The youth unemployment has been the number one challenge in South Africa (SA) for long now. It is a socioeconomic challenge that has triggered other social evils like high crime rate and prostitution. This problem is even more prevalent among the poor and the middle-income segment of the population. According to the 2013 data, the jobless rate in SA stood at 63% among the youths. The state of youth unemployment in South Africa is a perennial problem that results from a failure of policies.
Those aged from 14 to 24, it is estimated that up to one-third f them are jobless. This is a broad classification that includes those that are not actively searching for a job and those that have given up on the same. As much as the economic condition is the main factor to blame, there are several personal factors that also contribute to this situation.
However, some employers have complained that the majority of those who applies for the job lack the necessary skills such as the communication skills, low levels of education, and lack of the necessary skills. This is as a result of social inequities that force many people from a poor background to drop out of school at an early age. Most of them also fail to access any post-school training and ends in social crimes.
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.
There is also the National Rural Youth Service Corps that is being implemented in phases. The first phase was in 2010. It lasts for 2 years and involves intensive training with the aim of impacting skills of those being trained. The graduates are then expected to undertake community development projects and are paid by the government.
The said programs are focused on the supply side of the problem, the demand side policies implemented so far focuses on giving the employers incentives to employ more people. This in addition to several other policies and proposals on the table should address the problem by open up the economy to absorb more people.
Those aged from 14 to 24, it is estimated that up to one-third f them are jobless. This is a broad classification that includes those that are not actively searching for a job and those that have given up on the same. As much as the economic condition is the main factor to blame, there are several personal factors that also contribute to this situation.
However, some employers have complained that the majority of those who applies for the job lack the necessary skills such as the communication skills, low levels of education, and lack of the necessary skills. This is as a result of social inequities that force many people from a poor background to drop out of school at an early age. Most of them also fail to access any post-school training and ends in social crimes.
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.
There is also the National Rural Youth Service Corps that is being implemented in phases. The first phase was in 2010. It lasts for 2 years and involves intensive training with the aim of impacting skills of those being trained. The graduates are then expected to undertake community development projects and are paid by the government.
The said programs are focused on the supply side of the problem, the demand side policies implemented so far focuses on giving the employers incentives to employ more people. This in addition to several other policies and proposals on the table should address the problem by open up the economy to absorb more people.
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