Finding jobs for our young people

South Africa’s most pressing issue is youth unemployment. There are 3.6 million unemployed young people in the country – a whopping 37.5% of the working population.

With the problem easy to identify, the next challenge is to get the right people in a room to come up with a list of ideas that can be translated into action to change the reality of these 3.6 million people. On Tuesday and Wednesday, a carefully selected group of decision-makers will meet for the IDC’s National Entrepreneurship Youth Conference at Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand.

The conference’s aim is to develop partnerships that will drive more young people into the formal economy.

IDC CEO Geoffrey Qhena says: “As one of government’s primary vehicles to support economic growth, the IDC has taken on this mantle to ensure sustainable and long-term solutions so that young people are part of the country’s economic transformation agenda.”

The IDC is all too aware of the challenge at hand, having conducted intensive research into the barriers and opportunities in the youth job market.

“Having approved nearly R1 billion in funding to youth-empowered and youth-owned businesses in the past financial year, the scale of the challenge is all too apparent to us,” Qhena says.

Since 2011, youth-empowered businesses created 1 806 jobs in a range of IDC-supported sectors.

He says despite the R2.7 billion earmarked for youth-owned and youth-empowered enterprises – in collaboration with the IDC’s subsidiary, the Small Enterprise Finance Agency and business support offered by the National Youth Development Agency – much more needs to be done.

Over the next five years, says Qhena, the IDC has committed R4.5 billion to support youth-owned and youth-empowered businesses.

“Entrepreneurship can certainly boost job creation, but institutions such as the IDC cannot tackle this single-handedly. The Youth Conference, therefore, aims to gather all those who are able to make a significant contribution to address this issue.”

Qhena hopes that the two-day gathering will help to find new strategies to produce concrete interventions for young people.

“Our research indicates that the services sector – particularly business services – has the highest potential to create youth employment,” Qhena says. “The relatively low barriers to entry for entrepreneurs, its labour intensity as well as possibly intermediate- to low-skill requirements in certain segments should enable a substantial contribution to youth employment.

“Other sectors that show moderate potential are government and social services, building construction and agriculture, forestry and fishing. Naturally, low-skill jobs may fulfil the immediate need for employment, but carry the long-term danger of restricting future earning potential, so we are looking for ways to develop skills to avoid this.”

The IDC will also be announcing an innovative new platform at the conference that aims to provide ongoing support and interaction on youth enterprise development and entrepreneurship opportunities. – Staff reporter