adminChristopher Farai Charamba Correspondent
Unemployment is the bane of any economy, any government and particularly any people. Youth unemployment is a specific frustration, especially in a country like Zimbabwe where the youth; those between the ages of 16 and 35, constitute a large percentage of the population. The conundrum with unemployment is that it affects numerous sectors in the socio-economic sphere. Productivity, spending, investment, national growth and development are a few examples. Unemployment also has an adverse effect on equality and broadens the divide between the rich and the poor.
In September this year, world leaders at the United Nations adopted the Sustainable Development Goals coming into effect at the beginning of next year, 2016, when the Millennium Development Goals come to an end at the close of this year.
SDG Eight seeks to “promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.” In order to achieve this, a number of other SDGs and factors need to be addressed, including improving health conditions and education, but one key focus is tackling unemployment, particularly youth unemployment.
According to the Solutions for Youth Employment Coalition (S4YE), the world currently has the largest youth generation in history with 1,8 billion young people living on the planet, approximately 85 percent of whom are living in developing and emerging economies and in fragile states.
With such a sizeable youth population, it is essential that youth issues be addressed. The rhetoric is that the youth are the leaders of tomorrow. However, if their concerns are not tackled today then many of them will not make it to tomorrow.
Constraints to youth employment may be borne on the individual level, result from market or government failure, or be a symptom of a weak or unsupportive macroeconomic environment. Assessing all levels and applying corrective measures through the public and private sphere is necessary in combating such constraints.
The S4YE 2015 baseline report compiled with contributors from the International Labour Organisation and the World Bank cite a number of reasons for high rates of youth unemployment. Among other issues “inadequate skills and mismatches between education and skills have emerged as chief concerns.”
The ILO says that there is an incompatibility between the school curriculum and the needs of the industry in changing times. As a result of this disjuncture, graduates’ skills are not relevant to the needs of the communities and nation at large.
This sentiment was echoed by the Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development Professor Jonathan Moyo who said those with humanities and commercial degrees would struggle to find jobs, following a graduation ceremony at the University of Zimbabwe earlier this month.
In combating youth unemployment, it is therefore necessary that the school curriculum equips students with the necessary skills to suit, not only the current environment but also anticipate the future. Zimbabwe has a rigid education system which is good at churning out theoretically sound individuals at the expense of practical training. As a result one is likely to come across those employees and people who do everything by the book but are not innovative or enterprising.
In the 21st Century innovation is necessary for individuals and for societies. In restructuring the education system to align the skills taught with the available jobs and skills required, it is essential for educators to promote students thinking outside the box. Allowing unconventional thinking is a key component of breeding a nation of innovators.
Another factor affecting youth unemployment is the fact that generally people worldwide are not only living longer but also working longer. Without subsequent job creation to accommodate the scores of young people entering the market they become those most affected. As a result most young people look for alternative means of employment. In developing countries, 89 percent of new work is in the informal sector.
The S4YE baseline report says young adults between 25 and 34 display the highest early-stage entrepreneurial activity worldwide, but access to credit is a problem for young entrepreneurs.
It is important that government finds ways of providing support to those within the informal sector. Not only do those in the informal sector need support but since the land reform programme in Zimbabwe there are a lot more small scale farmers than before. These people need access to financing through loans and credit to grow their businesses.
The Zimbabwean government has challenged the youth to be more enterprising and entrepreneurial but this can only be possible if they have access to funding. Small to medium enterprises support has been inadequate and a majority of young people do not have the means to finance their ventures. As a result, their business are suffocated to death.
Last week students across South Africa protested against university fee increments for the coming academic year. After marching on Union Buildings in Pretoria the government agreed to no increment in 2016.
The reason for the protest was not only against not being able to afford fees but a realisation that education is the greatest equaliser and that access to education is pivotal to not only bettering an individual’s life but the overall combating and eradication of poverty.
It is therefore imperative that as governments work towards the SDGs in the coming 15 years, priorities are placed on improving the individual human condition so as to assure that they are empowered and actively pursue bettering of his or her circumstance.
Nicole Godim et al posit that the Arab Spring and subsequent youth-led uprisings in many countries, along with the rise of economic insurgency and youth extremism, demand that we explore the links between economic participation, inequality, and community security, crime, and national fragility through a lens focused on youth.
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