Publication: Are Green and Digital Skills a Pathway to Jobs in Middle East and North Africa?
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2025-09-09
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2025-10-02
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To what extent are green and digital skills being demanded in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)? We answer this question using over 276,000 online job postings between January 2022 and March 2023 across six MENA countries. We triangulate these data with selected labor force survey data and other information to reveal four key insights: (i) In MENA economies, digital skills demand is quite high across all sectors, while green skills demand is mostly concentrated in the energy sector. Nearly one in three jobs advertised online (37 percent) require at least one digital skill. In contrast, only 6 percent of jobs advertised online require at least one green skill; but this proportion is 26 percent within the energy sector. (ii) Despite its concentration in the energy sector, green skills demand is starting to also emerge in sectors not typically thought of as ‘green’, e.g. finance, retail trade, arts and entertainment etc. (iii) Most digital and green job opportunities require high levels of education. Nearly 80 percent of digital jobs and 73 percent of green jobs require tertiary education. (iv) The demand for green and digital skills is rapidly evolving and can be highly unpredictable. For instance, nearly a quarter of digital jobs across the region (23 percent) are now asking for AI skills. The bottom-line is that, for MENA, green and digital skills demand is bigger and closer than many might believe. Given the magnitude, permeability, and unpredictability of this skillsdemand, merely providing narrowly defined technical skills will not work. Governments need to focus on creating an adaptive skills ecosystem and focus on facilitation not just provision. For this, governments should prioritize strong foundations, flexible pathways, and better information for youth. They should also recognize digital skills as increasingly foundational for formal labor market entry – and potentially also as gateway skills for emerging areas, including green skills.
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“Sabarwal, Shwetlena; Sribhashyam, Sai Sri Ram; Kadiri, Damilola T.; Masood, Surayya. 2025. Are Green and Digital Skills a Pathway to Jobs in Middle East and North Africa?. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/43796 License: CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO.”
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