Source: The Conversation – Africa (2)
In 2024, 25.1 million Africans were living in other countries on the continent. Labour migration has long been a defining feature of Africa’s economic landscape.
Migrant workers on the continent are concentrated in certain sectors: agricultural and manufacturing together absorb roughly a fifth of migrant labour. Most migrants hold medium-skilled jobs alongside high and low skilled occupations.
This sectoral concentration matters for the global skill partnership debate.
Global skill partnerships are agreements that link skills creation and skills mobility in a mutually beneficial way. Workers in countries of origin are trained in the skills that origin and destination countries need and are helped to go and work there legally. Destination countries fill labour shortages, origin countries gain skills and investment, and migrants get access to safer, more predictable pathways.
Yet, in practice, most of the partnerships involving destination countries outside the continent and African countries remain limited in scope and poorly attuned to the realities of mobility on the continent.
In Africa, the industries most reliant on migrant labour are regional and not highly formalised. They are not the high-income international corridors that most existing global skills partnerships are designed around. For example, while skills partnerships exist for skilled IT workers between Nigeria and Lithuania, most African migrant workers to other destinations on the continent work in manufacturing and agriculture.
As a researcher working on migration governance and labour mobility, I have followed how African governments and their partners have approached skills partnerships in practice. Drawing on my expertise, research fellowship, work on labour migration and mobility, and contributions to a recent mid-term assessment of the African Union’s Migration Policy Framework for Africa, I am of the view that mobility in Africa is already deeply regional, informal and often precarious.
I argue that what is missing is a skills and labour system that provides structure, recognition and protection. For skill partnerships to meet the needs of African countries, there should be a regional mobility track alongside the traditional domestic and international pathways.
Bilateral partnerships
Existing global skills partnerships involving African countries tend to follow a pattern: a bilateral agreement between one African country and a high-income destination, often in Europe.
These arrangements typically focus on training workers in specific sectors – healthcare, construction, information technology – with the expectation that some trainees will migrate while others remain and contribute locally.
While bilateral initiatives do achieve some of their stated objectives, they have weaknesses.
First, they ignore intra-African mobility patterns – 80% of African migration occurs within the continent.
For example, movement between Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire or between Uganda and Kenya is common and economically significant. Bilateral arrangements with distant partners do not support or formalise these flows.
Second, bilateral arrangements tend to create a “two-track” system. One track is for domestic skill development and another is for migration to a specific country. This model overlooks workers who might prefer, or benefit from, opportunities closer to home.
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According to an Afrobarometer survey, almost 22% of respondents wanted to move to another country within their region or on the African continent.
Third, these agreements lack scalability and flexibility. It takes resources to reach them and put them in place, and each agreement must be tailored to the needs of the partner countries. This makes it difficult to respond to shifting labour market demands. Development partners often say it’s hard to scale up the initiatives.
Finally, without coordination at the regional level, multiple bilateral agreements can create fragmented standards and qualifications, and administrative inefficiencies.
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Why a third track makes sense
To address some of these gaps, global skill partnerships should evolve from a two-track to a three-track model:
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Domestic track – training for local labour markets
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International track – pathways to high-income destination countries
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Regional track – structured mobility within Africa.
The addition of a regional track recognises that development does not only flow one way.
The benefits of a regional mobility track
A regional track offers several distinct advantages.
Formalising existing mobility
People are already migrating within Africa, often through informal channels. A regional track would formalise this mobility, standardise training and qualifications, and cement legal protections for workers. Policymakers should make existing corridors safer and more productive.
Enhancing worker protection
Informal migration exposes workers to exploitation, poor working conditions and lack of legal recourse. A structured regional pathway would ensure labour standards, social protection and common rights.
Addressing regional skills shortages
Many African economies face skills gaps in healthcare, construction and technical trades. A regional track would allow countries to share human capital more efficiently, matching supply and demand within the continent.
For example, shortages in the healthcare sector in African countries could be partially addressed, provided that training and certification systems were aligned.
Addressing brain drain
One of the criticisms of traditional skills partnerships is the potential for “brain drain”. A regional track keeps talent within the continent.
This does not eliminate outward migration but creates a more balanced ecosystem of mobility.
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Continental frameworks
Africa is not starting from scratch. Several continental and regional frameworks already provide a foundation for a regional skills partnership track.
The African Union has developed the Free Movement Protocol, facilitating visa-free travel and residence across member states.
The African Continental Free Trade Area and regional economic communities, such as the Economic Community of West African States and the East African Community, create a more integrated economic space and potentially increase the demand for cross-border labour mobility.
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A more realistic model of mobility
Effective migration policy is not about imposing new patterns of movement, but about working with existing ones, making them safer, fairer and more beneficial for all. A three-track model does that.
Rather than treating international migration as the only destination for trained workers, the model recognises that development can also come from movement between African countries.
It expands opportunity without forcing choices, strengthens regional integration, and offers a grounded, context-sensitive approach to mobility.
Getting this right begins with acknowledging the sectors absorbing most African migrant labour on the continent: agriculture, manufacturing and medium-skilled level jobs, and designing policies that match this reality.
Amanda Bisong does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Original source: https://analysis1.mil-osi.com/2026/08/12/africans-migrate-for-jobs-mostly-within-the-continent-why-regional-skills-partnerships-are-needed/