Today, youth unemployment is the top socioeconomic challenge in South Africa (SA). It is not a new problem is, the situation has been the same for many years. When compared with other countries, it emerges that joblessness in SA is among the highest in the world. In 2013, up to 63% of the youths were jobless. A closer look reveals that the youth unemployment in South Africa has many dimensions as shown in this article.
It is estimated that one-third of those aged 14 to 24 are jobless and are not in any active education or training. This situation results mainly from the prevailing economic conditions. The personality trait also has a major contribution to the joblessness situation. Most of these people have low levels of education, the majority having dropped out of school at early age.
Most of these youths have low levels of education, the majority having dropped out of school at an early age. As a result, the most have poor communication skills, lack work experience; low literacy levels and lacks saleable technical skills. As a result, they are simply lacking the traits that the employers desire. This is a result of years of structural failures in policies and discrimination in different segments of the population.
For long, the government had been focusing on the supply side policies to address the problem while doing very little to stimulate the demand side. On the supply side, the focus has been to make formal education accessible to all, regardless of the social background. This is then supplemented with post-school technical trainings, public employment, and the deployment programs. It is a good strategy, but if the employers cannot absorb the graduates, the country ends up with many jobless graduates. This is what SA is witnessing.
The Community Work Program (CWP) is a good example. It started in 2008 is designed as an employment safety net. It targets to supplement the livelihood by guaranteeing the job that offers some basic salary. It copies from the renowned Indian program known as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA). It is a program that targets to raise the standards of living among the poor.
The other program that has been implemented in South Africa to address the challenge is the public deployment program. Though not widespread, the program is usually implemented through the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA). The program generally targets the youths that are not employed and those that lack the requisite skills needed for the job market. It takes 12 months and impacts the technical skills that are in high demand to the trainees.
The National Rural Youth Service Corps is also a program enrolled for the same purpose. It targets the youths in the rural areas and was first implemented in September 2010. It involves a 2 years intensive and comprehensive training in skills and the incubation programs. The trainee is then required to undertake community development projects during which they are on the government payroll for their services.
In addition to the supply side policies, there are a number of demand-side policies that target the employer. In order to stimulate the demand on the labor market, employment subsidy has been proposed. It targets to compensate the employers on the cost used to train the new employees.There are several other proposals on the table, however, all interventions must take into consideration the structural complexity presented by unemployment statistics in South Africa.
It is estimated that one-third of those aged 14 to 24 are jobless and are not in any active education or training. This situation results mainly from the prevailing economic conditions. The personality trait also has a major contribution to the joblessness situation. Most of these people have low levels of education, the majority having dropped out of school at early age.
Most of these youths have low levels of education, the majority having dropped out of school at an early age. As a result, the most have poor communication skills, lack work experience; low literacy levels and lacks saleable technical skills. As a result, they are simply lacking the traits that the employers desire. This is a result of years of structural failures in policies and discrimination in different segments of the population.
For long, the government had been focusing on the supply side policies to address the problem while doing very little to stimulate the demand side. On the supply side, the focus has been to make formal education accessible to all, regardless of the social background. This is then supplemented with post-school technical trainings, public employment, and the deployment programs. It is a good strategy, but if the employers cannot absorb the graduates, the country ends up with many jobless graduates. This is what SA is witnessing.
The Community Work Program (CWP) is a good example. It started in 2008 is designed as an employment safety net. It targets to supplement the livelihood by guaranteeing the job that offers some basic salary. It copies from the renowned Indian program known as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA). It is a program that targets to raise the standards of living among the poor.
The other program that has been implemented in South Africa to address the challenge is the public deployment program. Though not widespread, the program is usually implemented through the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA). The program generally targets the youths that are not employed and those that lack the requisite skills needed for the job market. It takes 12 months and impacts the technical skills that are in high demand to the trainees.
The National Rural Youth Service Corps is also a program enrolled for the same purpose. It targets the youths in the rural areas and was first implemented in September 2010. It involves a 2 years intensive and comprehensive training in skills and the incubation programs. The trainee is then required to undertake community development projects during which they are on the government payroll for their services.
In addition to the supply side policies, there are a number of demand-side policies that target the employer. In order to stimulate the demand on the labor market, employment subsidy has been proposed. It targets to compensate the employers on the cost used to train the new employees.There are several other proposals on the table, however, all interventions must take into consideration the structural complexity presented by unemployment statistics in South Africa.
About the Author:
You can now get detailed information about youth unemployment in South Africa. See what you can do about it by visiting our website at http://www.noahandtheunicorn.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment