National Employment Policy: Reflection on the expectations and priorities of Dakar

A special Regional Development Committee (Crd) on the new National Employment Policy was held yesterday in Dakar. Chaired by the Minister of Employment and Vocational and Technical Training, Amadou Moustapha Njekk Sarré, the meeting aims to collect contributions from local stakeholders to build a more inclusive and better territorialized policy.

The Dakar region hosted, yesterday, a special Regional Development Committee (Crd) dedicated to consulting stakeholders as part of the development of the new National Employment Policy.

This strategic meeting, marking the final stage of territorial consultations, was held under the chairmanship of the Minister of Employment and Professional and Technical Training, Amadou Moustapha Njekk Sarré. It was marked by the presence of administrative and territorial authorities, local elected officials, representatives of State technical services, social and economic partners, as well as those involved in training, employment and professional integration. The minister wanted to recall the philosophy which underlies the approach undertaken by his department. “Everything that is done for me without me is obviously against me,” he declared, emphasizing the State’s desire to develop the new national employment policy in perfect cohesion with the populations, in whose name it is designed.

Welcoming the strong mobilization of participants, Amadou Moustapha Njekk Sarré indicated that this meeting will make it possible to collect essential contributions. The issue of employment and employability of young people, according to Mr. Sarré, remains one of Senegal’s major challenges. This, he says, “challenges the State, local authorities, the private sector, social partners and civil society, but above all young people whose legitimate aspirations require concrete, sustainable and inclusive responses”. These consultations are, according to him, part of Vision Senegal 2050, “supported by the President of the Republic and implemented by the government, which aims to build a sovereign Senegal based on quality human capital”. In this perspective, “decent, productive and inclusive employment constitutes a central pillar”, he specifies.

Based on recent labor market diagnoses, the minister noted persistent structural imbalances, notably the predominance of the informal economy, high unemployment and underemployment among young people and women, as well as a lasting mismatch between the training offer and the real needs of the economy. These challenges, he indicated, are particularly visible in the Dakar region, which concentrates a significant part of the national active population. Faced with this situation, the minister called for a more coherent, more effective and, above all, better territorialized national employment policy. Speaking, Samira Daoud, country director of the International Labor Office (ILO) in Senegal, underlined the relevance of territorial consultations which she describes as an opportunity.

Daouda DIOUF