Millions of young South Africans are jobless: study finds that giving them 'soft' skills like networking helps their prospects

Study finds that soft rather than technical skills are more effective in getting rural youth jobs. GettyImages

The fact that more than half of the South African population is under 30 years could be beneficial for the country’s economic growth and development. But South Africa has not been able to reap this demographic dividend. This is largely due to a skills mismatch.

That’s why 60% of its young people (between the ages of 15 and 25) are unemployed. The situation was made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. Its impact on the labour market disproportionately affected young and low-skilled workers.