There was a time when the path to success was predictable. A time when we used to recite “education is the key to success” because indeed education was a clear path to success. A better life was clearly linked to getting good grades and an opportunity to be accepted at a university, along with the means to fund studies.
The path was clear: get good grades, apply and be accepted at a university, raise funds to pay university fees, pass all modules and finish your degree and then you would have achieved your ticket out of poverty. This was a path for many of us who were gifted academically.
Access to higher education was the biggest hurdle to pass, followed by the ability to fund your studies. Thanks to policies adopted by the government of today, the barrier of access to higher education is being partially solved.
StatsSA indicates that enrolment at universities improved for all population groups in 2021 compared to 2002. Although the race advantage/disadvantage continues to raise its ugly head, shaping the destiny and future of our young people is on track. Black student participation increased by 2.4% between 2002 and 2021, where 5.3% of black students were enrolled at South African Universities in 2021.
While the increase is noteworthy, it’s worthwhile to also note that black Africans constitute most young adult students in numbers, yet their participation rate continued to be lower compared to the Indian/Asian at 16.2% and the white population group at 24.6%.
As access to education is being solved for many, a new barrier to success has emerged. Despite the pursuit of higher education and training, many young people find themselves going back home after graduation as they struggle to secure employment. One of the reasons cited are the mismatches between labour market demands and educational qualifications.
The economy is demanding less people and we are, therefore, training graduates for unemployment as South Africa appears to be producing graduates faster than the economy can employ them. This means that education is no longer the key to success as we recited it. The cheese has moved for our youth. Education is now simply one path to success rather than the path to success.
StatsSA indicates that the level of youth unemployment is sitting at 46.5% in the 15-34 age range, painting a desperate picture as the youth account for over half of the country’s employable population of 40.6 million aged between 15 and 64.
The youth in South Africa continue to be the most disadvantaged in the labour market, as they also experience underemployment at higher rates than older people. Underemployment is defined as an under-use of a worker because a job does not use the workers skills, either it’s part-time, or leaves the worker idle.
For the first time we saw newly graduated doctors not being placed for work despite the shortage of medical doctors in the public healthcare sector. We also have graduates who have become courier drivers or Uber drivers if they have been lucky enough to get a driving licence, clear examples of graduates who are doing jobs that they didn’t get training and education for.
This has rippling effects for the fibre of society because it is no secret that unemployment largely affects the previously marginalised groups, with most of them studying through the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (Nsfas), which provides financial assistance to students from low-income backgrounds to pursue tertiary education. While this support is crucial, it often comes in the form of loans that need to be repaid upon graduation. Now this becomes a huge problem with the high unemployment rate and underemployment.
What this means is that as a society, we are failing our youth. We are failing to define in predictable terms the path and equation to success. When we allow the economy to be mismanaged, we fail to identify the skills and groom our youth for the skills that the economy needs.
Academics need to take back their place in society and provide thought leadership in how we must manage this society. Economist must think and guide us towards frameworks for managing a successful economy for our time. Sociologists must guide us on how we re-engineer our society to be ready for the economy of our time. Entrepreneurs must find solutions for problems of our time. Big business must invest and partner with institutions of higher learning to provide the skills needed by the economy of our time.
Therefore, as we approach National Youth Day which is celebrated under the theme: “Accelerating youth economic emancipation for a sustainable future”, let all sectors of society come on board, where each one focuses on their knitting to provide direction for our youth.
Dr Sibongile Vilakazi is the president of the Black Management Forum.
BUSINESS REPORT