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World Youth Skills Day, observed annually on July 15th, serves as a powerful reminder: no young person should be left behind in the pursuit of dignified, well-paying work opportunities. This year marks its 10th anniversary, with a focus on youth empowerment through AI and digital skills.
This call resonates deeply with Life Choices, an organisation dedicated to empowering young people to become economically active, purposeful individuals who lead lives of possibility.
The Stark Reality of Youth Unemployment
The reality for many young South Africans is a stark denial of these opportunities. Youth unemployment is a national crisis, with over 4 in 10 young people aged 15 to 34 classified as NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training). This concerning trend shows no signs of abating.
The Q1 Quarterly Labour Force Survey revealed a 1.3% increase in the NEET rate for this age group, rising from 43.8% in Q1 2024 to 45.1%. This translates to an estimated 9 million young people in this demographic who are neither working nor studying – a staggering opportunity cost and a shocking waste of talent.
Hidden Barriers and Mental Health Impacts
Young people face multiple, interconnected barriers to accessing employment. One significant hurdle is the hidden costs of job searching. Expenses like buying data to access job adverts, transport to interviews and professional attire quickly accumulate, often over months or even years, without a guaranteed job. A 2022 study by Youth Capital, Beyond the Cost, found that young job-seekers can spend almost R1,000 per month actively seeking work. When the choice becomes between eating and finding a job, many become discouraged.
Furthermore, long-term unemployment has profound impacts on mental well-being. A recent study using longitudinal data from NIDS (National Income Dynamics Study Waves 1-5) highlighted the significant mental health risks associated with changes in employment status, recommending psychosocial support for both the long-term unemployed and the newly employed.
Our young people are starved of opportunities, and the majority do not have a fair chance at securing decent work.
The Imperative for Agile Skills Development
This situation presents a critical challenge to all who envision a thriving South Africa. With increasing numbers of disaffected and unemployed youth, time is running out for effective solutions. To secure employment, young people require in-demand skills that align with labour market needs, and preferably, these should be within growth-oriented economic sectors. Acquiring these new hard skills, alongside crucial personal/professional development soft skills and work-readiness skills, can be difficult and costly, especially for those from economically stressed communities.
Skills development solutions must be tailored to the learning and skills needs of the vast majority of young people who lack access to formal training and the higher education sector. Education and training systems must become more agile, adapting to the continuously evolving world of work. Most youth from low-resourced communities cannot afford tertiary education or the cost of living without an income during their studies. Moreover, formal education often struggles to respond quickly to industry demands, widening the skills gap. Innovative models that equip youth for employment in high-demand areas, while securing decent earnings quickly, offer a vital pathway to a dignified future.
Life Choices Academy: A Proven Model for Empowerment
It was with this philosophy in mind that Life Choices Academy launched in 2017. Our goal is to equip school-leavers with the skills needed to secure well-paid and meaningful jobs within 12 months.
Life Choices Academy runs three skills development projects that provide young people with the training and work-based learning necessary to access internships (and convert them into jobs) within the ICT and green sectors, all within a 12-month period:
YouthCode upskills youth for roles in software development.
YouthForce trains for administrator positions within the Salesforce ecosystem.
SolarYouth prepares youth to become solar technicians.
Crucially, important technical training is embedded with personal and professional development, ensuring young people acquire vital 21st-century skills for high performance. Additionally, youth enrolled in Life Choices Academy have easy access to psychosocial support, empowering them to overcome personal challenges and build brighter futures. Personal development is not a “nice-to-have”; it’s an imperative for a holistic approach to mitigating the youth skills deficit. It fosters self-awareness, improves workplace relationships, and enhances overall well-being.
Next year, Life Choices will be piloting a new project – IGNITE Youth – with a focus on entrepreneurship and self-employment in new economic sectors, packaged into our already proven holistic approach to youth empowerment.
At Life Choices, we are preparing for expansion by growing our range of training initiatives and by exploring ways of extending our proven models into other parts of the country. We invite individuals, corporations, and other mission-driven organisations to partner with us.
Together, we can turn the dial on youth unemployment and have a tangible impact on the lives of young people in our country. Join us in building a future where every young South African thrives.
To learn more about partnership opportunities or to contribute to our mission, visit www.lifechoices.co.za or connect with us directly on LinkedIn.