SA millennials amongst least likely to use internet or own smart device. (Image Source: digitaltrends.com).
With youth day passed, we are once again reminded that the country’s economic future is heavily dependent on the employment fortunes of our youth. Currently, a lot of work remains to get young people working and finding effective tools to combat unemployment.
While there are many threats to South Africa’s economic future, few are quite as critical as unemployment. According to official statistics, last year the unemployment rate topped 25%, which increased to nearly 35% if discouraged work seekers were included. Of more concern is the youth (younger than 25) unemployment rate, which came to 63.1% according to the expanded definition. This is simply not sustainable.
Despite these challenges, we also live in an age of hope thanks to technology. Business and government must find ways to work together to find cheap ways of connecting our millennials to the Internet and open up access to information and education. When everyone in the country has the same access to these resources, we will have taken a massive step towards bridging the unemployment and inequality gap. Access to the latest technology is also vital for the youth if the country wants to be competitive on a global scale.
Millennials across the globe are defined by their adoption of technology, but a recent Research Center survey noted that poverty is making South African millennials among the least likely members of large, emerging economies to use the Internet or own a smart device. Use of both the Internet and smartphones continues to increase in Malaysia, China and Brazil, but is lagging in India, Nigeria and South Africa, the survey found.
With global collaboration on the increase, the rise of freelance work for international clients over the Internet is on the rise. Those who are not skilled enough or too poor to afford connectivity find themselves at a serious disadvantage.
If millennials are unable to find employment that could help them to afford smart devices, their children would not be exposed to these technology tools either, contributing to the cycle of poverty. Therefore, business and government need to work together to create employment opportunities and access to the Internet.
In order to get a larger proportion of the country working, other imbalances also need to be addressed to ensure that the workplace offers equal opportunities for all. For example, a recent PWC study found that 72% of female, South African millennials do not feel that all industries offer equal opportunities, and are less likely to work in the defence (21%), government and public services (32%), oil & gas (14%), and insurance (15%) sectors because of their male-dominated image and reputation.
Therefore, to get a larger portion of our millennial population working, we need increased efforts to stimulate job growth and address inequalities where they persist.
By Lyndy van den Barselaar, MD of Manpower SA