This Youth Month, SOS Children’s Villages calls for concerted efforts in upskilling and supporting youth.
14 June 2021: As we commemorate Youth Month, SOS Children’s Villages South Africa (SOS SA) reinforces the importance of investing in youth education, training and skills development.
Many young South Africans face hostile conditions in school-to-work transitions irrespective of their education level. Some of these young people become disillusioned with the labour market and they revert to doing nothing to increase, or to update their skills through education and training. According to current trends, there will be 3.5 billion children and youth below the age of 25 by 2030, each looking to gain the digital, entrepreneurial and job-specific skills they need to thrive in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. (UNICEF, September 2020).
The school-to-work transition has been further hindered by the Covid pandemic. For many youth, the digital divide caused a lack of access to education and training. Affluent families were able to continue accessing this online, while those who are less fortunate, were mostly left behind. Youth who were seeking labour market opportunities experienced further challenges if they could not access online job opportunities, the lockdowns meant they were restricted in physically approaching employers, and the economy did not grow meaning less jobs for the entire population.
SOS Children’s Villages actively contributes to a skilled youth force with various programmes and partnerships. Through the ‘YouthCan!’ programme, SOS youth are exposed to vocational training opportunities such as hairdressing, hospitality skills, painting and interior designing. They are provided with job shadowing opportunities at different companies and they are given learnership and internship opportunities. Corporate partnerships are leveraged to support young people to successfully manage the transition from school to independent adulthood.
Another SOS initiative called ‘YouthLinks’ , is a mentoring programme that links young people to mentors who can support them on their journey. It uses the power of technology to provide training and mentorship opportunities, overcoming geographical and professional limitations; it supports young people in building networks with experienced mentors; and it provides engagement and development opportunities for corporate partner’s employees. The mentors have regular sessions with the young people to check-in, and make sure the youth are equipped and on their way to the labour market.
“Youth who are equipped with skills which make them employable are empowered to become active and contributing members of society. This in turn contributes by adding more productive people to the workforce to grow the economy,” says Peter Kotlolo, Programme Director and Youth Employability Co-ordinator.
According to Statistics South Africa’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey, The official unemployment rate among youth (15-34 years) was 46,3% in Quarter 1 2021. The rate was 9, 3% among university graduates. Certain factors such as lack of experience and length of unemployment add to the existing vulnerabilities of young people in the labour market.
SOS Children’s Villages believes society can do more to improve this situation and calls on partners, corporates and civil society to work together to help the youth in becoming independent and thriving members of society.
About SOS Children’s Villages
SOS Children’s Villages is an independent, non-governmental organisation that advocates for the rights of South Africa’s marginalised children. We offer loving, family-like care for children and young people who have lost or are at risk of losing parental care. Established in 1984, SOS has eight Children’s Villages and three Social Centres across eight provinces.
Each year our Alternative Care, Family Strengthening and Youth Employability programmes provide life-changing support to children and families across the country.
The Alternative Care model comprises of four principles that include a mother (each child has a caring parent), brothers and sisters (the family ties grow naturally), a house (a secure place to grow up in) and a village (the SOS family is part of the community).
Our Family Strengthening Programme aims to enable children who are at risk of losing the care of their families to grow within a safe family environment. We work in co-operation with local authorities and other service providers to empower families and communities to effectively protect and care for their children.
For more information, go to https://www.sossouthafrica.org.za/
