Algeria

2024 highlights at a glance

🏛️ Political landscape: President Abdelmadjid Tebboune was re-elected in September 2024, pledging to prioritise youth inclusion and support for economic and entrepreneurial initiatives. While oil and gas, Algeria’s main exports, have boosted the economy through rising prices, diversifying the economy remains key to expanding job opportunities, particularly for young people;

🎓 Education and skill development: The 2021 Action Plan continues to guide efforts to align education and training with labour market needs in priority sectors such as construction, agriculture and ICT. While upper secondary enrolment rates are high, many graduates – especially women – still face limited job opportunities due to weak labour market alignment;

🏫 Vocational Education and Training (VET):  In 2023, 13 new VET institutes and centres were established, creating 4,000 additional training places. While operational funding for VET has increased since 2010, further investment is needed in infrastructure and digital tools to support the country’s ambitions for more digitally advanced and inclusive learning environments. The appointment of Yacine Qualid as Minister of VET in November 2024 is expected to bring fresh momentum to the Ministry;

✅ VET Governance: The 2024 Finance Act increased funding for the Ministry of National Education, prioritising youth and adult training, particularly through reskilling programmes and digitalisation. Additional VET funding also aims to support economic diversification and improve youth employability. Although the Vocational Education and Training Partnership Council was created in 2018 to strengthen industry collaboration, its impact has so far been limited;

🛠️ Work-based learning (WBL): The 2018 Apprenticeship Law played a key role in boosting apprenticeship training, which rose by 24% in 2021 compared to 2020. Ongoing trainee grants and tax incentives for companies have helped sustain this growth and strengthen private sector partnerships, aligning training programmes more closely with labour market needs;

💼 Labour market challenges: The public sector remains a key driver of Algeria’s economy and employment, with many jobs tied to government institutions, state-owned enterprises, and public services. The National Employment Agency (ANEM) plays a central role in labour market management, offering services including job matching, market analysis and career guidance. Tailored counselling aims to address barriers to accessing job opportunities and could help address the significant gender gap in labour market participation – just 13.8% of women were employed in 2019 compared to 60.7% of men;

👦 👧 Youth in focus: the rate of 15–24-year-olds not in employment, education or training (NEETs) fell slightly to 21.1% in 2022, but youth unemployment rose to an estimated 30.8% in 2023. Young women continued to be affected at around twice the rate of young men. The government’s initiative to increase unemployment benefits and embed training to boost skills and employability should help target this. The National Agency for Supporting Youth Employment (ANSEJ) continues to offer guidance on entrepreneurialism and creating micro-enterprises.

💻 Digital skills development: Algeria is prioritising digital skills to modernise governance and education. The Ministry of Vocational Education and Training has launched three dedicated platforms: Mihnati (My Profession) provides access to training opportunities; Maharati (My Skills) enhances pedagogical management; and Tassyir (Management) improves administrative efficiency. However, challenges such as limited internet access, especially in rural areas, continue to hinder equitable access to digital education.

Priorities for 2025 and beyond

👉 Digital transformation of the vocational training sector

👉 Promotion of entrepreneurship, trades and self-employment

👉 Improvement of pedagogical engineering, training quality and training conditions

👉 Establishment of quality standards

👉 Introduction of the professional baccalaureate