Training is a crucial economic development issue in Africa. The continent currently has the highest unemployment rate, the youngest population in the world, and a high NEET population. The initiative launched by Trace aims to bridge the education gap.
French media group Trace launched, Thursday (April 21), Trace Academia, a free training platform for young Africans.
The mobile app was officially presented during a virtual press conference hosted on April 21, in Johannesburg. It offers technical and cross-cutting courses covering 15 industries and skills including energy, beauty, fashion, DIY, digital marketing, hospitality, creative arts, journalism, film, technology, entrepreneurship, public speaking, and well-being.
The courses are developed in partnership with well-known international groups like Orange Visa, and Google.
The courses already available are notably Entrepreneurship developed by Valued Citizens and the University of Johannesburg, Becoming a DJ developed by Trace, and Introduction to the Electrical Trade by Schneider Electric. There is also DIY by Leroy Merlin, Tech the Power by MasterCard, Sexual Wellness by Durex, and Introduction to Digital Marketing by Google. French telecom group Orange will also offer ten training modules to showcase digital professions in Senegal, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“To build Trace Academia, we’ve combined our expertise and experience in entertainment with cutting edge learning approaches adapted to the realities and cultures of Africa…We believe that Trace Academia has the potential to positively impact the lives of millions of young people in South Africa and across the continent,” indicated Olivier Laouchez, Trace Co-Founder and Executive Chairman.
With Trace Academia (available on PlayStore and AppStore), Trace wants to offer professional and cross-cutting skills to 26 million Africans by 2025. In its 2020 “Report on Employment in Africa (Re-Africa),” the International Labour Organization reveals Africa is the only continent where the labor force is expanding quickly. In 2020, 34.2% of the continent’s working-age population was constituted of young people aged 15-24 against a global average of 23.6%.
The ILO also estimated that the continent’s unemployment rate (6.8%) was higher than the global average (5%). Africa’s unemployment population was close to 34 million at the time, including 12.2 million people aged between 15 and 24. The organization added that between 2010 and 2020, the unemployed population aged 15-24 grew by 6.4 million in Africa.
At the same time, in Africa, the number of young people not in employment,
education or training (NEET) was four times (53.5 million actually) higher than the number of unemployed youth (aged between 15 and 24).
Ruben Tchounyabe
