South Africa’s employment issues post-SONA
In his State of the Nation address on Thursday night (12 February 2015), President Jacob Zuma welcomed top achievers saying, “Youth are our future. Their success fills us with immense pride.”
The president made some surprisingly positive announcements in terms of job creation, highlighting that 15.3 million South Africans are employed with growth of 203 000 in the fourth quarter of 2014.
What is still deeply concerning is that the real issue which lies at the root of our country’s development has still not been adequately attended to, this being the education of the youth he refers to.
President Zuma said that in his 2014 State of the Nation Address, he outlined the target of six million job opportunities by 2019 and having created a total of 850 000 work opportunities thus far, South Africa is on target to create one million job opportunities by the end of 2015.
However, according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) South Africa’s unemployment rate is the 8th worst in the world at 25% which is staggeringly high and has to be addressed through any and all means possible.
The fact that so many job opportunities have been created but this still having little impact on lowering the level of unemployment emphasises the challenge of delivering the standard of education and training required to meet South Africa’s economic needs. This is a major contributing factor to the state of unemployment as it stands today and youth unemployment specifically which currently stands at about 36.1%.
While the 75.8% matric pass rate for the class of 2014 represents a 2.4% drop from the 2013 pass rate of 78.2%, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said the bar had been raised to improve the quality of the examination outcome and enhance the standard of Grade 12 graduates.
Out of the total number of learners who wrote their final exam, only 28.3% (150 752) qualified for admission to bachelor studies. This highlights that although over 75% of 2014’s matric learners had passed their exam, just over a quarter would be able to study further at a University - that is if they have the financial means to do so.
Even youth who have a tertiary qualification are not guaranteed a job if the skills they have acquired through their studies are not needed by business and industry.
The youth needs to consider which skills are required in South Africa and which are perhaps experiencing a skill shortage like engineering and manufacturing. It is also crucial that these potential employment fields are properly communicated to them.
With President Zuma’s announcement of positive progress in terms of Youth Wage Subsidy uptake by business, we need to encourage the fast tracking of initiatives like this tax incentive to ensure our youth are given adequate opportunities for employment going forward.
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Kay Vittee is the CEO of Quest Staffing Solutions and previously she worked at Absa. Kay is also a superb business leader who inspires her organisation to live the essence of superior customer service. Clients trust her judgement and will continue to include her in driving quality solutions for their businesses. |
