Xoe Mfokazi | Head | Operations | TransUnion (GCC Africa) | mail me |
South Africa’s youth unemployment rate stands at an alarming 44.6% for individuals aged 15-34. This sobering statistic reflects challenges such as limited work experience, educational gaps and economic hurdles.
Transitioning from education to employment often feels like an uphill battle for many young people. Unfortunately, this leaves them stuck without work or the opportunity to receive further training.
However, two critical pathways are helping to bridge this gap:
- traditional internships
- more outcome-focused learnerships
These programmes provide the practical experience and skills that young people need to launch their careers. But how do you decide which path is best for your career journey?
Internships vs learnerships
Internships are short-term programmes that provide students or graduates with structured workplace exposure, building practical skills and improving employability.
Learnerships, on the other hand, are aligned to an employment opportunity from the get-go, combining theoretical training with hands-on experience. In addition, learnerships are particularly valuable for individuals who may not have the resources to pursue tertiary education, or are battling with an experience gap.
Learnerships are prioritised and preferred based on the positive outcomes experienced over the last four years. Learnerships play a critical role in addressing youth unemployment by providing young people the tools they need to succeed. As such, we are committed to being part of the solution by upskilling South Africa’s youth and empowering them to build brighter futures through our learnership programme.
By structuring interventions to be both accessible and demand-led; young people become equipped to enter the labour market contributing to inclusive economic growth.
– Victoria Duncan, Head of Research at Harambee
Role of partnerships in closing the experience cap
Partnerships like these highlight the vital role that organisations play in combating youth unemployment. By investing in skills development and empowering young people, these initiatives contribute not only to individual growth but also to the broader South African economy.
At the same time companies have the opportunity to build pipelines of committed and loyal workers who can evolve and grow with the business — a mutually-beneficial, symbiotic relationship.
Upskilling youth is not about only solving today’s unemployment challenges, it’s an opportunity to create long term high impact change for our country and its people.