Experts in the field of economics, Ms Precious Mncayi and Mr Jacques de Jongh – both from the North-West University’s (NWU’s) campus in Vanderbijlpark – is of the opinion that the country’s youth unemployment figures are not only worrisome, but that it also necessitate the implementation of a range of public and private interventions.
According to Mncayi and De Jongh, various issues come to the fore in terms of youth unemployment.
Firstly, most of the major obstacles young people face in acquiring decent employment revolve around the inequitable provision of quality education which has led to a misalignment between the skills required by the private sector and those supplied by new jobseekers. In the face of structural changes, labour demands have been directed mainly at highly skilled labour, which in reality has come at the cost of many low-skilled workers.
Furthermore the failure of the education system to adequately equip these young jobseekers means that young people enter the labour market with inefficient technical and soft skills (communication, emotional maturity etc.), which are required by employers. Youths applying for jobs lack labour market knowledge and have limited information on job search processes. Other factors include challenges in securing employment (due to the impoverished background of many of the young jobseekers), lacking social capital or networks that assist in facilitating better job searches and, the absence of the necessary monetary support that allows jobseekers to overcome geographical difficulties.
While these employment barriers mainly revolve around the supply of these young workers, any attempt at improving the general employment outlook for the country needs to be accompanied with an improved sustainable growth path and the subsequent relaxation of strict labour regulations.
Currently economic performances have been too sluggish to facilitate the uptake of the increasing numbers of new labour market entrants. A Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of at least 3% is required to facilitate job creation. Highly restrictive labour legislation has also contributed to the reluctance of firms to employ the youth. Strict labour laws make it increasingly difficult to fire unproductive workers and therefore - in relation to the risk these inexperienced workers pose - result in employers shying away from employing them.
Solutions for the creation of youth employment
In an effort to offer possible solutions to the youth unemployment crisis, Mncayi and De Jongh suggest the following interventions:
- Improving the education system
There are gaps that often exist in the labour market, particularly due to insufficient information sharing between employers and higher education institutions. Curriculum designers need to pay careful attention to the content of TVET colleges and university courses. They have to make sure that these curriculums are as practical as possible to help graduates - once they are in the job market and consequently make the transition from higher education institutions to work – to secure employment. This is very important as it will ensure that for instance cognitive and analytical skills that young people have acquired, are widely transferable.
- Increased exposure to career guidance
Again, this point could be linked to an improved education system. Much should be done to expose young people to career guidance and higher education institutions should hold regular career exhibitions to bridge the gap that exists between demand and supply in the labour market, and to ensure that students are fully informed on the relevancy of courses, including employment opportunities. Social enterprise initiatives and non-profit organisations could also help facilitate the connection between unemployed youth and potential employers.
- Entrepreneurship
One of the major challenges confronting South Africa is creating jobs through a culture of entrepreneurship. At times many small businesses are faced with funding problems, resulting in them not being able to employ others to help run the business. Young people keen on starting businesses should not only rely only on banks to provide them with capital; government should also intervene by making it easier for people to start and maintain businesses. Training on managing small businesses should be improved, especially given the high small business failure rate of 63% in the first two years of trading. Entrepreneurship is already a catalyst for growth and that is evidenced by the number of people it employs - from 18% in the late 1990s to more than 60% currently.
- Provision of training or work experience
Since the unemployment crisis in South Africa is structural in nature, ways of addressing it might also include training and retraining people who are unemployed so that their skills are in line with the skills demanded by industry. Young people should also be more exposed to vocational training, work experience training (for instance volunteering), and even internships. This will not only give young people the opportunity to gain formal work experience, but will also improve their chances of finding employment. This may also enhance their odds of moving to full-time and permanent employment.
- Wage expectations
Young people are often misinformed about the pace of success in the workplace. For instance, some may decline internship opportunities that offer very low stipends in the hope that they will find something that pays better. This short-term thinking is not wise as one forfeits the opportunity to gain invaluable work experience. Young people should therefore lower their wage expectations, especially considering the reality that market clearing wages are often below reservation wages. Young people should realise the value of hard work and commitment, and should have realistic expectations about employment success for new labour market entrants.
