Even as South Africa slowly emerges from the suffocating economic grip of the Covid-19 pandemic, recently released employment statistics continue to make for grim studying, with nearly eight million people unemployed.
South Africa actually recorded improved financial activity within the fourth quarter of 2021, together with an growth in real GDP of 1.2% compared to the earlier quarter, but unemployment nonetheless reached record ranges.
Denice Dumisa
According to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS), unemployment in Q4 last year rose to 35.3% from 34.9% within the earlier quarter. This is the highest stage for the explanation that start of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey in 2008.
Even more alarmingly, the youth unemployment fee stood at a staggering 65.5%.
The newest employment knowledge was launched at the finish of March by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), and got here just days after South Africa managed to draw R1.2 trillion in investment through the fourth South Africa Investment Conference.
Analysts have described the country’s financial system as “producing jobless growth” and believe that even with upward economic progress in the medium term, South Africa will still have an total unemployment figure of around 30%.
Youth unemployment is a worldwide problem, much more acutely pronounced in South Africa, the place the newest figures are sounding important alarm bells.
In pressure gauge , Stats SA reported that two out of each three younger people under the age of 35 in South Africa are unemployed. For the age cohort beneath 25, this rises to a few out of every four, 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 crisis.
Education is essential
According to the QLFS report, of the 7,9 million unemployed individuals within the fourth quarter of 2021, as many as 51,6% had training ranges under matric.
This number of unemployed drops the upper the schooling level. Those with a Matric pass represent 38.6% of unemployed and this determine drops substantially for those with different tertiary qualifications (6.9%) and graduates who constitute only 2.4% of South Africa’s formal unemployed.
Astron Energy’s Organisational Capability, Learning and Development Manager Lindiwe Ncongwane stated: “It is an often repeated mantra that schooling is the important thing to success, but the labour pressure survey definitely bears this out.
digital pressure gauge allied to alternative is the golden key to breaking this cycle of unemployment and to create a future for young folks within the country.”
Astron Energy, which operates South Africa’s second largest network of retail websites together with the Caltex model, runs numerous Youth Development Programmes covering both academic support and workplace and experiential learning opportunities.
Astron Energy’s Youth Development Programmes embody:
Learnerships
Bursaries
Apprenticeships
In-Service-Training
Graduate Internship Programme
Opportunities
According to Ncongwane, South African Corporates have a key function to play in providing alternatives for graduates and those with other qualifications to help reduce the variety of unemployed, and in addition to assist construct a technology of employable younger folks.
“Investments in coaching and abilities development, allied to education qualifications, will assist build a workforce that’s multi-skilled and in a place to adapt to a multitude of tasks and industries,” she said.
The 2020 Future of Work report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) found that 50% of all staff will want reskilling by 2025 as adoption of technology will increase.
The report also listed critical thinking and problem-solving as leading expertise employers consider will be needed over the subsequent five years, while newer trends centre on self-management skills similar to lively learning, resilience, stress tolerance and adaptability.
According to pressure gauge 10 bar , a key part of Astron Energy’s focus is to equip younger individuals for the world of labor, not solely at Astron Energy and the petrochemical trade, however the throughout a variety of disciplines to enable them to be globally aggressive.
The firm additionally runs a number of school-level initiatives in the STEM area, however according to 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 studying.
The means forward
“As a rustic, we have to proceed investing within the training of our young folks, particularly within the critical skills house, and then create opportunities for them to apply these expertise and develop in workplace environments,” Ncongwane said.
“As corporates we want to design a range of programmes and initiatives to satisfy not only the needs of the enterprise, but additionally the future of work – and critically the longer term employment potentialities for our younger individuals.
“If we do that right, we are able to begin changing the outlook on the employment entrance and be certain that economic progress has a tangible impression on the futures and livelihoods of the generations to return.”
In the Youth Development area, Astron Energy runs the following 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 both beneath graduate and submit graduate research, from 1st year to Masters Level college students.
The bursaries include tuition fees, lodging, books, meals, money allowances and trip work in the form of internship/in-service-training within the company’s operations.
The programme began in 2020 and so far over 440 college students have been funded.
There are currently 196 scholar bursars and 15 worker bursars as a half of this programme. A total of 26 worker kids are part of the bursary programme for 2022.
The bursary covers a range of research fields this yr 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 also presents successful bursars the opportunity to be a part of the Astron Energy Graduate Training programme.
Apprenticeships
Astron Energy presents 24-month Apprenticeships in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering and Instrumentation on the refinery in Cape Town. At present, the corporate has six apprenticeships in its manufacturing division.
Graduate Programme
The Graduate Internship Programme is run in accordance with the varied disciplines required by the business and runs for a interval of between 18-24 months. The present intake of Graduate interns is ready to finish on 31 December 2022.
Infographic
Astron Energy currently has seventy seven members 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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