Even as South Africa slowly emerges from the suffocating financial grip of the Covid-19 pandemic, lately launched employment statistics proceed to make for grim reading, with practically eight million folks unemployed.
South Africa truly recorded improved financial activity within the fourth quarter of 2021, including an growth in real GDP of 1.2% in comparison with the earlier quarter, however unemployment still reached record levels.
Denice Dumisa
According to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS), unemployment in Q4 last year rose to 35.3% from 34.9% within the previous quarter. This is the highest level because the start of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey in 2008.
Even extra alarmingly, the youth unemployment fee stood at a staggering 65.5%.
The latest employment knowledge was launched on the finish of March by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), and got here just days after South Africa managed to draw R1.2 trillion in funding through the fourth South Africa Investment Conference.
Analysts have described the country’s economy as “producing jobless growth” and imagine that even with upward economic progress in the medium term, South Africa will still have an overall unemployment figure of around 30%.
Youth unemployment is a global concern, even more acutely pronounced in South Africa, where the latest figures are sounding important alarm bells.
In late 2021, Stats SA reported that two out of every three young people under the age of 35 in South Africa are unemployed. For the age cohort under 25, this rises to 3 out of each four, or a jarring 75%.
But in and amongst the dire unemployment statistics there are rays of light on tips on how to begin to effectively handle this socio-economic disaster.
Education is key
According to the QLFS report, of the 7,9 million unemployed individuals within the fourth quarter of 2021, as many as fifty one,6% had education ranges below matric.
This number of unemployed drops the upper the training level. Those with a Matric cross constitute 38.6% of unemployed and this figure drops substantially for these with different tertiary qualifications (6.9%) and graduates who constitute solely 2.4% of South Africa’s formal unemployed.
เครื่องมือวัดความดันคือ ’s Organisational Capability, Learning and Development Manager Lindiwe Ncongwane stated: “It is an usually repeated mantra that schooling is the vital thing to success, however the labour drive survey definitely bears this out.
“Education allied to opportunity is the golden key to breaking this cycle of unemployment and to create a future for young individuals within the country.”
Astron Energy, which operates South Africa’s second largest community of retail websites including the Caltex model, runs a selection of Youth Development Programmes masking each educational assist and workplace and experiential studying opportunities.
Astron Energy’s Youth Development Programmes embrace:
Learnerships
Bursaries
Apprenticeships
In-Service-Training
Graduate Internship Programme
Opportunities
According to Ncongwane, South African Corporates have a key position to play in providing alternatives for graduates and those with other qualifications to help reduce the number of unemployed, and likewise to assist construct a era of employable younger people.
“Investments in training and abilities improvement, allied to schooling qualifications, will assist construct a workforce that is multi-skilled and capable of adapt to a multitude of tasks and industries,” she mentioned.
The 2020 Future of Work report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) discovered that 50% of all staff will need reskilling by 2025 as adoption of know-how increases.
The report additionally listed crucial pondering and problem-solving as leading expertise employers believe shall be needed over the subsequent five years, while newer trends centre on self-management abilities similar to active studying, resilience, stress tolerance and suppleness.
According to Ncongwane, a key part of Astron Energy’s focus is to equip young individuals for the world of work, not solely at Astron Energy and the petrochemical business, however the throughout a spread of disciplines to allow them to be globally competitive.
The firm also runs numerous school-level initiatives in the STEM area, however according to the 4th Industrial Revolution’s concentrate on the 3Cs of Communication, Critical considering and Collaboration, has broadened this to STEAM – Science, Technology, Arts and Maths – in a bid to develop problem-solving and process-based studying.
The method forward
“As a rustic, we have to proceed investing in the schooling of our younger people, significantly in the important skills area, and then create alternatives for them to use these skills and develop in workplace environments,” Ncongwane mentioned.
“As corporates we need to design a range of programmes and initiatives to fulfill not solely the wants of the business, but in addition the future of work – and critically the lengthy run employment potentialities for our younger folks.
“If we do that proper, we are able to begin changing the outlook on the employment entrance and be positive that economic growth has a tangible impression on the futures and livelihoods of the generations to return.”
In the Youth Development space, Astron Energy runs the next programmes:
Learnerships
8 X Learnerships in chemical operations on the Astron Energy refinery in Milnerton, Cape Town
20 X Learnerships in Sales and New Venture Creation at Johannesburg places of work
The Learnerships run from 1 Oct 2021 – 30 Sep 2022
Bursaries
Astron Energy runs a full Bursary programme which covers both beneath graduate and publish graduate research, from 1st yr to Masters Level students.
The bursaries embrace tuition charges, accommodation, books, meals, money allowances and vacation work in the form of internship/in-service-training throughout the company’s operations.
The programme began in 2020 and thus far over 440 students have been funded.
There are presently 196 scholar bursars and 15 employee bursars as part of this programme. A whole of 26 worker children are part of the bursary programme for 2022.
The bursary covers a range of examine fields this 12 months including:
BSc: Chemical Engineering/ BSc: Industrial Engineering/ BSC: Property Studies/ Masters: Industrial Psychology/ Honours: Financial Accounting/ Bcom: Economics/ BSc: Electrical Engineering/ Bcom/BA: Human Resources Management/ Bcom: Information Technology/ Bcom: Internal Auditing/ Bcom: Logistics/ Occupational Health and Safety/ Bcom: Supply Chain/ BSc: Analytical Chemistry.
Astron Energy also offers successful bursars the opportunity to be part of the Astron Energy Graduate Training programme.
Apprenticeships
Astron Energy provides 24-month Apprenticeships in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering and Instrumentation on the refinery in Cape Town. At current, the corporate has six apprenticeships in its manufacturing division.
Graduate Programme
The Graduate Internship Programme is run according to the various disciplines required by the enterprise and runs for a period of between 18-24 months. The current intake of Graduate interns is ready to end on 31 December 2022.
Infographic
Astron Energy presently has 77 individuals in its Learnership, Apprenticeship and Graduate Internship programmes:
LogisticsGraduate Internship13
CFOGraduate Internship11
RetailGraduate Internship5
HRGraduate Internship3
HRLearnership20
C & IGraduate Internship2
CEOGraduate Internship2
ManufacturingGraduate Internship1
STOGraduate Internship3
Strategy Graduate Internship2
SHEQGraduate Internship1
ManufacturingApprentice6
ManufacturingChemical Operations Learnership8
Total77
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