Xolile Blessing Bam is passionate about computers. The 20-year-old South African studied IT at a business college in Johannesburg but he has not been able to find a job since.
To get some experience, and to keep himself busy, he volunteers as a teaching assistant at a local school in Soweto.
“I’ve tried looking for a job for a year and a half now,” Bam said. “The challenges are experience and the level of education which I have because I only have a certificate, not a diploma or degree.”
Bam’s story is typical. Out of a population of 49 million, 7.5 million South Africans are out of work. Young people are worst affected, with over half of 18- to 25-year-olds unemployed.
According to South Africa’s Cosatu labour federation, there’s no other middle income country in the world with such a high rate of unemployment.
“This is a crisis. We call it a ticking bomb,” said Zwelinzima Vavi, Cosatu’s general secretary. “We think that one day there may be an explosion. Seventy-three percent of people who are unemployed in South Africa are below the age of 35 and a lot of them have been to universities.
via iafrica.com | business | business news | Jobs: A ticking time bomb.
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