Youth’s tide may swamp us all

JOBLESS AND ANGRY: AN ARMY IS RISING

South Africa’s future is written in its youthful demographics, and the numbers are angry, unheard and growing all the time.

Youth unemployment. This is the spark that will start it all; it will be the epicentre of South Africa’s next crisis as Samson dislodges the pillars, collapsing the temple upon all inside. Without fundamental change to the economic structure and business’s attitude towards job creation, the unemployment crisis could sink the economy entirely.

Peak theory

The storm is building, the youth will reach gatvol(ness); they will self-mobilise and their wrath will sweep everything before it and bury us all.

To fully comprehend the severity of this crisis, read the StatsSA’s 2016 report, The Social Profile of the Youth, 2009 – 2014.

Deep youth unemployment means bad times lie ahead, like small clouds on the horizon heralding thunderstorms.

A labour market operating without any real youthful participation will find itself having to answer the difficult questions from that very same youth.

But they probably won’t be interested in the answers.

A few words about the dismal failure of business leaders and politicians to create a common vision for the economy. All players have blindly pursued their own interest, without a thought about the kind of economy they will leave behind for their children, and grandchildren.

Posterity will not be hoodwinked. It will ascribe to us a tag – the generation that pillaged its grandchildren’s wealth and still failed.

Even worse, it will see this epoch as a time when leaders, drunk on the opium of self-enrichment, drove the economy off the cliff.

So, what can be done?

External factors will always impact South Africa; think the global financial crisis of 2008/09. So we need an economy that’s able to withstand them. And Treasury’s discussion documents say young workers are the worst affected by a sluggard economy.

These are my short- to medium-term actions policymakers and key players can take to wrestle down youth unemployment.

First:

Establish a youth-employment framework with clear policies to remove market-entry barriers to promote apprenticeships and skills development, including a scheme aimed at increasing job opportunities for young people by favouring mobility across the country.

Develop training programmes with close cooperation between the public and private sectors to ensure that training needs are demand-driven;

Improve educational outcomes by addressing each segment. Outcomes must be geared towards labour market needs.

Second:

Come up with plans for match skills training with evolving, labour-market demands;

Prioritise knowledge expenditure, including tax incentives and other financial instruments to promote private R&D investment. This spurs innovation, sectoral expansion and job creation.

Support labour policies to enhance job creating and productive capacity; maybe through employment tax incentives.

Pay decent wages and benefits which enable employees to meet basic needs, improve their living standards and hike their ability to purchase goods and services and drive economic expansion.

By themselves, these cannot solve youth unemployment. It is critical the economy also achieves rapid, sustained and inclusive growth.