adminChris Chenga
Over the next decade, many occupations will become obsolete; either through substitute technology that will carry out job functions presently undertaken by humans, or simply through changing occupational work tasks.Accordingly, it seems prominent occupational discourse in Zimbabwe, and perhaps much of Africa, remains at a superficial level which does not serve justice to an emerging continent with a hopeful youth demographic aiming for high quality means of sustenance.
Indeed this is not to be interpreted as a slight to past demographics that broke many socio-economic barriers in order to avail opportunities for today’s youth.
Rather, as a nation, and wider continent, the narrative on which we construct occupational discourse should realise that indigenous demographics today are not merely trying to assimilate into the mainstream economy of which our predecessors were marginalised; today’s youth demographic is trying to attain high quality occupations in the mainstream economy.
Consider how at a political level, the job creation narrative simply went as far as numeric relevance, that is 2,2 million jobs over the stated five-year period.
Perhaps through an inattentive or docile electorate, not much cross discussion focused on which occupations these jobs would be found, let alone in which targeted sectors of the economy.
At the academic level, it is inadequate to say tertiary institutions are churning out graduates every year, and furthermore suggest that the number of graduates reflect proper work force grooming for the economy.
Yet again, not much discussion inquires on what parity exists between our graduates’ competencies and any occupational relevance going into the future.
It is fair interpretation then that as a nation, our diligence in offering occupational platforms and preparing citizens to fill in those platforms is quite superficial – to be mildly polite.
Potentially as a result, we have fostered and enabled deficient occupational expectations within both economic planners and young demographics.
For convenience, consider occupational relevance as a matter of supply and demand; youth demographics being the supply and occupational platforms within the economy being the demand.
Government, academia, and enterprise should perceive themselves as creators of occupational platforms in the economy.
All three are accountable! Prospective job seekers must perceive themselves as appropriate supply to fill in those occupational platforms.
African governments, in instances our own included, are susceptible to settling and providing the same menial occupational platforms that were once afforded to previous generations in marginalised colonial economies.
For example, policymakers tend to look at immediate means of sustenance such as vending and commodity trading as adequate occupational platforms – in our market full of distortions and broken value chains the latter may seem lucrative but it is not.
In Zimbabwe, we are notorious of the misconception that availing operational platforms for vendors and traders is enabling occupations for citizens.
This is very wrong and in fact crowds out higher quality occupational platforms in sectors such as retail and logistics.
Menial platforms such as vending and trading actually perpetuate colonial legacies where citizens where marginalised from mainstream occupational participation.
High quality occupational platforms are based on efficient and competitive sectors in an economy. Government, academia, and enterprise have not done enough to retain efficiency and competitiveness in our economy. Initially, these three stakeholders must identify the most competitive sectors in our economy based on our nation’s competitive advantages.
After this assessment, these sectors must be structured in a manner of unrelenting competition. By opening sectors to competition, each addition unit of labour becomes only necessary according to its perceived high value on the market.
For example, information technology – though cross sectorial – is inherently competitive. That means for any company in a sector that utilises IT, hiring demands the addition unit of labour to be high skill and competent.
Naturally that means the occupational platform (demand) attracts only competent supply of labour. These meet at a high market rate of compensation, a well-paying job that is relevant for the foreseeable future.
The opposite is happening in Zimbabwe. Hardly spoken of is how enterprise with the misguided collusion of Government is culpable of creating an uncompetitive economy that leaves few high quality occupational platforms.
Many industrial laggards scared of competition rely on government bail outs, whether monetary in the form of loans or structural in the form of protectionism.
As such their sectors become uncompetitive and go by for years without necessitating the employment of the most competent supply of labour.
Mismanagement, patronage within companies, lack of creative culture, and a defeatist mentality to the economy has left us with a lot of uncompetitive deadweight enterprise in our economy. For greater demand of high quality occupations, government should create a competitive structure in multiple sectors that kills off poor enterprise, otherwise there will be no demand competitive occupations in our economy.
In terms of supply, the mindset of our workforce requires some cultural shift. In a competitively structured economy with demand for high quality occupations, jobs are not for everybody.
Jobs are reserved for the most competent and skilled workforce. Indeed I am not suggesting that youth demographics today retain an entitled attitude. However, certain cultural ideas of the past should be discouraged.
For instance, once a certain level of academic or social achievement is attained, a youth workforce should not perceive certain occupational merit is deserved.
Graduating does not mean one is competitive for existent occupational platforms in an economy.
For instance, the perception that graduate engineers should be paid a specified amount, or should be warranted certain job perks such as a company car, or accommodation facilities is misconceived and evades the realities of a modern competitive economy.
The level of demand that exists for high quality labour ultimately determines professional reward.
Of course our workforce should not settle for whatever outcome government, academia, and enterprise create in terms of demand through occupational platforms and the reward structures that come with these platforms, however, astute youth should always weigh their own competence relative to the market for their professions.
With technology, certain professions do not carry the same weight as they once did. The advent of substitute professions is taking greater effect.
For example, accountants and software programmers are closer substitutes than they once were, as accounting clients find greater use in self-tutoring accounting software.
That has little to do with government, academia, or enterprise. It is a factor that an individual professional must consider. Conclusively, my intention is to create a foundation of how all stakeholders should perceive job creation.
We have been superficial in our attitudes towards jobs; as creators of occupational platforms and as prospective labour to fill in those platforms.
Hopefully, in 2017 we can be more precise and technical in our attitudes towards high quality jobs that take us into the future!
Online Reporter