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

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.