The new five-year National Employment and Skills Strategy (NESS), which will run until 2029, aims to support the creation of more than 500,000 jobs through Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), with a particular focus on young people who are ‘Not in Education, Employment, or Training’ (NEET), according to Christine Nkulikiyinka, the Minister of Public Service and Labour. ALSO READ: Over 800,000 youth jobs in agrifood systems NEET youth are young people who are neither attending school nor university, employed, or enrolled in vocational or professional training programmes. Currently, Rwanda has about 1.14 million young people aged between 16 and 30 who fall into the NEET category, presenting a major employment and skills challenge. ALSO READ: $6.5m project launched to boost youth employment Nkulikiyinka said that the new strategy represents a shift from policy ambition to measurable results in jobs, incomes, and productivity. “It introduces a dynamic, demand-driven skills ecosystem directly linked to labour market intelligence,” she said. She explained that the strategy integrates skills development and employment creation, especially through flagship projects and planned investments. ALSO READ: Young graduates find prosperity, purpose in agribusiness “It treats skills development and job creation as one unified system. Training and capacity development will be guided by key projects, upcoming investments, and labour market needs. This will improve employability and reduce skills mismatches,” she said. She said it will strengthen job matching through digital platforms and employment services, and generate jobs by mainstreaming employment into key sectors such as agriculture, infrastructure, and the green economy. The strategy aligns with the National Strategy for Transformation (NST2), which targets the creation of 1.25 million productive and decent jobs by 2029, while reducing unemployment to 12 per cent and lowering the proportion of NEET youth to 25 per cent. Improving employability for TVET, universities’ graduates The first pillar of the strategy focuses on skills development and aims to improve the employability of graduates from Higher Learning Institutions (HLIs) and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programmes, with targets of 55 per cent and 85 per cent respectively. ALSO READ: SMEs solving youth unemployment in Rwanda The strategy also seeks to raise the employability of beneficiaries of non-formal training programmes to 85 per cent. The second pillar prioritises entrepreneurship and business support, targeting the creation of more than 500,000 jobs through MSMEs, especially among NEET youth. The third pillar focuses on improving access to employment opportunities and labour market information through interventions such as mainstreaming job creation into public and private sector investments and flagship projects. These interventions are expected to create 376,900 skilled jobs in high-potential sectors and flagship projects, including finance, sports and creative industries, ICT, health, global business services, manufacturing, aviation, Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE), the Nyagatare milk powder value chain, and the Bugesera International Airport project. The Ministry of Labour estimates that 297,575 jobs will be created through workplace learning programmes integrated into public and private sector investments. These include upskilling initiatives, rapid response training, dual training systems, community-based internships, and apprenticeship programmes targeting NEET youth. The fourth pillar focuses on job creation in pro-employment sectors. Under this pillar, jobs are projected to be created through employment-focused investments in agriculture, infrastructure, and environmental sectors. Economist John Bosco Kalisa said job creation remains a critical component of Rwanda’s economic transformation agenda. “Currently, agriculture remains the leading job creator. However, greater emphasis should be placed on the manufacturing sector because it provides more durable and better-paying jobs than any other sector of the economy,” he said.
