Giving Compass' Take:

• Africa's Pulse report shows that constraints in the continent's economic growth are due to weaknesses in the education system. The report suggests more training focus on youth to develop cognitive and interpersonal skills. 

• Why are soft skills needed for economic growth in Africa? 

• Read about the importance of investing in African youth leadership and development. 

Africa’s Pulse report projects that economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa—led by the region’s largest economies—South Africa, Nigeria, and Angola—should rise to 2.4 percent in 2017, close to the 2.6 percent projection released by the International Monetary Fund and rebounding from the 1.3 percent growth seen in 2016.

A section of the report focuses on skills development in sub-Saharan Africa.

A recent School-to-Work Transition survey of small and large firms in Benin, Liberia, Malawi, and Zambia highlighted in the report found that technical, interpersonal and higher-order cognitive skills in employees were critically important to more than half the firms.

One reason for the constraints stems from weaknesses in the education system.

The report provides several policy recommendations to improve skills programs and better align them with labor demand. It suggests country-tailored skills investments combined with policy reforms for the most conducive environment for the investments to pay off. Second, it recommends prioritization of achieving universal foundational skills and supporting youth and adults who have missed these targets. Finally, it recommends several measures to align skills programs with the labor market, such as market-driven TVET programs, a focus on meeting labor demand and skills requirements of growing sectors of the economy, on-the-job training, and entrepreneurship support.

Read the full article on workforce training and skills by Dhruv Gandhi at Brookings