Beyond Borders: Why Africa's Labor Mobility Strategy Needs a Rethink

African governments are increasingly encouraging young people to work abroad. To address youth unemployment at home, for example, Ghana and Kenya have expanded labour mobility agreements with other countries, including Spain, Qatar, and Caribbean states. These arrangements can create structured pathways for people to work abroad, often in sectors where labour is in high demand.

Many African countries have large and growing youth populations struggling to get decent jobs. Meanwhile, wealthier economies face ageing populations and labour shortages. Evidence suggests that 71.7% of young adult workers in sub-Saharan Africa are engaged in insecure work. At the same time, countries across Europe and elsewhere need labour in sectors such as care, agriculture, and construction. Matching workers to labour shortages abroad appears to offer a practical solution.

But a deeper question emerges: What are the long-term development implications of governments promoting overseas employment as an economic strategy?

The Drivers

In Ghana, remittances account for 6% of the country's GDP—about US$4.6 billion in 2024, far more than foreign direct investment and official development assistance combined. Expanding overseas employment is therefore seen as increasing these inflows while easing pressure on domestic labour markets.

One example of the implications concerns the protection of migrant workers. Recent research from Kenya has shown how governments may encourage overseas employment even when protections for migrant workers remain uneven. This is an important concern, but misses a larger issue.

Broader development trade-offs can receive less attention. Even where labour mobility agreements are relatively well regulated, they may still contribute to structural challenges at home, such as the loss of skilled workers in critical sectors like health and education.

Ghana provides a clear example. The country is already experiencing a significant outflow of health professionals. Records show 500 nurses have left every month in recent years to work abroad. At the same time, health systems at home remain under pressure, with high patient-to-healthcare personnel ratios and limited resources. This has prompted wider debates about ethical recruitment from countries already facing healthcare workforce shortages.

What Happens When Migrants Return?

Our research also highlights the importance of thinking about migration as a broader development process rather than simply movement across borders. As labour mobility expands, the question of what happens when migrants return is becoming increasingly important. Many migrants eventually return home, bringing skills, experience, and financial resources.

Return migration can support entrepreneurship, innovation, and local development. But these outcomes are not automatic. The UN World Youth Report on Youth and Migration suggests that returnees often require effective reintegration support and access to economic opportunities to translate the skills and experience acquired abroad into local development gains. Policies such as skills recognition and access to finance can help make this possible.

Rethinking Labour Mobility

One implication of our research is that migration policies should be embedded within broader development strategies rather than judged only by their immediate economic returns. This does not mean labour mobility should be discouraged. Rather, it should complement (not replace) investments in decent work, skills development, and strong public institutions at home.

For this to happen, it needs to move beyond a narrow focus on job placement abroad.

• First, strategic partnerships between governments, employers, education and training institutions, recruitment agencies, and international organisations are essential. This could involve jointly designed training programmes, mutual recognition of qualifications, and agreements where destination countries invest in training skilled workers in origin countries.
• Second, reintegration needs to be taken more seriously. Providing access to finance, training, and employment opportunities for returnees can help translate migration experiences into local economic development gains.
• Third, labour mobility should not replace domestic job creation but complement it. Governments need to continue investing in sectors that can offer young people decent work at home, rather than relying on migration as the primary solution to youth unemployment or underemployment.

The key question is how migration fits into a broader development strategy. Labour mobility can create opportunities for individuals and families. But it cannot substitute for long-term investments in decent work, education, and economic transformation at home. If treated simply as a short-term solution to unemployment, labour mobility risks deepening inequalities and weakening already fragile systems. When embedded in a broader development strategy, it can contribute to more inclusive and sustainable growth.