Botswana has an official unemploymentrate of 17.8 percent. The low labor-intensity of growth is apotential explaining factor for this high level ofunemployment. It is thus essential to analyze the role ofeducation and training in the access to employment. Thisnote finds that the role of education has changed under theeffect of schooling expansion and persistent unemployment.Labor market institutions appear to have a limited impact onemployment and wage levels, while the importance of activelabor market programs is growing. This note aims to identifylabor market signals that point to demand for specificcurrent and future skills. The note seeks to answer thefollowing questions: does the labor market place a higherpremium on workersliteracy and numeracy skills, technicalskills, or behavioral skills?; is the labor market more inneed of secondary or tertiary education graduates?; and willgrowing economic sectors (for example, tourism) benefit moreby increasing the supply of sector-specific skills (forexample, through specific training for tour guides andhospitality staff) or general skills (for example, throughtraining of lawyers and accountants who can be absorbed inany sector of the economy)?.This note analyzes the followingdata and documentation to identify labor market signals inthe Botswana economy: government economic growth anddiversification strategies; general labor market data; andenterprise and employee surveys.
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