We can solve Youth Unemployment with Access over Opportunity
by Pieter Twine, General Manager: MySchool MyVillage MyPlanet
Youth Month is often used to highlight career opportunities for young people in South Africa. My aim for Youth Month 2023 is that we don’t simply highlight opportunities, but rather focus on improving how we can give young people access to those opportunities.
According to the National Business Initiative, youth (people aged 15-34) in South Africa make up around 36% of the country’s total population, but represent approximately 75% of total unemployment – with 4.9 million in total, unemployed, according to the Q1 2023 Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS).
Just over 1 million young people exit the education system every year, but 43% of these become discouraged from seeking employment within just 6 months. Within a year of lea...