Sinazo Alungile Novukela
Cape Town - The dawn of democracy raised hope for many previously disadvantaged South Africans.
However, the status quo we see today is contrary to what was anticipated.
People believed doors of opportunity were going to open to alleviate the burden for many households that lived below the poverty line.
What we see today is huge youth unemployment, and this has become our biggest threat and challenge.
According to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (by Statistics South Africa) for the first quarter of 2022, the graduate unemployment rate was relatively low in South Africa compared with those of other educational levels, while youth unemployment continues to be a burden, irrespective of educational attainment, and is seemingly a dangerous threat to democracy.
Covid-19 made matters worse, weighing down the levels of employment opportunities even further.
However, even though it is hard for the economy to absorb the youth into jobs, the little that the government is doing needs to be complimented.
Initiatives such as temporary employment opportunities like Education Assistant positions at schools and internship opportunities to gain work-related experience put young graduates in good stead as far as creating opportunities for employment is concerned.
Notwithstanding the fact that these opportunities provide hope and temporary relief, we need not deny that when such opportunities conclude, the problems will persist.
Due to high inflation, the food basket is higher in price than in the past, therefore for many of us to survive, a “side hustle” is an alternative that will go a long way in bringing in additional income. We must sell clothes and hair.
We must open consultancy businesses and we must wash cars.
A side hustle is not limited to selling but also to providing a service, even beyond our borders.
Over the past few years, young South Africans have discovered ways of using the internet to gain lucrative livelihoods.
While some look at cryptocurrency and foreign investments, there is an increase in others who are carving their niche in teaching online or becoming social media influencers.
Teaching online involves offering tutoring services to secondary scholars over the internet but, increasingly, teaching the English language to non-English speakers across the globe at set rates.
With the rate of unemployed graduates being so high, this teaching option is becoming an alternative route, especially with the basic certification being a degree in any field of study and an understanding of the language at a native level, of which South African citizens are regarded as native speakers.
Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) certificate is an added advantage.
There is also an increase of social media content creators over TikTok, YouTube and Instagram who get paid to create content as per the viewers’ ratings. This is an interesting move, because young people are using what is at their disposal to find ways to change and make their lives better.
Gone are the days when young people would wait on the government to create employment for them.
Young people use opportunities presented to them to create solutions that are viable to bring solutions to challenges that they face.
Having detailed the suffering faced by graduates, this raises a question on the advantages of obtaining a qualification as a means of tackling poverty.
Getting employed goes far beyond the borders of South Africa. This may look like a solution to financial struggles.
However, having something meaningful to do will also address other social issues, such as suicide-related deaths as a result of depression and anxiety emerging from being unemployed.
Novukela is a graduate from the University of Fort Hare and Rhodes University, in Communications and Journalism, respectively. She is an intern in Communications at the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development. She writes in her personal capacity.
Cape Times
* The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.