As over a billion young people prepare to join the global workforce in the next decade, leaders and stakeholders in the job creation space globally are championing a bold new approach that shifts from isolated projects to supporting full economic ecosystems that generate sustainable, dignified work. GLORIA NWAFOR writes.

Jobs are the most reliable route out of poverty, offering not just a paycheck but also self-sufficiency, dignity, and hope for the future. With the theme: “From Sectors to Systems: Building Job-Rich Economies at Scale,” the just-concluded World Bank meeting in Washington, DC, United States, seeks to adopt a new approach that shows a major shift in its funding from single, isolated projects to supporting entire economic ecosystems to create jobs across whole sectors.

Bringing jobs strategy into focus, the meeting said jobs are the north star of all its development efforts, and are built around three pillars of investing in foundational infrastructure and human capital, supporting policy and regulatory reforms that create a business-friendly environment, and mobilising private investment at scale, noting that the vast majority of jobs are created by the private sector.

President of the World Bank Group, Ajay Banga, said that with 1.2 billion young people reaching working age in the next decade, if economies do not act now, there won’t be enough jobs for all of them.

He said that was why the World Bank Group is putting job creation at the centre of all it does. Noting that jobs create dignity and hope, he also said they create demand, self-sufficient economies, safety, and stability, as well as unlock opportunity and vast potential for individuals, communities, and the world.

Emphasising that jobs end poverty, the World Bank chief said that for over 40 years, jobs have been more than the world’s surest path out of poverty, as they have been seen as a proven pathway to empowering individuals and creating thriving, sustainable economies.

He said the global body has focused its efforts and investments on the industries with the greatest opportunity to empower individuals and accelerate transformative job creation.

“The best way to put a nail in the coffin of poverty is to give a person a job. We want to create millions of jobs…but we need everyone’s help.

“When we focus on jobs, we are not turning away from healthcare, infrastructure, education, or energy—we are doubling down on all of them. A job is what happens when a school leads to a skill, when a road leads to a market, when a clinic keeps someone healthy enough to work, and when energy powers a business.

“That is how our efforts come together. That is how we turn investment into impact. And that is how we deliver what people want most, need most, and deserve most: A job, a chance, a future, and dignity,” he said.

Ajay emphasised that the path forward required speed, scale, and partnership. On what leaders can do about it, Lead, Work, Wages and Jobs Creation, World Economic Forum (WEF), Steffica Warwick, on the Future of Jobs Report found that 23 per cent of jobs are expected to change in the next three years, driven by industry transformation caused by increased adoption of technology, the green transition, and macro-economic conditions.

She said at the same time, health, geopolitical, and economic crises of the past few years have significantly impacted employment levels globally, and demographic shifts are likely to drive further changes in the years to come.

Noting that the global economy is in the early stages of a fundamental transformation driven by digital technologies, she said Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly improving, powered by innovations in generative AI and foundation models.

These technologies, she said, are suddenly doing many tasks that only humans could do previously and even augmenting capabilities, making possible new goods and services.

She said economies would also face new challenges as the set of tasks and skills demanded shifts rapidly, disrupting the labour force and overturning much of the existing economic order.

However, she maintained that senior executives and policymakers need a roadmap based on tangible, actionable research, stating that with the right choices, nations could have not only greater prosperity but also widely shared well-being.

She canvassed education and training for all ages. According to her, good jobs help people to build themselves up, with stronger skills, higher and more stable incomes, and a sense of accomplishment and promise.

“They are fundamental to the growth of economies in the short run and across generations, where growing ‘human capital’ stands alongside technology and investment in raising standards of living. This imperative is both public and personal, as access to education and skills developed in training and on the job have both personal benefits and spillovers to communities and society.

“Access to education for the very young has demonstrated benefits and should be a priority for the long run. But we also have older students and a workforce now in need of ongoing education, training, and lifelong skills. Invest for all ages.

Calling for the development of a comprehensive employment policy framework, Director, Employment Policy Department, International Labour Organisation (ILO), Sangheon Lee, said if nations want inclusive, resilient, and fair societies, they need to create decent jobs for all.

He advocated a decent job that ensures that one can work and live in dignity, “that you make enough money to not live in poverty, that you have rights at work, and that you have a voice at work. These are the preconditions for societies to profit from the full potential of each individual and to ensure that no one is left behind.”

To get there, he said a whole-of-society approach based on strong social dialogue would be needed to develop a comprehensive employment policy framework that not only ensures that enough jobs are created but that the jobs are decent.

According to him, such an inclusive and comprehensive framework needs to see every policy area through a decent employment lens. “And we should never assume that measures taken will automatically trickle down to those most in need, but that we need to make sure that this happens through target interventions,” he said.

In Nigeria, at the 31st Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja, recently, Dr Wilson Erumebor presented the NESG Jobs and Productivity Report, showing the scale of Nigeria’s employment challenge and the urgent reforms needed to create 27 million formal jobs by 2030.

He highlighted why over 90 per cent of Nigerian workers remain trapped in informal and low-productive jobs. In a clear message, he said Nigeria must move from hustle to decent work and from potential to prosperity.