Hope Ntanzi|Published
President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged businesses to give young people their first job opportunities, warning that employers cannot keep rejecting jobseekers for lacking the very experience they need to secure employment.
Speaking at the SA Youth National Leadership Convening on Thursday, Ramaphosa said youth unemployment was an economic, social and human challenge, with the ANC Youth League characterising it as a “crisis” and a “disaster”.
“Every young person who wants to work but cannot find employment represents potential that is not being realised, potential that is being wasted,” he said.
Access to education and training had expanded since the advent of democracy, but too many young people remained unemployed.
Ramaphosa called for stronger co-operation between government, businesses and educational institutions to remove barriers to employment and create meaningful opportunities.
Employers urged to give young people a first chance
The president said young people often struggled to secure their first jobs because employers expected them to have previous work experience.
“We must break this cycle,” he said, calling on businesses and the public sector to look beyond employment history and recognise young applicants’ potential, aptitude and willingness to learn.
“We must stop treating a lack of experience as a lack of ability. Let us recognise potential. Let us also look for aptitude, for determination, for that fire in young people's eyes, and that willingness to learn.
“A young person should not have to spend years searching for an opportunity simply because no employer is prepared to give them a first chance.”
The president said he had encountered young people who remained at home without work, including some older than 35 who had never been employed.
He also highlighted graduates unable to secure their first jobs, young people whose applications went unanswered and aspiring entrepreneurs who lacked capital, networks and support.
He encouraged young jobseekers to upload their CVs to the SA Youth mobi-site to connect with potential opportunities.
Ramaphosa said about 70% of formally employed South Africans worked in the private sector, compared with about 30% in the public sector. He said 16.7 million South Africans were formally employed, compared with around eight million when the ANC came into government.
He said the government had to create an enabling environment for employment, while businesses needed to invest and open their workplaces to young people.
Ramaphosa also pointed to a government initiative to fund the early retirement of long-serving public servants to create opportunities for younger workers. He said the departure of one teacher could allow up to three younger people to enter the profession.
‘Certificates are not jobs’
Ramaphosa said skills development needed to lead to employment, rather than leaving young people with qualifications but no clear path into the labour market.
“Certificates are not jobs,” he said.
He said he had directed ministers to move away from simply training young people and issuing certificates without ensuring that the training led to real employment opportunities.
“Our objective cannot simply be to place young people in temporary programmes. It must be to create pathways into sustainable livelihoods,” he said.
Public employment programmes had helped young people gain experience while contributing to areas such as education, food security, community safety and environmental protection.
About two million young people had entered such programmes since the Covid-19 pandemic, Ramaphosa said, but temporary placements needed to lead to further training, entrepreneurship or lasting employment.
He urged businesses to work more closely with technical and vocational education and training (TVET) colleges, including by adopting institutions, departments or programmes and contributing industry expertise to prepare young people for work.
Pointing to Germany and Switzerland, he said their dual training systems allowed employers to help young people develop skills for future employment.
“This is not an appeal for charity to employers. It is an appeal for investment in the future of our economy,” he said.
Ramaphosa also called for greater investment in technical and vocational careers, including artisan and technician training. Businesses needed to help address the legacy of Bantu education by investing in the development of future employees.
“We must change our training system and be more focused and embark on a skills revolution, where young people will be trained for jobs, not for certificates,” he said.
Young people urged to shape the economy
Ramaphosa said young people brought energy, creativity and adaptability to an economy increasingly shaped by digital innovation, artificial intelligence and cleaner energy.
He urged them to become active participants in these changes as innovators, entrepreneurs, technicians, researchers, artisans and business leaders.
He cited initiatives including the Presidential Youth Employment Intervention, the SA Youth Pathways Network, the Youth Employment Service and Harambee as efforts to connect young people with opportunities.
However, Ramaphosa said addressing unemployment required action from employers, government and young people themselves, with training aligned to the needs of the economy and more routes into sustainable work.
IOL News