The IFP Youth Brigade demands that President Jacob Zuma make youth unemployment and development a priority when he delivers his State of the Nation Address.
“Tackling youth unemployment would make rural areas less dependent on government handouts. Over the next five years, we want to see more partnership between government and businesses, to prioritise socio-economic development programmes that ensure that our youth become active contributors to a growing economy.
Investing in young people is vital to avoid risking the long-term exclusion of an entire generation from the workforce” said IFP Youth Brigade National Chairperson, Mkhuleko Hlengwa MP, at Amangwane High School in Bergville, where he was visiting to congratulate the school on their continued improvement in grade,12 results over the years.
Hlengwa expressed with concern that; “It does not make sense for South Africans to get an education, only to sit at home because of unemployment. Our education system must produce the skills, knowledge and expertise which are required by the job market, so that we do not bottleneck the system with irrelevant skills. Education must be directly linked to the job market.
“We need to see more private sector involvement in issues facing the young people of this country, not only in terms of financial support but also absorbing young people into companies, whether through internships or full time employment. There is a need to create more jobs to accommodate the large number of unemployed youth. The danger of having a large non-working population is that the country may experience rising crime rates” continued Hlengwa.
“We further demand that government departments should also be mandated to put in place a database of all qualified South Africans who leave learning institutions every year. The database should have classes of qualification, and be updated regularly by having the graduates submit new information on their latest qualifications. Government institutions should be encouraged to tap into the database when seeking new employees and replacement of those who leave the civil service,” concluded Hlengwa.
The IFP Youth Brigade believes that the time has come for President Jacob Zuma’s government to create decent jobs for young people and stop talking about creating millions of temporary jobs.
Issued by:
Mkhuleko Hlengwa
IFP Youth Brigade National Chairperson: 076 521 3221
