In 2024, the official figure for the overall unemployment rate was 36.4%, with youth unemployment approaching 40%. This situation is exacerbated by a mismatch between the training provided in the Gabonese education system and the needs of the labour market in an economic context.
Gabon’s education system remains largely theory-driven, with little correlation between the curriculum and the skills required on the labour market. In 2024, the official figure for the overall unemployment rate was 36.4%, with youth unemployment approaching 40%. This disconnect contributes directly to the high unemployment among young people, who are unable to meet the needs of the local economic fabric. Reform is needed to integrate technical and practical skills at secondary level, with an emphasis on strategic areas such as science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
The training we give our young people can help produce a skilled workforce on the market. There’s no point in training just for the sake of training. We need to put skilled labour on the market so that we can give companies an answer.
LUCK ONDIAS SOUNA, Founder, Digital Business School
In addition, the lack of coordination between training policies and the real needs of the labour market is a major cause of structural unemployment in Gabon. The lack of skilled labour in key sectors such as agriculture, fishing, construction and the extractive industries is a major brake on economic growth.
High schools only train for theoretical subjects, linked to the trade of course. Companies provide practical training. We are lucky to have this system because the State no longer pays for the labour, the company pays for it.
JOËL-PATRICK DINZAMBOU, Teacher-researcher
According to education experts, the introduction of a harmonised institutional framework, including skills mapping, validation of acquired experience and certification of diplomas, would make it easier to steer young people towards promising sectors. This is a challenge that the new President of Gabon will have to take into account after the elections on 12 April 2025.
