Johannesburg - While South Africa’s youth are optimistic about their future in the workplace, they face a multitude of obstacles, including hunger and the high cost of looking for jobs, according to a University of Johannesburg (UJ) study.
The Siyakha Youth Assets for Employability Study, which surveyed 2 000 young people who participated in youth employability programmes across the country, also found that a lack of information on how to search and apply for jobs, as well as poor access to social networks, were fundamental barriers to finding work.
The research contained in the study by UJ’s Centre for Social Development in Africa (CSDA) comes at a critical time as the government tries to curb soaring unemployment rates, especially among the youth and school-leavers. Over a third of people aged between 15 and 24 are not in employment, education or training despite interventions from the state, such as the Expanded Public Works Programme and the Employment Tax Incentive, popularly known as the youth wage subsidy.
“A key human development assumption is that investment in education can break the cycle of poverty. However, youth in this study have higher levels of education and many have completed some form of post-secondary education or have a training qualification. Yet they still face unemployment and poverty,” said CSDA deputy director Professor Lauren Graham yesterday.
“This points not only to wider economic challenges that underlie structural unemployment and systemic failures in education, but also to other barriers that keep talented young people locked out of work opportunities.”
A key obstacle was the R500 a month that respondents paid for transport, internet costs, printing, copying, postage and application fees. This amount is roughly equal to the average monthly per person household income of R527.
While the study acknowledged that there were massive structural challenges in the schooling and training system, it said well-formulated youth employability programmes could provide short- to medium-term relief.
“What our research is telling us is that young people need mechanisms which not only harness their potential but also link them and keep them connected to the labour market. Youth employability programmes that connect young people to work experience and job opportunities are critical,” said Graham.
The study focused on interventions and the impact aimed at developing technical and work-related skills, and looked at programmes such as loveLife, Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator, groundBREAKERS and the Raymond Ackerman Academy. The report is the first in a series that will continue to look at the long-term outcomes of these programmes and how to mainstream these interventions to support the transition of youngsters into the labour market.
THE STAR