Africa-Press – South-Africa. Government will equip young people with skills and resources in a bid to arrest the growing number of unemployed youths.
This is according to Deputy President Paul Mashatile, who appeared in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) for a questions session on Wednesday.
DA MP Sonja Boshoff highlighted the shortages of teachers. She asked Mashatile about his interaction with the National Treasury to find solutions to improve the departments’ budgets.
Mashatile responded: “Our focus is really on hardcore skills. It’s to ensure that young people have jobs. I have not met with Treasury.
“We want to agree, that it is important when young people complete their studies they should be employable. I will engage Treasury to check what the challenges are. We also involve the private sector. I hope this will help going forward.”
“We will create employment opportunities in collaboration with others especially the private sector. We will equip them will skills and resources. It’s not just about access to skills. I am convinced that this is the right approach to help young people.”
The official unemployment rate increased by 0.2 of a percentage point to 32.9% in the first quarter of 2023, from the fourth quarter of last year, Statistics SA reported in May.
The number of unemployed people increased by 179 000 to 7.9 million, the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) shows.
The latest QLFS shows that 61% of young people in that age group were unemployed in the last three months of last year, although that figure is likely to be about 70%, if one considers the expanded unemployment rate.
Bad economic policies, poor economic growth and lack of foresight by government since democracy have exacerbated the legacy of apartheid, say experts.
Figures that Statistics South Africa released in May last year showed unemployment was highest among those aged 15 to 24 (63.9%) and 25 to 34 years (42.1%).
A total of 3.8 million out of 10.2 million people aged 15 to 24 years were not employed, or receiving education or training.
Mashatile said the Presidency was looking at several ways to address challenges facing young people.
“We know that the high levels of unemployment affect mainly young people. We might want to dissect that further to look at various categories. We give skills and then create opportunities to get employment and run their own business. We have to prioritise young people.”
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