Unemployment crisis: Ramaphosa tells employers to stop treating inexperience as inability
· Citizen
President Cyril Ramaphosa has challenged South African employers to rethink how they recruit young people.
He said employers should not treat a lack of work experience as a lack of ability, as millions of young people remain locked out of economic opportunities.
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Speaking at the SA Youth National Leadership Convening in Sandton on Thursday, Ramaphosa said the country needed to break the cycle that prevents young people from securing jobs because they lack experience, while denying them the opportunity to gain it.
“Let us stop treating a lack of experience as a lack of ability,” Ramaphosa told business leaders at the Galleria Conference Centre.
He called on employers to recognise “potential, aptitude, determination and the willingness to learn” and to create more opportunities for young people to enter workplaces. This would help them develop skills and prove themselves.
‘The first opportunity is often the most difficult’
Ramaphosa said the government could not tackle youth unemployment by simply expanding existing programmes.
“We cannot solve the challenge of youth unemployment simply by doing more of what we have always done. We must be prepared to do things differently,” he said.
He called for recruitment practices that look beyond formal qualifications and previous employment. Additionally, he argued that businesses should be prepared to train, mentor and develop young workers.
“This is not an appeal for charity. It is an appeal for investment in the future of our economy,” Ramaphosa said.
He said young people had particular value in an economy being reshaped by digital innovation, artificial intelligence and the transition to cleaner forms of energy.
“Our young people should not merely be spectators to these changes. They must be among those who drive them,” he said.
Ramaphosa said young South Africans should be prepared for careers as “innovators, entrepreneurs, technicians, researchers, artisans and business leaders” in industries of the future.
Push for vocational careers and youth businesses
The president also urged the country to rethink the emphasis placed on university education. He said South Africa needed more young people entering technical and vocational careers.
“Not every young person needs to attend a university to build a successful future,” he said.
He identified artisans, technicians, builders, electricians, mechanics and agricultural specialists among the skills needed to build the economy. Furthermore, he said vocational and technical careers should be “respected, supported and expanded”.
Ramaphosa also placed entrepreneurship at the centre of his youth employment strategy. He called for better access to finance, markets, infrastructure and business support for young-owned enterprises.
He urged established companies to bring young entrepreneurs into their supply chains, saying they did not always need grants.
“A young entrepreneur does not always need a grant. Sometimes what that entrepreneur needs most is a customer. A contract. A market. An opportunity to prove that their business can deliver,” he said.
‘The future of our young people cannot wait’
Ramaphosa identified tourism, agriculture, infrastructure, manufacturing, digital services, the green economy and creative industries as sectors with significant potential for youth employment.
He said government, business and training institutions needed to work more closely to identify growing labour demand. This would ensure young people had the skills required to fill those opportunities.
The president said the government-business partnership should now move from broad commitments to measurable action. In particular, businesses are expected to identify concrete opportunities for young people and training institutions are required to strengthen links with employers.
“We should not be satisfied with broad undertakings. We need clear responsibilities, practical commitments and a means of assessing whether those commitments are being fulfilled,” he said.
Ramaphosa said young people were not asking for special treatment, but for “a fair chance” to work, learn, earn a living and contribute to the country.
“They are not merely beneficiaries of our programmes. They are partners in the development of our nation,” he said.
He ended with a call for urgency, saying: “The future of our young people cannot wait. And the future of our country cannot wait.”