- Countries like Germany, China, and Botswana show how targeted investment in youth creates long-term growth.
- South Africa must prioritise education, vocational training, and global exposure to develop youth human capital.
- Indigenous systems like the Igbo Apprenticeship Model offer powerful, locally relevant pathways to youth empowerment
To break the cycle of unemployment, poverty and inequality government including business and civil society must invest to programme that will unleash ‘youth human capital’.
South Africa is faced with high unemployment crisis affecting mostly young people. The country needs to rethink its economic policy model to respond to the urgent needs of the youth. Investing in human capital for South Africa’s youth should centre at the heart of the country’s economic and social policies.
The country is faced with high unemployment and skills gap impacting the youth. To reverse this slippage, coordinated efforts in allocation of resources should be improved. A solid foundation in terms of knowledge acquisition and production from early childhood development to basic education and skills development through universities and TVET need to be solidified. South Africa needs to strengthen the education, skills development and innovation ecosystem to support growth and development of the youth to create economic opportunities to tackled unemployment. We must invest now and prioritise correctly to create tomorrow’s leaders for all sectors of society. Investing in youth development will enable young people to reach their human potential and contribute meaningfully to attain sustainable growth and development of the country.
Learning from global models in youth investment
The choices we make today about youth development will determine our economic prospects for decades to come. Countries like Sweden, Germany, China, and Botswana offer valuable lessons in youth investment. Botswana and Zimbabwe demonstrate the power of sending students abroad to study. Their governments prioritise bursary programs that equip their youth with international degrees and technical education ensuring they return with the skills and knowledge to advance their economies.
This is the area that South Africa has not fully exploited and explored. Why not prioritise dispatching our youth abroad after matriculation through funded bursaries? Why limit bursaries to local institutions when global exposure and cutting-edge knowledge could unlock greater potential? The saying “travel makes a man” holds true studying abroad not only broadens horizons but also builds the intellectual and cultural capital necessary for leadership in a globalized world.
Germany and Switzerland are known for their apprenticeship model, combining vocational training with education to produce a highly skilled and employable workforce. China, through deliberate investment in youth education, technological innovation, and vocational training, has positioned its youth as key drivers of its economic growth and development. Sweden, with a strong focus on research and lifelong learning, has built a workforce equipped for industries ranging from sustainable energy to advanced technology.
In the past South Africa neglected technical and vocational education and training within education and innovation systems. However recently efforts have improved in terms of spending. But quality of the technical and vocational education and training remains a challenge. Centre for Development Enterprise (CDE) has reported that that employers have identified that qualifications are of little practical use in the workplace partly due to limited access to workplace training, and that students who qualify find it difficult to finding employment.
There is a great gap between the industry players and providers of technical and vocational education and training. There is a need to improve alignment of technical education with the needs of industry players. Further, government still has not fully embraced the public-private partnership, which other countries are fully implementing. South Africa must adapt these models to our context. By doing so, we can build a generation capable of meeting the demands of the Fourth Industrial Revolution while also addressing local challenges such as unemployment, inequality, and poverty.
Indigenous models like the Igbo apprenticeship system hold untapped value
Igbo Apprenticeship System which is the transformative approach to mentorship, growth and wealth creation offers great lessons within an African development context. This is age-old practice, rooted in Igbo culture, involves a master (mentor) imparting skills, business knowledge, and support to an apprentice (mentee), ultimately equipping the mentee to succeed independently.
The Igbo Apprenticeship System doesn’t merely transfer skills; it fosters loyalty, egalitarianism, and community wealth. Successful apprentices often give back to their communities, ensuring a cycle of prosperity. South Africa could benefit immensely from such a system, especially in sectors like trade, crafts, and entrepreneurship.
Market concentration blocks youth enterprise
South Africa has an ambitious youth yet discouraged fully use their potential due to lack of economic opportunities. Further, South Africa is one of the advanced industrialised economies in Africa. It is the host to many highly functioning global companies and national companies. However, the World Bank Report titled “Unlocking South Africa’s Potential: Leveraging Trade for Inclusive Growth and Resilience stressed that the market is still highly concentrated. Small enterprises find it hard to endure and few new entrants surviving and growing in the South African market. So, investment in youth empowerment and advancement should also be seen within the context to free the economy from few big firms opening opportunities for youth-owned enterprises to drive inclusive growth and development.
This is the area that needs to be prioritised. The country has failed to fully leverage this potential to ensure that South African’s youth move beyond being employees and become owners and leaders in various industries in the economy.
The presence of these corporations should be a springboard for youth empowerment. It’s time for the government to ask: how can we ensure that these companies not only invest in South Africa but also partner with our young people to co-create opportunities?
The time for action is now
To harness the potential of the youth as human capital, South Africa must act decisively. Global bursary programmes should be established to send high-performing students abroad to study in critical fields such as engineering, technology, and business.
Exchange programmes can be created to expose youth to global best practices and industries. A culture of entrepreneurship must be fostered, providing resources and mentorship to encourage young people to become business leaders. Collaborations with both domestic and global companies need to be established and strengthened.
As far back as in 2007, the Centre for Development Enterprise advanced the need to place human capital investment at the centre of growth and development agenda. CDE amplified that that great national success stories are shaped by the development of a country’s own human capital across industries in the economy including education, training, science and innovation and investing in the growth and expansion of small enterprises. It is vital to develop and improve the current education, training, science and innovation system that is currently failing many young people, particular those from vulnerable communities.
It is then essential to invest in development programmes that will improve the lives of young people and create businesses that will create much needed opportunities for self-employment and employment. The time to act is now. Government, business, and civil society must act in unison turn South Africa’s youth into the architects of a thriving and equitable South Africa.
Conviction.co.za
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