Youth unemployment remains one of the top challenges facing South Africans today. Surprising though, it is not a new problem. The problem persists every year, thanks to the rapidly increasing population. Today, the government figures, but the rate of youth unemployment in South Africa at 63% by 2013. This problem is mainly as a result of structural failures over decades.
It is estimated that one-third of those aged 14 to 24 are jobless and are not in any active education or training. This situation results mainly from the prevailing economic conditions. The personality trait also has a major contribution to the joblessness situation. Most of these people have low levels of education, the majority having dropped out of school at early age.
However, some employers have complained that the majority of those who applies for the job lack the necessary skills such as the communication skills, low levels of education, and lack of the necessary skills. This is as a result of social inequities that force many people from a poor background to drop out of school at an early age. Most of them also fail to access any post-school training and ends in social crimes.
In the realization of this, the government has put in place a number of policies targeted to address the situation. However, the measures are not enough and most are criticized for too much focus on the supply side of the labor market with too little done on the demand side. The supply side programs mainly focus on equipping the youths with the necessary skills for the job market.
The Community Work Program (CWP) is an example of the programs that are being used to tackle the problem of unemployment in general. Although it does not target youths directly, up to 65% of those enrolled in this program are below the age of 35. It was started in 2008 and aims at supplementing the livelihood of the members with a basic income through some job. .
The other program that has been implemented in South Africa to address the challenge is the public deployment program. Though not widespread, the program is usually implemented through the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA). The program generally targets the youths that are not employed and those that lack the requisite skills needed for the job market. It takes 12 months and impacts the technical skills that are in high demand to the trainees.
Like many other countries, South Africa has a well-developed program under the National Rural Youth Service Corps burner. The first face was in September of 2010 and the second phase is to begin soon. The program requires a 2 year intensive training after which the trainees are released to undertake the rural development projects. During this time, they are paid by the government and helps raise the living standards of the communities where they work while earning income.
In addition to the supply side policies, there are a number of demand-side policies that target the employer. In order to stimulate the demand on the labor market, employment subsidy has been proposed. It targets to compensate the employers on the cost used to train the new employees.There are several other proposals on the table, however, all interventions must take into consideration the structural complexity presented by unemployment statistics in South Africa.
It is estimated that one-third of those aged 14 to 24 are jobless and are not in any active education or training. This situation results mainly from the prevailing economic conditions. The personality trait also has a major contribution to the joblessness situation. Most of these people have low levels of education, the majority having dropped out of school at early age.
However, some employers have complained that the majority of those who applies for the job lack the necessary skills such as the communication skills, low levels of education, and lack of the necessary skills. This is as a result of social inequities that force many people from a poor background to drop out of school at an early age. Most of them also fail to access any post-school training and ends in social crimes.
In the realization of this, the government has put in place a number of policies targeted to address the situation. However, the measures are not enough and most are criticized for too much focus on the supply side of the labor market with too little done on the demand side. The supply side programs mainly focus on equipping the youths with the necessary skills for the job market.
The Community Work Program (CWP) is an example of the programs that are being used to tackle the problem of unemployment in general. Although it does not target youths directly, up to 65% of those enrolled in this program are below the age of 35. It was started in 2008 and aims at supplementing the livelihood of the members with a basic income through some job. .
The other program that has been implemented in South Africa to address the challenge is the public deployment program. Though not widespread, the program is usually implemented through the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA). The program generally targets the youths that are not employed and those that lack the requisite skills needed for the job market. It takes 12 months and impacts the technical skills that are in high demand to the trainees.
Like many other countries, South Africa has a well-developed program under the National Rural Youth Service Corps burner. The first face was in September of 2010 and the second phase is to begin soon. The program requires a 2 year intensive training after which the trainees are released to undertake the rural development projects. During this time, they are paid by the government and helps raise the living standards of the communities where they work while earning income.
In addition to the supply side policies, there are a number of demand-side policies that target the employer. In order to stimulate the demand on the labor market, employment subsidy has been proposed. It targets to compensate the employers on the cost used to train the new employees.There are several other proposals on the table, however, all interventions must take into consideration the structural complexity presented by unemployment statistics in South Africa.
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