SOME 5.5 million young people in South Africa, between 15 and 35 years of age, are still battling to get their foot into the tiny pond of job opportunities.
And the longer they are out of work, the harder it will be for them to find work.
This is according to uThungulu Community Foundation CEO Chris Mkhize, who states the SA government and local leaders need to take a leaf out of developed countries’ book when it comes to job creation.
‘Other countries have problems with unemployment and we can learn from how they address the issue,’ said Mkhize.
‘The UK Government and employer organisations, for instance, are concerned about the lack of work readiness and skills of their young work seekers so they are using three interventions – work experience placements, training courses and giving English language and numeracy support.
‘Australia is one of the 34 countries that make up the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), concerned about the 35 million of their 16 to 29-year-olds who are out of work and gave up looking for jobs.
‘Their research has shown that this was an utter waste of human potential, stemming partly from the fact that their youngsters leave formal education without the right skills for work.
‘Many employers there also claimed it was too expensive to employ young people without work experience – similar to SA.
‘So Australia identified the missing basic skills required and self-employment possibilities to give their youth the right information on starting small businesses and franchises.
‘Government also works closely with employers to ensure their needs are met to offer more work.’
To tackle the issues on home ground, Mkhize stated government must realise global competition for markets, technological changes, increasing consumer demands and new employer needs to stay in business.
‘We need to make serious changes to an education system that does not prepare young people for the world of work and fly-by-night colleges offering worthless post-Matric qualifications to young people desperate for work,’ Mkhize said.
