The Significance of Regional Skills Partnerships in Intracontinental Migration in Africa

In 2024, 25.1 million Africans were residing in various countries across the continent. Labour migration has long been a central aspect of Africa’s economic framework.

Migrant workers in Africa are predominantly found in specific sectors, with agriculture and manufacturing collectively accounting for about one-fifth of migrant employment. The majority of migrants are engaged in medium-skilled roles, alongside those in high and low-skilled positions.

This sectoral distribution is significant in the context of the global skill partnership discourse.

Global skill partnerships are arrangements that connect the creation of skills with skills mobility in a manner that benefits all parties involved. Workers in their home countries are equipped with the skills that both their origin and destination countries require, enabling them to work there legally.

Destination countries can address workforce shortages, origin countries enhance their skill sets and attract investment, and migrants gain access to safer, more reliable pathways.

Read: Migrant exodus leaves gap SA may battle to close

However, in practice, many of the partnerships involving African nations and destination countries outside the continent are limited in their scope and often fail to reflect the realities of intra-continental mobility.

In Africa, the industries that rely heavily on migrant labour tend to be regional and not highly structured. They do not correspond to the high-income international corridors that many existing global skills partnerships typically target.

For instance, while partnerships for skilled IT professionals exist between Nigeria and Lithuania, the majority of African migrants to other intra-continental destinations are employed in manufacturing and agriculture.

As a researcher focusing on migration governance and labour mobility, I have observed how African governments and their partners have implemented skills partnerships in practice.

Based on my expertise, research fellowship, work on labour migration, and contributions to a recent mid-term assessment of the African Union’s Migration Policy Framework for Africa, I believe that mobility within Africa is fundamentally regional, informal, and often precarious.

I contend that a skills and labour system is needed that provides structure, recognition, and protection. For skills partnerships to effectively address the needs of African nations, a regional mobility track should be developed alongside traditional domestic and international routes.

Bilateral partnerships

The existing global skills partnerships involving African countries typically follow a familiar pattern: a bilateral agreement between a single African nation and a high-income destination, frequently in Europe.

These agreements generally focus on training workers in targeted sectors—such as healthcare, construction, and information technology—with the expectation that some trainees will migrate while others remain to contribute locally.

While bilateral programs do meet some of their stated goals, they also have inherent weaknesses.

First, they overlook intra-African migration patterns—80% of African migration occurs within the continent.

For instance, migration between Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire or Uganda and Kenya is common and economically crucial. Bilateral agreements with distant partners do not support or formalise these movements.

Second, these arrangements typically create a “two-track” system: one for domestic skill development and another for migration to a specific country, disregarding those workers who might prefer or benefit from opportunities closer to home.

According to an Afrobarometer survey, nearly 22% of respondents expressed a desire to migrate to another country within their region or elsewhere in Africa.

Third, bilateral agreements often suffer from a lack of scalability and flexibility. Establishing these initiatives requires significant resources, and each agreement must be customized to meet the needs of the partner countries.

This complexity hampers the ability to adapt to changing labour market demands. Development partners frequently report challenges in scaling up these initiatives.

Finally, without coordinated regional oversight, multiple bilateral agreements can lead to fragmented standards and qualifications, resulting in administrative inefficiencies.

Why a third track makes sense

To address these shortcomings, global skill partnerships should evolve from a two-track to a three-track model:

1. Domestic track – training for local labour markets
2. International track – pathways to high-income destination countries
3. Regional track – structured mobility within Africa.

The introduction of a regional track acknowledges that development flows in multiple directions.

Read: Africa’s population growth without jobs ‘a ticking time bomb’

The benefits of a regional mobility track

A regional track provides several distinct advantages.

Formalising existing mobility

People are already migrating within Africa, frequently through informal networks. A regional track would formalise this mobility, establish standardized training and qualifications, and ensure legal protections for workers. Policymakers should enhance existing corridors to make them safer and more productive.

Enhancing worker protection

Informal migration subjects workers to exploitation, substandard working conditions, and a lack of legal recourse. A structured regional pathway would guarantee labour standards, social protection, and common rights.

Addressing regional skills shortages

Many African economies encounter skills deficits in sectors such as healthcare, construction, and technical trades. A regional track would facilitate the more efficient sharing of human capital, aligning supply with demand across the continent.

For instance, health sector shortages in African nations could be partially mitigated if training and certification systems were synchronized.

Combating brain drain

One common criticism of traditional skills partnerships is the potential for “brain drain.” A regional track would help retain talent within Africa. Although it does not eliminate outward migration, it fosters a more balanced mobility ecosystem.

Continental frameworks

Africa is not starting from square one. Several continental and regional frameworks already lay the groundwork for a regional skills partnership track.

The African Union has created the Free Movement Protocol, which facilitates visa-free travel and residence among member states.

The African Continental Free Trade Area and regional economic communities such as the Economic Community of West African States and the East African Community contribute to a more integrated economic landscape and potentially elevate demand for cross-border labour mobility.

Read: Travel between African countries is still hard

A more realistic model of mobility

Effective migration policy should not aim to impose new patterns of movement but rather work with existing ones, honing them to become safer, fairer, and more beneficial for all. A three-track model achieves this.

Instead of treating international migration as the sole goal for trained workers, this model recognizes that development can also be derived from movement between African nations.

It broadens opportunities without limiting choices, fortifies regional integration, and offers a grounded, context-sensitive approach to mobility.

Addressing this properly begins with acknowledging the sectors that accommodate most African migrant labour on the continent: agriculture, manufacturing, and medium-skilled jobs, while crafting policies that align with this reality.

Amanda Bisong is a policy leader fellow at the School of Transnational Governance, European University Institute

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.