Youth Unemployment in South Africa: Reasons, Costs and Solutions
Youth Unemployment in South Africa:
Reasons, Costs and Solutions
Word Count: +- 1940 words
Introduction – A description of the question: “What are the causes of youth unemployment?”
A high employment rate among the people of a nation promotes a spirit of dignity, independence, achievement and innovation – it isn’t only about earning a form of income. In stark contrast, unemployment in South Africa is accompanied by social troubles such as violence, poverty, a loss of morale, crime, social degradation and political disengagement. (du Toit, 2003) Furthermore, the reason why youth unemployment is such a large concern is that a high youth unemployment rate shows that the youth waiting to be employed aren’t gaining the necessary skills or experience needed to further advance the economy, which then prevents the country’s economic development and forces a greater liability on the government to provide social support.
The three main reasons for the youth in South Africa being unemployed can be summarized as follows: (Kearney, 2009)
1. Firstly, businesses perceive young, inexperienced jobseekers as a risky investment and would rather opt for existing skills and experience.
2. Secondly, schooling is not a substitute for skills, and that’s why education can’t be regarded as a consistent indicator of an individual’s capabilities. Furthermore, poor schooling quality in South Africa feeds into mediocre workplace learning capability.
3. Lastly, given the uncertainty about the occupational potential of young people just graduating from high school, employers consider entry-level wages to be too high in relation to the risk of appointing inexperienced personnel.
It can be seen that young people are particularly disadvantaged in the South African labour market. Another contributor to the already precarious situation though, came in the form of the global recession in 2008. Employment of people between the ages of 18 and 24 fell by more than
Reasons, Costs and Solutions
Word Count: +- 1940 words
Introduction – A description of the question: “What are the causes of youth unemployment?”
A high employment rate among the people of a nation promotes a spirit of dignity, independence, achievement and innovation – it isn’t only about earning a form of income. In stark contrast, unemployment in South Africa is accompanied by social troubles such as violence, poverty, a loss of morale, crime, social degradation and political disengagement. (du Toit, 2003) Furthermore, the reason why youth unemployment is such a large concern is that a high youth unemployment rate shows that the youth waiting to be employed aren’t gaining the necessary skills or experience needed to further advance the economy, which then prevents the country’s economic development and forces a greater liability on the government to provide social support.
The three main reasons for the youth in South Africa being unemployed can be summarized as follows: (Kearney, 2009)
1. Firstly, businesses perceive young, inexperienced jobseekers as a risky investment and would rather opt for existing skills and experience.
2. Secondly, schooling is not a substitute for skills, and that’s why education can’t be regarded as a consistent indicator of an individual’s capabilities. Furthermore, poor schooling quality in South Africa feeds into mediocre workplace learning capability.
3. Lastly, given the uncertainty about the occupational potential of young people just graduating from high school, employers consider entry-level wages to be too high in relation to the risk of appointing inexperienced personnel.
It can be seen that young people are particularly disadvantaged in the South African labour market. Another contributor to the already precarious situation though, came in the form of the global recession in 2008. Employment of people between the ages of 18 and 24 fell by more than
Bibliography: DU TOIT, Dr Rènette. 2003. Human Sciences Research Council. Date of access: 24 March 2013. KEARNEY, Marna. 2009. Econ RSA. Date of access: 23 March 2013. LEVINSOHN, James. 2007. Yale Academic Commons. Date of access: 24 March 2013. NATIONAL TREASURY. 2011. African Economic Outlook. Date of access: 22 March 2013. WIJNBERG, Catherine. 2013. Tackling youth unemployment in South Africa. http://www.ujuh.co.za/opinions/tackling-youth-unemployment-in-south-africa/ Date of access: 29 March 2013.