BY HIZKEL HAILU
Many scholars agree that job summits should be seen first and foremost as a means for improving and generating better domestic policies via cooperation as opposed to delivering packages of coordinated policies. Through focusing on international economic policy cooperation, the summits can contribute much in improving domestic economic policymaking. It is also contended that, global economic stability depends on good domestic economic policymaking.
International experiences of the job summits also brought a better change in stimulating world economy, particularly the developed countries. Different countries across the world and African continent have held the summit a month ago. Ethiopia is amongst those countries that conducted the summit last week. Accordingly, the Ministry of Labor and Skills (MoLS) hosted the Second National Job Summit last week under the theme “create the future through sustainable jobs”,
On her opening remark, Minister of Labor and Skills, Muferiat Kamil said that, Ethiopia will set exemplary works through creating permanent and quality jobs rather than hand-to-mouth job opportunities. She also pointed out that, job opportunities were created for 2.7 million citizens in the last Ethiopian fiscal year.
Mentioning that work and workers are not accurately connected, she said: “Technical and vocational institutions shall make training programs based on the needs of the market in order to solve this problem. In this way, we will be a role model through creating sustainable and quality job opportunities for the citizens.”
The National Job Summit was launched by the former Jobs Creation Commission in 2019. The aim of the summit, when it was launched at the time was to introduce the strategic direction of the government towards job creation. The initiatives led and/or supported by the partners of the event: Master Card Foundation and United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
The main objective of conducting the 2nd National Job Summit 2022 is to keep the job creation agenda on top of national priorities by creating a stage where actors of the labor market ecosystem discuss, identify challenges, develop solutions for the challenges, network with one another, and recognize best performing actors in the sector.
“As a country, we need to ensure that we are able to provide qualified and competitive manpower for the labor market,” Muferiat said; adding that this is of great significance for the national reform that the country has started. The Ministry has gone fast forward as a first phase in terms of researching what the market demands.
She further explained that, a joint plan has been designed with the stakeholders to adjust the labor market, adding that initial works have been done. As to her, work will be done in such a way that occupational safety and health are taken into consideration and can bring industrial peace in the long run. With this regard, directions have been set to make use of national, continental as well as global job opportunities.
The Minister said that, there is a labor market in the world that needs 10 million citizens coupled with millions of markets in Africa in the coming years. Therefore, adequate preparations will be made to take advantage of job opportunities in Africa and the entire world. According to her, there are many hindrances in the work of the country’s journey towards economic development. “We are on the right position to resolve these bottlenecks through pooling our resources,” she noted.
According to the Minister, technical and vocational institutions are expected to spend their resources and create a favorable environment for job opportunities. A new direction has been taken to make it a period where the trainees are preparing themselves to join the world of work. This is one of the areas that are expected to make a fundamental change in solving the bottlenecks of employment.
In the 2021/22 fiscal year, it was planned to create 3.2 million jobs, and 2.7 million jobs were created. Furthermore, out of the 2.2 million permanent jobs that have been created in the last 11 months, women’s share was 35 percent, while youth’s share was 70 percent, according to the data obtained from the institute.
State Minister Nigusu Tilahun for his part said that, Ethiopia has been toiling tirelessly to host continental job summit in a bid to enhance overseas employment. Speaking at the Second National Job Summit he also said that, the country planned to host Continental Job Summit by 2020. However it couldn’t achieve it, due to COVID-19 and currently it has been working hard on collecting necessary inputs to undertake the summit.
According to him, the Ministry has been creating ample of favorable environment including preparing convenient policies to unlock various international job opportunities. Likewise, the Ministry has been working to prepare qualified human resources that can compete at international market level through working in collaboration with various educational institutions.
He underscored that, MoLS has been working on soft and hard skills of the unemployed citizens of the country to change their attitudes and enhance their knowledge and skills. To this end, it has been working to enhance the capacity of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions. Accordingly, MoLS has been restoring the terrorist TPLF- ravaged TVET institutions allocating 387 million Birr.
During the Conference, different papers were presented and panel discussions were held. In the presentation on agricultural development and economic growth, it was pointed out that although agriculture is widely used by the country’s workforce, the labor force engaged in the work is not productive at the required level.
In order to overcome such problems and enable the sector to employ a wide range of human resources, the panelists stressed that the areas of work that can be created in the provision of agricultural inputs, production process and marketing of agricultural products should be identified. The participants stated that, to make technical and vocational training as effective as expected, providing quality training based on local grace will be given priority.
The panelists who mentioned that facilitating the opportunity for technical and vocational trainees to do sufficient on-the-job training before starting work is an option to improve their skills, they pointed out that the training should focus not only on employability but also on entrepreneurship. In addition to the domestic labor market, it was raised in the discussion that there should be an opportunity to deploy trainees for employment in foreign countries.
Although manufacturing is a sector that creates ample job opportunities, it has been pointed out in the study that due to the supply of raw materials, market competitiveness and financial problems; it has not been possible to create adequate job opportunities for the citizens.
It was also pointed out by the panelists that the country should work to create better job opportunities through providing sufficient financial support to the stakeholders involved in the manufacturing sector and expanding various job creation alternatives at each level along the value chain.
The study indicated that, there are many barriers to access credit services for small and medium enterprises. It has also been stated that, facilitating the way for microfinance institutions to get better financial support and setting up a system to secure movable assets as a loan guarantee are the options to solve the financial problems of micro and small enterprises.
According to the source obtained from the MoLS, the 2022 National Job Summit specifically aimed to introduction of the strategic directions of the Ministry of Labor and Skills and get input for pro-job policy formulations and implementations coupled with creating a forum for experience sharing among players in the labor market and institutions working on the job creation agenda.
Apart from this, promoting entrepreneurship, job creation effort through recognition of best actors in the labor market and B2B networking among participants were part of the summit’s specific aims. The 2nd National Job Summit brought together 1,000 high-level employers, policy makers and representatives of labor market, institutions working on the jobs-creation agenda, and the job seekers.
All in all, panelists and officials agreed on the fundamentals of the job summit in order to connect work, employers and employees. On top of that it will play paramount importance role in charting a way towards an economy that works for people. MOLS is in charge with the mission of ensuring equitable access to employment through creating job opportunities based on market demand, sustainable employment and favorable working conditions in the country, it was learnt.
The Ethiopian Herald 25 August 2022
