Even as South Africa slowly emerges from the suffocating economic grip of the Covid-19 pandemic, recently launched employment statistics continue to make for grim reading, with practically eight million individuals unemployed.
South Africa truly recorded improved economic exercise within the fourth quarter of 2021, together with an expansion in real GDP of 1.2% compared to the earlier quarter, however unemployment still reached report ranges.
Denice Dumisa
According to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS), unemployment in Q4 final year rose to 35.3% from 34.9% within the earlier quarter. This is the very best level for the explanation that start of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey in 2008.
Even extra alarmingly, the youth unemployment fee stood at a staggering sixty five.5%.
The newest employment data was launched at the finish of March by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), and came simply days after South Africa managed to attract R1.2 trillion in funding in the course of 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 time period, South Africa will still have an overall unemployment determine of around 30%.
Youth unemployment is a world issue, much more acutely pronounced in South Africa, where the most recent figures are sounding crucial alarm bells.
In late 2021, Stats SA reported that two out of every three young individuals beneath the age of 35 in South Africa are unemployed. For the age cohort under 25, this rises to three out of each 4, or a jarring 75%.
But in and amongst the dire unemployment statistics there are rays of sunshine on how to begin to successfully tackle this socio-economic disaster.
Education is key
According to the QLFS report, of the 7,9 million unemployed persons in the fourth quarter of 2021, as many as 51,6% had training levels under matric.
This variety of unemployed drops the upper the education stage. Those with a Matric move represent 38.6% of unemployed and this determine drops substantially for those with different tertiary qualifications (6.9%) and graduates who represent solely 2.4% of South Africa’s formal unemployed.
Astron Energy’s Organisational Capability, Learning and Development Manager Lindiwe Ncongwane said: “It is an often repeated mantra that training is the key to success, but the labour pressure survey actually bears this out.
“Education allied to opportunity is the golden key to breaking this cycle of unemployment and to create a future for younger individuals within the country.”
Astron Energy, which operates South Africa’s second largest community of retail sites together with the Caltex model, runs numerous Youth Development Programmes overlaying both educational assist and workplace and experiential learning opportunities.
Astron Energy’s Youth Development Programmes include:
Learnerships
Bursaries
Apprenticeships
In-Service-Training
Graduate Internship Programme
Opportunities
According to Ncongwane, South African Corporates have a key position to play in offering opportunities for graduates and people with different qualifications to assist scale back the variety of unemployed, and likewise to assist construct a generation of employable younger folks.
“Investments in coaching and skills development, allied to education qualifications, will assist build a workforce that is multi-skilled and in a place to adapt to a multitude of tasks and industries,” she said.
เกจวัดแรงดันpcp of Work report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) discovered that 50% of all employees will want reskilling by 2025 as adoption of know-how increases.
The report additionally listed critical pondering and problem-solving as main skills employers believe might be wanted over the following 5 years, whereas newer developments centre on self-management skills corresponding to energetic studying, resilience, stress tolerance and suppleness.
According to Ncongwane, a key part of Astron Energy’s focus is to equip younger people for the world of work, not solely at Astron Energy and the petrochemical industry, however the throughout a range of disciplines to allow them to be globally competitive.
The company also runs a number of school-level initiatives within the STEM area, but in line with the 4th Industrial Revolution’s focus on the 3Cs of Communication, Critical thinking and Collaboration, has broadened this to STEAM – Science, Technology, Arts and Maths – in a bid to develop problem-solving and process-based learning.
The means ahead
“As a rustic, we’ve to proceed investing in the training of our young individuals, particularly within the crucial expertise house, and then create alternatives for them to use these abilities and develop in office environments,” Ncongwane mentioned.
“As corporates we have to design a range of programmes and initiatives to fulfill not solely the needs of the business, but in addition the way forward for work – and critically the lengthy run employment potentialities for our young folks.
“If we do this proper, we can start altering the outlook on the employment front and ensure that economic growth has a tangible impact on the futures and livelihoods of the generations to come back.”
In the Youth Development area, Astron Energy runs the next programmes:
Learnerships
8 X Learnerships in chemical operations at the Astron Energy refinery in Milnerton, Cape Town
20 X Learnerships in Sales and New Venture Creation at Johannesburg offices
The Learnerships run from 1 Oct 2021 – 30 Sep 2022
Bursaries
Astron Energy runs a full Bursary programme which covers each under graduate and publish graduate research, from 1st yr to Masters Level college students.
The bursaries include tuition fees, accommodation, books, meals, cash allowances and trip work within the form of internship/in-service-training throughout the company’s operations.
The programme started in 2020 and to date over 440 college students have been funded.
There are presently 196 pupil bursars and 15 worker bursars as a half of this programme. A whole of 26 employee kids are a half of the bursary programme for 2022.
The bursary covers a spread of study fields this year 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 additionally presents successful bursars the chance to be part of the Astron Energy Graduate Training programme.
Apprenticeships
Astron Energy offers 24-month Apprenticeships in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering and Instrumentation on the refinery in Cape Town. At current, the company 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 interval of between 18-24 months. The current intake of Graduate interns is set to finish 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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