YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT REQUIRES COORDINATED ACTION

Sir,

Youth unemployment is not often discussed in all its complexities. Like a game of snakes and ladders, this crisis is the result of compounding roadblocks and U-turns that young people face. In conversations with young people about their experiences of unemployment, it is clear that they face multiple roadblocks. These include information gaps, access to infrastructure and resources is another roadblock. Public employment programmes can be roadblocks, if they are not treated as stepping stones to further opportunities.These experiences are not isolated instances. Only six in 100 young people who start Grade I complete some kind of tertiary qualification. Three out of four unemployed young people have been without a job for a year or longer.

Approach

Our approach to solving youth unemployment has not reaped many rewards, because it doesn’t consider this full, complex journey that young people face when transitioning from school to work. The rich civil society landscape, existing government interventions and technological innovations are assets that, if better integrated and coordinated, could unlock job prospects for young people. With a Matric certificate often a requirement in entry level jobs, an educational qualification is a powerful accelerator on the road to quality work and further training. But many young people do not have an educational qualification. School dropout levels are high, and a large number of those who managed to get post-school education and training do not complete their qualification. Although alternative routes to certification exist, they need to be made visible and integrated.

Quality

Colleges are also in the spotlight as they offer a pathway to quality work, especially for young people who leave school after Grade 9 or obtain Matric without a bachelor’s pass. But many college students do not get their qualification because they are unable to complete the practical component of their studies (workplace-based learning). Ensuring that college students complete their qualification requires greater coordination between colleges, industry bodies and employers for the provision of holistic support through the skills development journey and into the labour market.

Most young people have to weigh up the cost of looking for work against basic necessities. Solutions to clear this obstacle include a range of support measures, and technology is a critical lever. Chat-based applications (such as WhatsApp), artificial intelligence and zero-rated sites have the potential to make vacancies visible and reachable. But to ensure that affordable job-seeking becomes a reality, employers should support alternative recruitment platforms and mobile network operators should zero-rate platforms that offer (up) skilling content and job-seeking support.

Opportunity

Although some programmes are a terrific opportunity to kick-start a young person’s journey into earning, they could offer a more sustained return on investment if integrated with the development of scarce skills and longer-term strategies. We can achieve this with a better alignment of skills funding, critical community services (such as early childhood development) and entities that can provide opportunities, mentoring and support.
No single initiative can solve youth unemployment on its own. It’s urgent that we pinpoint the roadblocks in the path of so many young people. Solving the youth unemployment crisis requires greater coordination and collaboration – pooling resources, knowledge and experience make the critical shifts (both large and small) needed to clear the road for young people.

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