South Africa will be celebrating its annual Youth Day on Saturday, with the theme for June: “Live the Legacy: Towards a socio-economically empowered youth.”
Millions of South African youths have however, very little to celebrate. According to Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) approximately 3.3million of the 10.3million young people aged between 14-24 years were not in employment, education or training in the first quarter of 2018. This implies that close to one in three young South Africans in this age group were disengaged with the labour market. More than 10% of the graduates aged between 25–34 years could not find a job, despite their education. The burden of unemployment is also concentrated amongst the youth as they account for 63,5% of the total number of unemployed persons. Lack of employability skills Dr Karina de Bruin, JvR Academy Managing Director, says these results are a “sad reality”, despite efforts over the years to improve the plight of South Africa’s future generations. “The education system focuses on subject and functional competencies. And that should indeed be the case,” she says. “One should be able to read, write, calculate, understand history, geography and science. All these subjects contribute to potential career and personal development.” However, a crucial element of career and personal development is employability and the skills that makes one employable. The employability skills listed by employers include: problem solving, initiative and self-motivation, coping with pressure, team work, ability to learn and adapt, valuing diversity and negotiating skills. “The education system is lacking when it comes to this aspect of employability. We should also not forget that the individual is as important in determining employability.” Responsibility for one’s own development De Bruin refers to a Malaysian study which demonstrates that “self-concept, participation in career development activities, and industrial training” play the biggest role in terms of the acquisition of employability skills. The first two elements are solely related to the individual. She says another aspect that should be added is self-directedness: taking responsibility for one's own development. Young people need to look for opportunities to develop their workplace and functional skills, but also to obtain behavioural competencies that will contribute to finding and keeping a job. “Employability skills are often overlooked when attempts are made to make the youth economically active.” Many people have become involved in youth initiatives, simply because it seems to be the right thing to do. There is a lot of talking, just to advance their own careers. “If we look at the huge numbers of young people who go untouched by many of the youth bodies, it is indeed unsettling,” De Bruin remarks. Small steps for future change “My philosophy in terms of people development has always been that you only need to touch one or two people... They go back to their communities and make a difference in the lives of those around them as well.” De Bruin believes simple and small changes is achievable to have meaningful long-term effects. One step is to infuse the education curriculum with employability skills development, another is to enhance communication channels between important role players so that everybody starts putting words into action. ENDS MEDIA CONTACT: Idéle Prinsloo, 082 573 9219, idele@thatpoint.co.za, www.atthatpoint.co.za ABOUT JvR Africa Group: JvR Africa Group of companies consists of JvR Psychometrics, JvR Consulting Psychologists, JvR Academy, and JvR Safety. With it’s head office is situated in Johannesburg; the group conducts business nationally and across Sub-Saharan Africa. They work with test developers, consultants and academic institutions all over the world and supports a range of development opportunities and hosts events around People Development in Africa, a cause they feel is extremely important to the future of our continent. For more information on JvR Africa Group please visit: Website: https://jvrafricagroup.co.za/ LinkedIn: JvR Africa Group Facebook: The JvR Africa Group - People Development in Africa Twitter: JvR Africa Group YouTube: The JvR Africa Group
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Author: Dr Karina de Bruin, Managing Director, JvR Academy, a division of the JvR Africa Group
It is a well-known fact to anyone in South Africa that the country is suffering from an extremely high unemployment rate. Compared to adults, the unemployment rate among the youth, irrespective of educational level, is significantly higher. Close to 30% of young persons (15-24 years) appear not to be in employment, education or training. When the age margins for the youth population are expanded to early thirties, the unemployment rate reaches levels of almost 56%. Many youngsters do not find a job because of the mismatch between their education or training and labour market needs and requirements. Adding to this bleak picture, more and more reports and articles predicting how technology is going to replace jobs, or rather replacing the people holding those jobs, are being published by credible sources. These figures are not particularly encouraging for those who are experiencing unemployment. They also don’t paint a positive picture for learners who are preparing for their final school exams prior to entering higher education institutions or the work place. There is hope Fortunately, the published forecasts do not only predict gloom. Sometimes reading between the lines, there is a lot of hope for the future of human work. A recent article in the Harvard Business Review highlights several human characteristics that would be extremely relevant in the future world of work. These include imagination, creativity, and strategy. Along the same lines, a recent Deloitte report mentions that the capacity for creativity and problem-solving will set one employee apart from another in future work settings. Work activities that involve these abilities are not that easy to automate and therefore the involvement of people (rather than robots) is almost guaranteed. Furthermore, a basic internet search of non-technical workplace skills and analyses of job advertisements have confirmed the importance of these and many other skills. These include among others teamwork, communication, self-management, planning and organising, initiative, critical thinking, and adaptability. These skills are often commonly referred to as 21st century skills or employability skills. Employability skills are those skills that are necessary for finding, keeping, and being successful in a job. In times of high unemployment and work environments marked by technological take over, employers have a larger pool of applicants to choose from and will favour those with well-rounded employability skills. Although these skills can be developed, some of these come naturally to many individuals, in which instance they can be regarded as strengths. And seeing that they are extremely relevant in the workplace, we can even call them workplace strengths. Strengths can be defined as underlying qualities that give us energy, help us grow and lead to high levels of performance. For example, if someone has a strength in terms of strategic mindedness, it is likely that he or she will be energised by focusing on the future and taking a strategic perspective on issues and challenges that he or she is confronted with. Such a person may play a valuable role in any organisation – especially in the current volatile world of work, where organisations often need to be flexible to adjust their strategy to cope effectively with the challenges. Identifying strengths To differentiate yourself from the thousands of applicants out there in the same position as you, you need to understand what it is that makes you stand out. One way of doing this is to identify and reflect on “defining moments” in all the areas of your life – this could include school, part-time jobs, volunteer work, and previous full-time employment. Identify times when you felt energised and performed at your best – remember that we are getting energised by our strengths! Ask yourself questions such as: “what did I learn about myself and my strengths from these situations? What type of work really energises me?” Discussions with friends and colleagues, who shared these environments with you provide a good platform for identifying these underlying strengths. This strengths-based approach turns individual development upside down. Instead of focusing on weaknesses that need to be overcome, it focuses on natural talents and on finding ways to complement them with further use and development. However, this approach should not provide any excuse for not being aware of and developing other important qualities and skills. For example, if teamwork does not come naturally to you, it might be good to challenge yourself to go beyond what you regard as your natural talents. It is therefore of the greatest importance to identify opportunities where your newly acquired skills, as well as your natural employability talents can be developed to enhance your chances of getting the job you really want. ENDS MEDIA CONTACT: Idéle Prinsloo, 082 573 9219, idele@thatpoint.co.za, www.atthatpoint.co.za ABOUT JvR Africa Group: JvR Africa Group of companies consists of JvR Psychometrics, JvR Consulting Psychologists, JvR Academy, and JvR Safety. With its head office situated in Johannesburg; the group conducts business nationally and across Sub-Saharan Africa. They work with test developers, consultants and academic institutions all over the world, support a range of development opportunities and host events around People Development in Africa, a cause they feel is extremely important for the future of our continent. For more information on JvR Africa Group please visit: Website: https://jvrafricagroup.co.za/ LinkedIn: JvR Africa Group Facebook: The JvR Africa Group - People Development in Africa Twitter: JvR Africa Group YouTube: The JvR Africa Group |
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