Experts Advocate Project Management Skills Acquisition for African Youth

Industry stakeholders across Africa are strongly advocating for young Africans to acquire project management skills as a crucial complement to their university education. This call to action emphasizes the need for practical, in-demand competencies beyond traditional academic qualifications.

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The first is scale. Africa is home to the world’s youngest and fastest-growing population, with more than 400 million people aged 15–35, and is expected to have the world’s largest workforce by 2040. Yet tertiary enrolment remains around nine per cent, far below the global average of 38 per cent. Despite growth in university enrolment, higher education capacity is still struggling to keep pace with demographic demand, with some estimates suggesting capacity would need to expand nearly twelvefold by 2035.

The push for these skills addresses what experts describe as Africa's "scale crisis." The continent boasts the world's youngest and fastest-growing population, with over 400 million people aged 15-35. Projections indicate Africa will possess the largest workforce globally by 2040. However, tertiary education enrollment remains low at around 9%, significantly below the global average of 38%. Despite efforts to expand university capacity, it struggles to meet the demographic demand, requiring a substantial increase by 2035.

Compounding this is a "crisis of expectation," where many African families place immense value on university degrees, associating them with life-changing opportunities, better jobs, higher incomes, and social mobility. This belief creates a heavy burden for young people, as a university education is often perceived as the only gateway to success. Consequently, those who do not gain admission feel they have lost their future prospects.

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The second crisis is a crisis of expectation. It is not difficult to see why many African families place such a high premium on university education. A degree has long been associated with a life-changing opportunity and a pathway to better job prospects, higher income, and social mobility. This belief has quietly become a burden African youth carry, because when university becomes the only door to success, young people who don’t get in don’t just lose a place; they feel as though they have lost a future.

George Asamani, Managing Director of PMI Sub-Saharan Africa, and Dr. Sanele Nhlabatsi, Senior Lecturer in Project Management at UNISA, highlighted these challenges. While acknowledging the necessity of strong universities and continued investment, they stressed the need to confront the reality that limited access and a single-pathway mindset intensify pressure, anxiety, and feelings of failure among youth navigating a competitive, high-demand, limited-supply system. Acquiring project management skills is presented as a vital alternative and supplementary pathway to success.

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Africa absolutely needs strong universities, and we must continue investing in them. But we must also confront a hard truth: when access remains limited, a single-pathway mindset amplifies pressure, anxiety, and a sense of failure among young people who are simply navigating a persistently high-demand, limited-supply system that has become increasingly competitive.