\t \t
\nMali promotes AI as a tool for youth employment
\nGovernment expands training and entrepreneurship programs nationwide
\nInformal work and high youth inactivity remain major challenges
<\/p>\n
Mali wants to harness artificial intelligence as a driver of youth employment rather than allow it to become a new source of exclusion. A Malian delegation delivered that message in Geneva on Friday, June 5, during the general debate of the 114th International Labour Conference (ILC-114).<\/p>\n
Reforms to turn words into action<\/p>\n
Labour and Social Dialogue Minister Fassoun Coulibaly led the Malian delegation, accompanied by Employment and Vocational Training Minister Oumou Sall Seck. His remarks drew on a report by International Labour Organization (ILO) Director-General Gilbert Houngbo, which advocates a human-centred approach to AI \u2014 a perspective Bamako said it fully shares.<\/p>\n
Properly governed, technology offers a major opportunity to create decent and sustainable jobs, Coulibaly said. He called for stronger public institutions and active social dialogue as the only safeguards against the digital divide.<\/p>\n
To turn that vision into reality, Bamako has launched several structural initiatives. A national entrepreneurship strategy backed by a 2026-2030 action plan has been adopted. A national employment policy and a vocational training policy are being finalised. On the ground, nine vocational training centres have been built, rehabilitated or equipped. A national certification framework is under preparation. Worksite-based training programmes have also been launched to help young people enter the labour market more quickly.<\/p>\n
The country is also seeking to reduce the dominance of the informal economy. A national study on formalising the sector is underway under the National Strategy for Emergence and Sustainable Development (SNEDD) 2024-2033.<\/p>\n
A labour market under demographic pressure<\/p>\n
These efforts come as Mali’s labour market remains marked by deep vulnerabilities. The ILO estimates youth unemployment among those aged 15 to 24 at 3.9% in 2025, a figure that obscures a far bleaker reality. The NEET rate \u2014 those not in employment, education or training \u2014 stood at 30.1% in 2024, also according to the ILO.<\/p>\n
Around 95.5% of Malian workers are employed in the informal economy, a share that approaches 99% among those aged 15 to 29. Agriculture accounts for 64.2% of total employment and more than 70% of jobs held by young workers. Mali’s population was estimated at 25.2 million in 2025, with a median age of 16.8 years. Annual demographic growth of 3% is placing sustained pressure on the labour market.<\/p>\n
In its World Employment and Social Outlook 2026 report, the ILO warns that digital transitions could deepen these vulnerabilities. ILC-114 gives Bamako a platform to anchor its reforms within the global human-centred labour agenda. Whether those reforms move beyond announcements to deliver concrete and lasting jobs remains to be seen.<\/p>\n
F\u00e9licien Houindo Lokossou<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mali promotes AI as a tool for youth employment Government expands training and entrepreneurship programs nationwide Informal…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":79565,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[7],"tags":[5321,65,18741,6991,2696,11083,13736,41327,5815],"class_list":["post-79564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-geneva","tag-employment","tag-geneva","tag-ilo","tag-labour","tag-market","tag-national","tag-training","tag-vocational","tag-youth"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ch\/116715026076535462","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79564","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79564"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79564\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}