel they are losing their future opportunities.