Today, youth unemployment is the top socioeconomic challenge in South Africa (SA). It is not a new problem is, the situation has been the same for many years. When compared with other countries, it emerges that joblessness in SA is among the highest in the world. In 2013, up to 63% of the youths were jobless. A closer look reveals that the youth unemployment in South Africa has many dimensions as shown in this article.
Those aged from 14 to 24, it is estimated that up to one-third f them are jobless. This is a broad classification that includes those that are not actively searching for a job and those that have given up on the same. As much as the economic condition is the main factor to blame, there are several personal factors that also contribute to this situation.
Other traits that are saleable in the labor market such as good communication skills, work experience, literacy, and technical skills are often missing. This situation resulted from decades of structural failures in the side of the government.
For long, the government had been focusing on the supply side policies to address the problem while doing very little to stimulate the demand side. On the supply side, the focus has been to make formal education accessible to all, regardless of the social background. This is then supplemented with post-school technical trainings, public employment, and the deployment programs. It is a good strategy, but if the employers cannot absorb the graduates, the country ends up with many jobless graduates. This is what SA is witnessing.
In response to these, there are new strategies that have been put in place to address the problem. The Community Works Program (CWP) for instance, was rolled in 2008. This program is designed as the employment safety net. It requires that the individual's livelihood is supplemented by offering a basic income level through work. In India, where the program originated, it is called the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) and it mainly targets the poorest of the poor in the society.
The Public Deployment Program has also gained fame in South Africa. The program is implemented through the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA). The target is to equip the jobless youths with the necessary skills that can make them employable. The program lasts for 12 months, after which the graduates are equipped with the technical skills.
The National Rural Youth Service Corps is also a program enrolled for the same purpose. It targets the youths in the rural areas and was first implemented in September 2010. It involves a 2 years intensive and comprehensive training in skills and the incubation programs. The trainee is then required to undertake community development projects during which they are on the government payroll for their services.
The said programs are focused on the supply side of the problem, the demand side policies implemented so far focuses on giving the employers incentives to employ more people. This in addition to several other policies and proposals on the table should address the problem by open up the economy to absorb more people.
Those aged from 14 to 24, it is estimated that up to one-third f them are jobless. This is a broad classification that includes those that are not actively searching for a job and those that have given up on the same. As much as the economic condition is the main factor to blame, there are several personal factors that also contribute to this situation.
Other traits that are saleable in the labor market such as good communication skills, work experience, literacy, and technical skills are often missing. This situation resulted from decades of structural failures in the side of the government.
For long, the government had been focusing on the supply side policies to address the problem while doing very little to stimulate the demand side. On the supply side, the focus has been to make formal education accessible to all, regardless of the social background. This is then supplemented with post-school technical trainings, public employment, and the deployment programs. It is a good strategy, but if the employers cannot absorb the graduates, the country ends up with many jobless graduates. This is what SA is witnessing.
In response to these, there are new strategies that have been put in place to address the problem. The Community Works Program (CWP) for instance, was rolled in 2008. This program is designed as the employment safety net. It requires that the individual's livelihood is supplemented by offering a basic income level through work. In India, where the program originated, it is called the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) and it mainly targets the poorest of the poor in the society.
The Public Deployment Program has also gained fame in South Africa. The program is implemented through the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA). The target is to equip the jobless youths with the necessary skills that can make them employable. The program lasts for 12 months, after which the graduates are equipped with the technical skills.
The National Rural Youth Service Corps is also a program enrolled for the same purpose. It targets the youths in the rural areas and was first implemented in September 2010. It involves a 2 years intensive and comprehensive training in skills and the incubation programs. The trainee is then required to undertake community development projects during which they are on the government payroll for their services.
The said programs are focused on the supply side of the problem, the demand side policies implemented so far focuses on giving the employers incentives to employ more people. This in addition to several other policies and proposals on the table should address the problem by open up the economy to absorb more people.
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