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Youth upbeat about careers in SA

Johannesburg - South African youth are optimistic about the country and believe it is a good place to have a successful career, a new survey showed on Thursday.

The survey conducted by the Gordon Institute of Business Science (Gibs) showed the majority of senior high school students are upbeat about their career prospects, and see their future employment opportunities improving within the next five years.

Out of the 900 grade 11 and 12 learners surveyed at the Gibs Career Expo in Johannesburg, 78% anticipated that in 2016 South Africa would be a better place to work in than this year.

They believe that getting a job at home would be easier than abroad, hence the positive outlook.

The consensus among 80% was that they would have a "great life" in South Africa, while 72% said they felt safe living in the country.

Phyllis Byars, senior manager of the Gibs Centre for Leadership and Dialogue, says although the results of the survey were surprising they are also an indication of what tomorrow’s leaders are thinking.

“The results are very encouraging,” said Byars.

“It demonstrates that the youth are incredibly positive about their future in South Africa and are committed to making a career for themselves in the country.”

When it came to black economic empowerment (BEE), 70% of learners agreed that BEE was the right policy to address social and economic challenges, while 60% did not believe that it would affect their career development negatively.

Just over 60% believed that the government was doing a good job of running the country and 70% believed improvements in South Africa would come mostly through government actions.

With regards to job opportunities in other parts of the world, 80% said at some point in their careers they would like to go work elsewhere in the world.

The aim would be to garner experience and return with new skills. The top two popular destinations were England and Australia. A further 88% indicated that they were proud of their "rainbow nation".

The learners are part of the Spirit of Youth high school leaders’ programme at Gibs. The group comprised top learners in Grade 11 and Grade 12 from a diverse range of schools from townships, the inner city, former Model C and private institutions.

Learners were selected on the criteria that each had been a leader in their school or community.

“We should all be excited about these views because it means that our youth is willing to make our country work, which is a positive thing,” said Byars.

The survey was the second; last year's had 140 participants.
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