Young Africans should pursue project management qualifications alongside their university degrees, industry leaders said this week, arguing that over-reliance on tertiary education leaves millions of talented people locked out of opportunity.
George Asamani, managing director of the Project Management Institute's sub-Saharan Africa operations, and Dr Sanele Nhlabatsi, a senior lecturer in project management at UNISA, made the call in a joint statement. They identified two urgent problems facing the continent: scale and expectation.
Africa has more than 400 million people between 15 and 35 years old, the world's youngest population and fastest-growing workforce. Yet only nine per cent of school-leavers make it to university, compared to a global average of 38 per cent. Even as universities expand, they cannot keep pace. Asamani said capacity would need to grow nearly twelvefold by 2035 just to match demographic demand.
The deeper problem is cultural. African families see university as the sole gateway to success, Nhlabatsi explained. A degree promises better jobs, higher income, and social mobility. But when university becomes the only door, young people who cannot get through feel they have lost their future entirely. That belief, he said, has become a burden African youth carry.
Asamani acknowledged that Africa needs strong universities and investment in them must continue. But he said the continent faces a hard truth: limited access combined with the belief that university is the only path creates pressure, anxiety, and a sense of failure among millions of young people navigating a system that remains stubbornly competitive and supply-constrained.
Project management qualifications offer a practical alternative. The PMI and UNISA want African governments and educational institutions to begin promoting skills training and professional certifications as legitimate pathways alongside traditional degrees. Young people who cannot access university need marketable skills that lead directly to employment.
