By Sirrah Touray
A new diagnostic report has recommended for a decisive shift from expanding participation to creating quality, stable employment for young people and women across five priority sectors ICT, construction, agribusiness, culture and creative industries, and the green and circular economy.
The findings were presented recently at a technical validation workshop at Ocean Bay Hotel. The Economic Sectors Diagnostic Report was prepared by SMD Policy Management Group under the EU-funded Boosting Gambian Talents project, with support from Enabel.
Permanent Secretary Lamin Camara, representing the Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment, said the report confirms economic expansion and rising participation, but warns that activity has not translated into insufficient productive jobs, enterprise growth or formalisation.
“This is a clear call for our focus to shift from participation to transformation,” he said.
Camara outlined four immediate priorities including investment in market-relevant skills and aligning training with employer demand, strengthening the private sector by improving access to finance and business support, and promoting stable, productive and sustainable jobs through value addition, upgrading and formalisation.
He also suggested the closure of the gender gaps by expanding women’s access to skills, finance and markets.
Linking the labour challenge to migration, Camara said lack of decent local work pushes young Gambians abroad.
Expanding quality jobs at home is essential to reduce irregular migration and to meet national targets to create 150,000 decent jobs by 2026. He noted existing labour mobility agreements with Saudi Arabia and Spain as initial steps.
Ndey Haddy Jeng, project manager for Boosting Gambian Talents, said the study assessed whether the five sectors can deliver inclusive employment for youth and women and under what conditions.
The report finds significant activity but persistent informalities, including the fact that employment is in small-scale, vulnerable and disconnected from markets.
Jeng identified pervasive informality, limited access to finance, skills mismatches, and weak sector coordination as challenges facing the sector.
He said value-chain development can generate more formal, higher-paying jobs while construction provides immediate employment for youth with targeted skills training.
Ousman Camara of SMD Policy Management Group said the diagnostic will guide targeted interventions to support growth-oriented firms, align skills with demand and prioritise quality job creation. He thanked the EU and Enabel for funding and underscored the report’s strategic value.
The workshop validated the diagnostic and recommended fast-tracking coordinated policy and financing measures to convert sector activity into decent, durable employment for Gambian youth and women.
