• West African universities met in Dakar to address youth employment

• Delegates drafted a 10-15 year plan aligning training with jobs

• Only 16% of surveyed graduates secured stable post-university jobs

Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar hosted a conference from Thursday to Saturday for leaders of institutions belonging to the West African Higher Education Excellence Network (REESAO), according to a statement from the university.

The meeting brought together researchers, lecturers, academic officials and labour-market stakeholders to discuss graduate employment and student entrepreneurship. Discussions covered academic cooperation, incubators, technology transfers, public-private initiatives and the alignment of economics and management curricula.

Delegations from Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Mali, Senegal and Togo took part, according to UCAD. Cameroon joined as guest of honour, represented by the Pan-African University in Yaoundé.

Participants worked on drafting a common framework to guide universities over the next 10 to 15 years, aligning training with labour-market needs and encouraging entrepreneurship among young people.

REESAO President Issa Abdou Moumoula stressed the responsibility of universities to help students understand the job market, develop skills employers want and foster innovation and initiative through incubators, internships and technology transfers. These measures, he said, are essential to help young people move into the workforce.

The regional context makes such initiatives even more important. Youth unemployment in the region is close to 25%, making job creation key to social and economic stability.

Although the overall unemployment rate in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) fell slightly to 11.6% in the first quarter of 2025, according to a Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) monetary policy report, young people remain the hardest hit.

A study published in September 2025 by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), based on 500 graduates from several African countries, found that only 16% secured stable employment after university during the study period.

Félicien Houindo Lokossou