The African continent continues to grapple with the effects of COVID-19, and the most affected from an employment perspective are women and youth. All countries on the continent are contending with recovery strategies and how to transform our economies.

The Continental Africa Creates Jobs (ACJ!2021) Conference aims to bring together all stakeholders, influencers, and leaders to create a dialogue for reflection and learning about key drivers for innovation, as well as to develop possible solutions and responsive actions to unlock opportunities for jobs and skills for the millions of African youths.

This third edition of the continental dialogue platform, Africa Creates Jobs (ACJ), takes place as a virtual event from 3 to 4 November 2021. ACJ objectives for the 2021 summit include:

• Reflect on ACJ Assessments of regional macro-economic trends and patterns;
• Identify strategies, tactics and solutions in response to the Assessments, which will be tailored to member state contexts;
• Showcase good practice from the field with evidence driving alignment between supply and demand;
• Facilitate an exchange of knowledge, tools and lessons learnt to influence people, institutions and systems; and
• Identify replication and/or scaling opportunities.

The Continental Africa Creates Jobs (ACJ) Conference is executed by the iSkills Initiative for Africa (SIFA), a programme of the African Union Commission in partnership with the German Ministry of Development Cooperation (BMZ) and the European Union and is implemented by the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) with technical assistance from German development agency (GIZ) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO).  SIFA partners also include Business Africa and Association of Technical Universities and Polytechnics in Africa (ATUPA. The SIFA programme aims to improve the occupational prospects of young people in Africa through public and private partnerships between business and technical, vocational educational training (TVET) institutions.

The conference programme starts on 2 November with the virtual exhibition booths where partner programmes will be showcased. On 3 November, Prof Mthunzi Mdwaba, President and CEO of TZoro IBC “Unlocking the potential of the AfCFTA for an economic recovery that leads to jobs”; and will be joined by H.E Commissioner (AUC-ESTI), representatives of AUDA-NEPAD, BMZ, EU, AUDA-NEPAD and heads of the TVET and business sector.

The conference will then shift toward engagements on solutions with a focus on:

• Building a responsive skills development system, and
• Pathways for the informal sector

The Conference will conclude on 4 November with a fireside chat discussing the roadmap to 2030, towards the African skills revolution for the ‘Africa We Want’.

The final outcomes of the Conference will see the ACJ programme deliver on key milestones for a skills revolution by 2030 and an urgent call for ACJ 2021 Action and will include as follow up- a post-event advocacy to rally partners and key stakeholders for collaboration.

Please visit our website  www.NEPAD.org/programme/africa-creates-jobs  for a detailed programme. To register visit: https://AfricaCreatesJobs.vfairs.com/en/registration