The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Thursday inaugurated the first Global Labour Market Conference (GLMC) on the theme: ” Tomorrow’s Labour Market (Fit for Growth)”

The GLMC event which was held in the capital city of Riyadh between the 13th and 14th December, 2023 attracted marketing experts, industry leaders, policy makers and public officials across the world. Sierra Leone was ably represented by the Minister of Employment, Labour and Social Security, Hon. Mohamed Rahman Swaray and Presidential Adviser on Job Creation, Hon. Alpha Osman Timbo.

Sierra Leone’s Minister of Employment, Labour and Social Security, Hon. Mohamed Rahman Swaray, described the GLMC as timely as “it is a platform for the development of innovative solutions to the major challenges facing labour markets nowadays.”

Hon. Swaray said the 2-day conference fostered a collaborative partnership between key stakeholders in the labour markets across the world, to deliberate and meet the needs of the evolving global labour markets.

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During the Ministerial round table meeting with his counterparts, Hon. Swaray said “His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio has described youth unemployment as a national security threat and a ticking time bomb. That is why the President believes in Human capital development”,

Hon. Swaray said the theme of the summit, “Tomorrow’s Labour Market (Fit for Growth)” was in line with 2 of President Dr. Julius Maada Bio’s Big Five Game changers 2028 agenda. He explained that youth empowerment and achieving sustained economic growth through digital infrastructure to empowering the country’s young people for the labour market for the fifth industrial revolution through digital skills training are encapsulated in the People’s Manifesto of the government of Sierra Leone.

“His Excellency President Bio through the support of the World Bank has secured Fifty Million U.S Dollars to train young people digitally in various skills in a way that is fit-for-purpose for the labour market,” Hon. Swaray assured.

He reiterated that President Bio wants to prepare the next generation of young leaders for jobs in the labour market that is why he introduced the Free Quality School Education in 2018 and free tertiary education for girls in the sciences.

Hon. Alpha Osman Timbo, Presidential Adviser onJob Creation, participated in a panel discussion on the topic “Wanted Job Skills for our Future workforce”. Hon. Timbo showcased President Julius Maada Bio’s government’s Big Five Game changers – FEED SALONE, Human Capital Development, Youth Empowerment, Revamping the Public Service Architecture and achieving Sustained Economic Growth through Technology and Infrastructure.

Earlier, while giving his opening remarks and inaugurating the GLMC, His Excellency Ahmad bin Sulaiman Al-Rajhi, the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, said the dynamics of the labour market today were altogether different from those before this period, noting that the current labour markets now have to grapple with an increased demand for skills required by future jobs, new professions, and the changing nature of the global workforce.

The Saudi Minister presented statistical analysis emphasizing the gravity of the ongoing labour markets dynamics, both related to emerging technology, such as the expectation that artificial intelligence technologies would create 133 million new jobs by 2030, as well as those related to changing worker preferences, such as the approximately 22 million people in the United States that now work full-time from their homes.

The opening session was followed by panel presentations, and the breakout sessions focused on the current challenges and future changes facing labour markets.

The sessions were organized across eight key tracks: Global Labor Market Catalysts, Skills & Productivity Conundrums, Labor Market Makeovers, Work for All, AI Needs People?, Labor Market Re-engineered, The Right Way to (De)Regulate, and The Future Proofed Organization.

During the roundtable, H.E. Minister Al-Rajhi stressed that the current stage of the global labour markets’ evolution necessitates international solidarity, cooperation, and exchange in order to effectively respond to rapid, unprecedented changes related to workplace practices, emerging technologies, and geopolitical circumstances.

A total number of 150 experts plus over 6,000 participants, hailing from over 40 countries, are participating in the 2-day Global Labour Market Conference in Riyadh.