This report is intended to support Cameroon’s efforts to augment the skills of its workforce to increase labor productivity and competitiveness and to create jobs—while recognizing that many factors other than skills can inhibit labor productivity and job creation. The report uses the terms workforce and labor force interchangeably. More specifically, the study is intended to help inform a national strategy for skills development and related policies and institutions in support of competitiveness, productivity, and job creation.

The study presents empirical analyses of skills development as it relates to the labor market to promote labor competitiveness and job creation. A sector-specific approach to skills development is adopted while paying attention to employment-intensive sectors and addressing growth-intensive investments. The study reaches conclusions and offers policy recommendations to answer the following questions: What has been the trajectory of Cameroon’s economic growth? Which sectors have contributed to growth? What jobs are being created? What types of skills are being used in the sectors where the highest percentages of the population are employed? What are the demand and supply barriers to skills? Which policies and institutions are in play? Are they sufficient? What needs to or could be reformed?