SA’s youth are disillusioned, discouraged and jobless. If something drastic is not done to tackle the challenge of youth unemployment, the issue is set to implode in the near future. There are people working to fix the problem and many helpful interventions are under way, including those that take care of work readiness. With 27.7% unemployment in the second quarter of 2017, SA’s unemployment rates is one of the highest in the world. In 2015, unemployment among people aged 15 to 29 was about 36% and was more than 50% among those aged 22 to 24. Youth unemployment affects SA’s growth potential and drives poverty, inequality, crime and other societal issues. Working-age youth represent 31% of the working age population. There are several factors contributing to youth unemployment. Low levels of education remain a problem. The Statistics SA 2015 Labour Force survey reports that those with educational levels below matric in SA are close to three times more likely to be discouraged job se...
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