Inclusive Development in Africa – Harnessing Youth Potential through Talent - Driven Human Capital Development

Year 2021, Volume: 7 Issue: 1, 41 - 51, 01.04.2021

Liz Ng'ang'a

Abstract

In Africa, there is need for a more inclusive and holistic approach to
development. Such a vision should have at its heart the enhancement of
productive employment for the continent’s bulging youth population. To
achieve this goal, it may be desirable to shift to a talent-driven approach to
human capital development. But, globally, talent management remains an
under-researched topic: the concept of talent is ambiguous, and, while
exciting, talent identification is a challenge for many institutions. As such,
tactical alignment of talent identification practices with specific talent
definitions, and ultimately, distinct developmental aims, is needed. This
paper presents two initiatives: the African Regional Postgraduate
Programme in Insect Science (ARPPIS) and Nematology Africa (Nem
Africa), as examples of talent co-anchoring frameworks. Both have been
successful in identifying individuals that are willing, able and motivated
to work in specific fields of scientific research and development, and to
match supply and demand in those areas. Further investigations of these
two initiatives could help unravel underlying mechanisms of talent
identification. In addition, and drawing from personal experiences, this
paper proposes two ideas that could enable holistic talent identification.
First, is the incorporation of the biographical method, a technique that aims
to understand and attribute meaning to stories of individuals. Second, is
the acceptance of the importance of the “gut instinct” factor, the intuitive
judgements made by talent managers without conscious thought.

Keywords

Talent management, talent development, Africa; inclusive development, Africa socio-economic transformation, science, technology and innovation

References

• [1] Africa Development Bank (AfDB) (2020) African Economic Outlook 2020. Available at: https://www.afdb.org/en/knowledge/publications/african-economicoutlook
• [2] African Union. Youth Development. Available at: https://au.int/en/youth-development.
• [3] Arias, O., Evans, D. K., & Santos, I. The Skills Balancing Act in Sub- Saharan Africa: Investing in Skills for Productivity, Inclusivity, and Adaptability, World Bank, 2019. Series: Africa development forum series Washington, D.C.
• [4] Asongu, S. A. & Kuada, J. (2020). Building Knowledge Economies in Africa: An Introduction, Working Papers 20/002, European Xtramile Centre of African Studies (EXCAS).
• [5] Atta-Mensah, J. (2015) Toward the Economic Transformation of Africa, China-USA Business Review, 14 (4), doi: 10.17265/1537- 1514/2015.04.001
• [6] Brown, P. and Hesketh, A. (2004), The Mismanagement of Talent: Employability and Jobs in the Knowledge Economy, Oxford University Press, King’s Lynn
• [7] Davies, B. & Davies, B.J. (2010) Talent management in academies, International Journal of Educational Management. doi: 10.1108/09513541011055983.
• [8] Durazzi, N. (2019) The political economy of high skills: higher education in knowledge-based labour markets, Journal of European Public Policy, 26 (12), doi: 10.1080/13501763.2018.1551415
• [9] Kelchtermans, G. (1993), Getting the story, understanding the lives: From career stories to teachers' professional development, Teaching and Teacher Education, 9 (506). https://doi.org/10.1016/0742- 051X(93)90029-G
• [10] S. and Gyima-Bempong K. (2013). Youth Policy and the Future of African Development. Report of Brookings Institute. https://www.brookings.edu/research/youth-policy-and-the-future-ofafrican- development/
• [11] Moshi, H. P. B. (2014) Sustainable and Inclusive Growth in Africa: Industrialization a Must, African Journal of Economic Review, 2(2).
• [12] M., Wekullo C. S. & Nafukho, F. M. (2018) Talent Development in Emerging Economies Through Learning and Development Capacity Building. Advances in Developing Human Resources 20(4) doi: 10.1177/1523422318803089
• [13] Ncube, M. (2015) Inclusive Growth in Africa, in The Oxford Handbook of Africa and Economics: Volume 1: Context and Concepts. Monga C. and Lin J. Y. (eds). 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199687114.013.26
• [14] Nijs, S., Gallardo-Gallardo, E., Dries, N. & Sels, L. (2013). A multidisciplinary review into the definition, operationalization, and measurement of talent. Journal of World Business 49. DOI: 10.1016/j.jwb.2013.11.002
• [15] Parilla, J. & Liu, S. (2019) A talent-driven economic development: a new vision and agenda for regional and state economies. Report of Brookings Institute. Available at: https://www.brookings.edu/research/talent-driven-economicdevelopment- a-new-vision-and-strategic-agenda-for-regional-and-stateeconomies/
• [16] Preckel, F. & Thiemann, H. (2003). Online- versus paper-pencil version of a high potential intelligence test. Swiss Journal of Psychology, 62(2), doi: 10.1024//1421-0185.62.2.131
• [17] Reinders, S., Dekker M. & van Kesteren, F. (2019) Inclusive Development in Africa. Synthesis report series of INCLUDE, the Knowledge Platform on Inclusive Development Policies. Available at: https://includeplatform.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/ID-synthesis- INCLUDE-Final.pdf
• [18] Iredale, F. & Raynor, A. (2020) Understanding the “gut instinct” of expert coaches during talent identification, Journal of Sports Sciences, 1(9), doi: 10.1080/02640414.2020.1823083
• [19] (2005) Re-imagining and rescripting the future of education: global knowledge economy discourses and the challenge to education systems, Comparative Education, 41 (2), pp. 151-170.
• [20] Robinson, A. & Clinkenbeard, P. R. (1998). Giftedness: An exceptionality examined. Annual Review of Psychology 49(1), doi: 10.1146/annurev.psych.49.1.117.
• [21] Where business leaders meet to unlock the power of Africa’s talent. https://www.talentagendaseries.com/.
• [22] Turner, P., Carley, F., Harris, L., Sempik, A., Stewart, J. & Williams, H. London: CIPD.
• [23] United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
• (2017) Economic Development in Africa report, available at: https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/aldcafrica2017_en.pdf
• [24] United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) (2015) Human Development Report. Available at: http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/2015_human_development_report.p df
• [25] Vaeyens, R., Lenoir, M., Williams, A. M. & Philippaerts, R. M. (2008). Talent identification and development programmes in sport: Current models and future directions. Sports Medicine, 38(9), 703– 714. https://doi.org/10.2165/00007256-200838090-00001
• [26] Weber, E. U. & Johnson, E. J. (2009), Mindful Judgment and Decision Making, Annual Review of Psychology 60. doi: 10.1146/annurev.psych.60.110707.163633
• [27] Available at https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/afr/overview