South Africa: Youth employment a priority, says minister
3 March 2014
The South African minister for performance monitoring and evaluation in the presidency Collins Chabane has highlighted the importance of finding solutions to South Africa’s chronic youth unemployment.
Mon, 3 Mar 2014The South African minister for performance monitoring and evaluation in the presidency Collins Chabane has highlighted the importance of finding solutions to South Africa’s chronic youth unemployment.
Speaking at the opening of the Presidential Youth Indaba on Jobs and Skills on Friday, minister Chabane said that South Africa has one of the highest unemployment rates in the world with about 3.6m youths between the ages of 15 and 29 having no work, reported the South African Government News Agency.
“Finding solutions to youth unemployment is of utmost importance. If we want to increase the absorption and retention of young people into the economy, we need to prioritize pragmatic, demand focused and solutions driven interventions,” said Chabane.
The minister acknowledged that most of South African youth is trapped in temporary, informal and casual work with limited prospects for advancement. He highlighted one initiative, the Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator.
Harambee was formed in 2010 to help young people, who are employable but disadvantaged because they don’t have the money, skills or social know-how, to find jobs. It has placed more than 1,000 candidates in full-time jobs.
Speaking at the opening of the Presidential Youth Indaba on Jobs and Skills on Friday, minister Chabane said that South Africa has one of the highest unemployment rates in the world with about 3.6m youths between the ages of 15 and 29 having no work, reported the South African Government News Agency.
“Finding solutions to youth unemployment is of utmost importance. If we want to increase the absorption and retention of young people into the economy, we need to prioritize pragmatic, demand focused and solutions driven interventions,” said Chabane.
The minister acknowledged that most of South African youth is trapped in temporary, informal and casual work with limited prospects for advancement. He highlighted one initiative, the Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator.
Harambee was formed in 2010 to help young people, who are employable but disadvantaged because they don’t have the money, skills or social know-how, to find jobs. It has placed more than 1,000 candidates in full-time jobs.
