"You can't just decree jobs": Chérif Salif Sy's warning against political pipe dreams

Appearing on the program "Le Jury du dimanche" (JDD), economist Chérif Salif Sy advocates a strategic and data-driven approach to job creation. He argues that announcements of thousands of new hires cannot replace a sound economic policy. Employment must stem from a development strategy, an assessment of the needs of productive sectors, and an anticipation of the necessary skills.

In Senegal, job creation is a recurring theme in political promises. With each election, announcements of tens, even hundreds of thousands of jobs fuel the expectations of a youth grappling with unemployment and precarious employment. But for economist Chérif Salif Sy, this approach cannot replace a genuine economic development strategy. A guest on the program "Le Jury du dimanche" (JDD), he argues for an employment policy grounded in the realities of the economic fabric, planning, and quantifiable data. The challenge, according to this approach, is to move beyond a logic of political wishful thinking and instead determine the actual conditions for creating sustainable jobs.

Employment cannot be decreed

Job creation cannot rely solely on recruitment announcements. In the private sector, companies hire based on their production needs, growth prospects, and financial capacity. Imposing recruitment without considering these parameters risks weakening companies instead of strengthening their development. An effective employment policy must therefore be based on the capacity of economic activities to generate sustainable jobs. The role of the state remains crucial: it is responsible for creating an environment conducive to investment, supporting businesses, and directing public policies toward sectors capable of generating more wealth and absorbing a growing workforce.

Quantify the needs to move beyond general announcements

To define realistic objectives, a national economic and social development strategy is essential. This strategy must identify priority sectors and assess their human resource needs. Agriculture, manufacturing, and services have different investment costs and skill requirements. Creating a job in each of these sectors requires specific resources, infrastructure, and skills. Therefore, rigorous statistical and methodological work is necessary to measure the cost of creating a position, determine the necessary investments, and estimate the absorption capacity of each branch of the economy. Such an approach would allow us to move from general policy objectives to sectoral planning, complete with indicators to measure the results achieved.

Anticipating future jobs and training young people

Discussions about employment must also incorporate technological transformations and the evolving needs of businesses. Information and communication technologies are changing jobs, the skills required, and production conditions.

In this context, youth training is a central issue. Simply increasing the number of integration programs is not enough; it is also essential to ensure that the skills acquired correspond to the current and future needs of the economy. This implies strengthening technical and vocational training, supporting existing businesses, and better aligning educational policies with regional development plans. Anticipating skills needs thus becomes a key lever for reducing the gap between training and employment, while simultaneously improving business productivity.

Investing in productive capacity

Beyond the figures announced, the objective is to build an economy capable of sustainably creating jobs and generating value. This ambition rests on strong businesses, high-level technical skills, and productive investments. Economic sovereignty cannot be limited to controlling rhetoric and objectives. It requires strengthening national production capacities, developing the entrepreneurial fabric, and reducing vulnerabilities linked to financial dependence. This transformation necessitates close collaboration between the government, the private sector, and academia. Public authorities must define the guidelines and create an environment conducive to investment; businesses must develop productive activities; and universities and research centers must contribute to training and anticipating economic changes. For Chérif Salif Sy, job creation must therefore be part of a coherent vision of development. The challenge is not simply to promise thousands of jobs, but to build the economic conditions that will allow them to be created sustainably.