ALGIERS, Algeria, May 19. The current era demands a radical rethinking of how young people are prepared for the labor market, said Yacine El-Mahdi Oualid, Algeria’s Minister of Vocational Training and Education, Trend reports.
Addressing the Youth Development Forum held as part of the Annual Meetings of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) in Algiers, Oualid highlighted the scale of the challenge; the minister noted that in some countries, youth unemployment exceeds 30 percent.
He noted that even more concerning is that three out of five young people of working age face long-term unemployment or are forced into unstable, low-paying jobs that do not match their skill levels.
“These figures are not a predetermined fate — they are a call to all of us to revisit education methods, vocational training systems, and employment strategies,” he added.
Oualid drew attention to the impact of rapid technological shifts on the job market, especially the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and big data. According to him, AI could generate an economic impact of approximately $320 billion for North Africa and the Middle East by 2030.
Yet the opportunities are not without risks. Citing estimates by the World Economic Forum, he said 44 percent of workers' current skills may become outdated within the next five years. One of the most pressing concerns, he explained, is the “vanishing middle” — a trend where AI increases demand for highly skilled labor while simultaneously displacing jobs that rely on mid-level skills.
“Today, we need to radically rethink youth training,” the minister stressed. “A recent example comes from a Canadian construction firm that put up a billboard on its site reading, ‘We live in the age of artificial intelligence.’ This perfectly captures the growing gap between traditional skills and those required to thrive in the new reality.
How do we prepare for these challenges? The answer is simple — skills, skills, and more skills,” he concluded with a clear message.
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