Economists and education stakeholders say weak alignment between education, skills training and labour-market demand is undermining job prospects and earnings for young graduates. The warning follows the release of United Nations–World Bank policy notes titled ‘No Time to Waste: Policy Priorities for Malawi’, which highlight structural gaps in the education-to-employment pipeline. The report says although Malawi has a young and growing population, the economy is failing to absorb new labour-market entrants into productive employment.
About 270 000 young people enter the labour market each year, but only around 30 000 formal jobs are created, forcing most graduates into subsistence farming, informal work or casual labour. The report says the challenge is not only unemployment, but also the low economic value of skills acquired through the education system. While the average child spends 9.4 years in school by age 18, learning-adjusted years of schooling fall to about 5.4 years due to weak foundational skills.
This results in delayed entry into formal employment, low starting wages and slower lifetime earnings growth, with many graduates cycling through informal or short-term work. Skills gaps are particularly evident in technical and vocational education and training, where outdated equipment and weak private-sector linkages limit job readiness. Employers say poor skills outcomes increase onboarding and retraining costs, reduce productivity and weaken competitiveness, especially in manufacturing, construction and services.
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The report also notes that nearly 40 percent of youths are not in education, employment or training, while high dropout rates—especially among girls—are narrowing the skilled labour pool. The government says it has begun addressing the gaps through a curriculum review led by the Malawi Institute of Education to make learning more skills-oriented and responsive to labour-market needs. Former Malawi Institute of Education executive director Frank Mtemang’ombe said the revised curriculum is aimed at equipping learners with relevant knowledge and skills.
However, education analysts warn that curriculum reform alone will not address the jobs challenge without adequate funding and stronger links with employers. Civil Society Education Coalition executive director Benedicto Kondowe said the curriculum aligns better with Malawi 2063 but warned that implementation remains a major risk.
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