How unpaid work is becoming Africa's unlikely career ladder
Enterprise
By
David Njaaga
| Apr 22, 2026
Africa adds 10 to 12 million young job-seekers to its labour market every year, but the continent generates only three million formal jobs annually, according to the African Development Bank (AfDB).
A global project management body says volunteering can help bridge the gap, though data suggests young Africans are the least likely to volunteer.
The call comes during Global Volunteer Month, observed every April, which PMI says offers a timely opportunity to reconsider a practice it argues remains widely misunderstood across emerging markets.
George Asamani, managing director of the Project Management Institute (PMI) Sub-Saharan Africa, says unpaid work offers early-career professionals real responsibility, leadership exposure and professional networks that formal employment often withholds until later career stages.
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"In traditional settings, leadership is often something people have to wait for. In volunteer environments, however, people often step into leadership early," said Asamani.
The World Bank's Africa Pulse report 2025 estimates Sub-Saharan Africa must create 25 million jobs annually over the next 25 years to keep pace with its growing labour force.
Currently, 73 per cent of employment sits in low-productivity, single-owner and family-run enterprises, with only one in four workers holding a wage-paying job.
The skills deficit compounds the problem. Research across 10 African countries found that 56.9 per cent of employed youth are undereducated for their roles, 28.9 per cent are under-skilled, and between 40 and 60 per cent of African firms identify skills shortages as a major obstacle to growth.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) Africa's Development Dynamics 2024 report found the continent faces a dual challenge: workers lack the skills employers need, while too few quality jobs exist to motivate workers to build those skills.
Only nine per cent of young Africans had completed tertiary education as of 2025.
In Algeria, Egypt and Morocco, about 30 per cent of young people with university degrees are unemployed or inactive, according to the Mastercard Foundation's Africa Youth Employment Outlook 2026.
Asamani says volunteering fills the gap formal education leaves. PMI runs nearly 18,000 volunteers globally who contribute to initiatives that shape professional practice.
He noted that roles demanding accountability, exposure to diverse perspectives and measurable outcomes deliver the most growth.
"The benefits of volunteering may not be immediate. But it builds experience that sets you apart, creates networks that open doors, and shows your ability to lead and deliver," he noted.
Statistics South Africa's Volunteer Activities Survey 2024 recorded the lowest volunteer participation rate among young people aged 15 to 24, at just 3.2 per cent, compared with 9.9 per cent among those aged 55 to 64.
Volunteer participation also rises with education level, with tertiary graduates leading at 9.6 per cent, suggesting the professionals most likely to volunteer are already the most employable.
Asamani acknowledged that the absence of pay is a deterrent, particularly where financial pressure is acute, but argued that the long-term returns outweigh the short-term cost.
As African economies shift from agriculture, which still absorbs 47 per cent of youth employment, mostly in informal conditions, toward services and industry, Asamani said professionals who wait for formal roles to build their skills may find themselves behind.
"The question is not whether volunteering is worthwhile. It is whether Africa can afford to overlook one of the most accessible ways to build the experience its workforce urgently needs," he observed.