QUALITY EDUCATION IS KEY TO SOLVE CRISIS

THERE is no denying that youth unemployment is an intractable problem in South Africa. The biggest issues cited involve the evolving nature of the labour market and mismatches between the skills needed in the labour market and those provided through the educational system.

Research also indicates that a key challenge facing young job seekers, in particular, is the fact that South Africa’s labour market favours highly skilled employees. In addition, South African employers, in their apparent distrust of the quality of education received by young people, have raised the bar for entry into low-level jobs even higher.

A recent national study of participants in a youth employability programme reported that the average transport and other work-seeking costs for young people were around R560 a month. This stands against the average per capita household income for the same group of youth of R527 a month. Therefore, it is clear that the challenge of youth unemployment is a structural issue requiring massive policy adjustments, political will and time. But what can be done in the interim?

Numerous research findings often cite entrepreneurship as a key driver to employment creation and to breaking the chains of poverty. I beg to differ. I really do not believe that there should be growing reliance on entrepreneurs because promising a nation increased self-reliance, through entrepreneurship, is not realistic amid a technical recession.

The 2017/18 global entrepreneurship monitor’s (GEM) report for South Africa shows the total earlystage entrepreneurial activity stands at 11 percent. This is 4.1 percentage points higher compared to a score of 6.9 percent in 2016.

While this is commendable, the fact remains that for most young people in South Africa, both work and entrepreneurship opportunities are few and far between.

In South Africa, a critical aspect we should enhance is not just entrepreneurial ideas and innovation, but we also need to provide access to information on careers and occupations, as well as highlight the skills that industries need. We need to fund access to free data and wi-fi hotspots for use on cellphones or internet cafés to enable young people to search for job opportunities or for postsecondary education and training opportunities.

Melanie Mulholland is the Human Capital and Skills Development Executive at the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa.