Informal trade in Zimbabwe           Photo courtesy

Skills development for the African Informal Economy (IE) has become an urgent matter not only for the development and employability of individuals, but also for stimulating economic growth and reduction of poverty in Africa, and can be instrumental in upgrading micro and small enterprises. It must be integrated with broader economic development schemes such as marketing, credit, and enabling integrated education and training policies. 

 

The education levels of the informal workers are very low. This limits their trainability. In education, priority is given to functional literacy. In Kenya, Zambia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Senegal, about half of the informal workers have either limited education or a primary education and less five percent have a post secondary education. But the pattern is changing as more young workers with more education are entering it.

 

In most African countries (Burkina Faso, Chad, Ghana and Mali,) the I.E is its own training provider and the informal apprenticeship is the main vehicle for skills provision since the majority of people in it acquire skills through self-funding and self-regulating traditional apprenticeships. Successful demand-led vocational education packages include South Africa’s National Skills Development Strategy supported by the National Skills Fund (NSF) and the Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs, mainstreaming Informal Training into the Overall Training System in Senegal, the Nigerian National Open Apprenticeship Scheme, and the introduction of enterprise skills in Malian secondary schools.

 

The African traditional apprenticeship system is the preferred method of skill acquisition for many because it is "embedded in ritual and local customs", integrating observation and practical experience within the community for which it is designed, teaching technical, behavioral and organizational skills not learned in the current formal education systems. It should be recognized as a cultural issue integrated with the African educational and vocational training systems, thus being at the heart of the MDGs 1 and  2.

 

The existing traditional knowledge and skills bases have potential of providing a base for educational reforms that address the learning needs of informal operators. Countries such as France, South Africa, and United Kingdom have developed interesting national mechanisms and qualifications framework for assessing, recognizing and certifying skills and experience gained through work. The African Development Bank (ADB) is mainstreaming an apprenticeship programme into the 2008–11 Education Strategy for Egypt.

 

More education and skills development training for the workforce will raise productivity and earnings in the I.E, create more favorable investment climate for enterprises in the sector, thus reduce poverty, increase access to social protection services, improve the welfare of informal workers and formalize the sector. The returns to training for micro and small enterprises can rise up to 99% increase in value added from a sample average of 9%.  

 

This became the basis of the reform process in countries such as Senegal, Malawi (Technical Entrepreneurial Vocational Education and Training Authority), and South Africa (Basic Entrepreneurship Skills Development- BESD), in view to promoting greater access, quality and results for the huge number of youth entering the labour markets. Innovative initiatives are undertaken aiming at transforming the traditional apprenticeship into dual apprenticeships, hence forcing countries to transform training systems for the sector and develop specific schemes to respond to demand driven needs within the confines of their own contexts (AFD: 2007: 76) .

 

Skills development in the I.E. is constrained by inappropriate and/or insufficient financial incentives programs, most of which are designed for the formal medium to large enterprises. The Kenya Jua Kali training voucher program is a promising experience in use of vouchers to support training in the I.E. and develop workers employability, while other financial incentives like tax credits/payroll taxes schemes (Namibia) and characteristics of National Vocational Training Development Funds (Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Benin, Chad, etc) are not suitable or sufficient to prompt the small and micro enterprises to train.

 

Traditional apprenticeship offers affordable skills acquisition for the poor African families. It provides practical training to the youths by the master crafts in workplace, ranging from several months to three/for years duration, in return for a fee or reduced earning while learning. Various sources estimate that fees for traditional apprenticeships average about US$70 per year (Hans and Serriere, 2002), US$160 (ILO, 2006), or US$42 in Ghana’s Ashanti region (Palmer, 2005).

 

In its endeavor to achieving the Education for All commitment, African countries should consider approaches of Latin America with the introduction of education equivalency programs, so called second chance education, designed to reach those who are out of the formal classical education. This will raise adult education and literacy, enabling youth and adults to acquire non formal education but recognized as equivalent to the basic education.

The outdated technologies used in the I.E. are a challenge for skills development in the sector. In addition, the ITC skills are quite limited in this economy. Few workers are ITC literate.

 

The Informal Economy should be recognized as a source of skills development, with the commitment of governmental and local authorities to develop effective policies, programs and sustainable financing addressing the sector’s needs by combining formal education and training schemes with traditional apprenticeships and skills training schemes.

 

Courtesy: The African Union.