As the new school year kicked off in South Africa at the end of January, millions of young people were flocking the streets looking for opportunities. Those who just received their matric (or high school) results were standing in long lines to secure limited spaces at universities or colleges, recent graduates were updating and sending out their CVs to possible employers, and those who remain unemployed will try their luck again. Unfortunately, millions of young people came to find themselves closed off from career advancement opportunities.

With 36% (20 million) of the population under the age of 35, children and young people lie at the heart of South Africa’s untapped potential. Yet, more than 30% of young South Africans between the ages of 15-24 are not in any form of employment, education, or training; 46% of 25-34 year olds fall into the same category. This equates to approximately 7.9 million young people out of work, education, or training opportunities.

In the beginning of every new year, youth unemployment spikes to pandemic proportions. This is mainly due to new entrants into a labor market that is not creating enough job opportunities. During this period, among graduates between the ages of 15-24, the unemployment rate was 31% compared to 19% in the 4th quarter of 2018—an increase of 11 percentage points quarter-on-quarter.

Young people have a tough relationship with employment: youth unemployment now is recorded at 56.4%, the highest globally, and 63.4% of the total unemployed population is young people. The year 2019 recorded the highest number of retrenchments and unemployment rates in 16 years. The “old” saying remains that “last in, first out,” which means young people are the first in the firing line when there is high retrenchments.

The government can no longer sweep this crisis under the rug. Some legislative and policy instruments, such as the National Youth Policy (2015) and the Youth Employment Service (2019), brought about resounding hope. Yet they have not implemented many of their intended resolutions. In his first State of the Nation Address in 2018, President Cyril Ramaphosa recognized youth unemployment as our “most grave and pressing challenge” as South Africans.