One key characteristic of developing nations is that a large proportion of the population is comprised of the youth. The African Development Bank notes that, Africa has the fastest growing and most youthful population in the world. Over 40% percent are under the age of 15 and 20% are between the ages of 15 and 24, which is the accepted definition of youth.
Zimbabwe is no exception to this trend, with a large proportion of the population being the youth age-group. Every year, the local tertiary institutions are churning out thousands of graduates, yet youth unemployment continues to be a major problem in the country. The imbalance between the numbers of graduates leaving Universities and Colleges and the numbers being actively absorbed in industry is unsustainably disproportionate. There has been increased pressure to create employment, especially for the youth, but the economy has remained hamstrung with various companies shutting down and overall capacity utilisation declining.
Much has been said about our literacy rate which is ranked among one of the best globally. There should be a direct correlation between the quality of education and the quality of graduates being produced. However, the general trend has been that, most of the graduates being produced fail to find gainful employment in the formal sector. This obviously has negative effects on the economy as their skills are underutilised. Unless concrete measures are taken to curb high youth unemployment, this problem will continue to be a vicious circle which will inexorably lead to the continued underdevelopment and stagnation of the local economy.
This nevertheless, does not have to be so; we currently live in an era that rewards innovation and creative thinking. Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower, and as such, there is a need to inculcate these virtues in the younger generation. Perhaps, our education system has remained too rigid and has failed to adapt to the new global order, and embrace the multi-faceted global era we are in. Focus should be shifted from teaching people how to be employed, to teaching them how to be employers. The vertical strengthening of the school curricula that seeks to redress the disconnection between the higher learning institutions and the industry, through business development training which encourages self-employment should be implemented forthwith. Account of the productive sectors of the economy also has to be considered in shoring up the education curricula.
The next step would be the issue of financing the ideas and innovations of the youth. While it is appreciated that the local financial system is still recovering from the effects of the decade long economic meltdown, financial institutions have a pivotal role in ensuring the sustenance of the entrepreneurial efforts of the youths. Timely and flexible credit lines as well as availability of risk willing capital (venture capital) are essential to guarantee adequate funding for the various youth initiatives. The relevant stakeholders in this regard such as banks and micro-finance institutions all need to come on board and support youth projects.
The economic and social costs to the economy, of an unemployed youth can be detrimental. A quick glance at our neighbours across the Limpopo highlights the graveness of this problem. It is the responsibility of the government to create jobs for its citizens, but perhaps this is the line of thinking that has been at the heart of high youth unemployment. There has to be a paradigm shift of the mind-set, to one that actively looks for opportunities to create jobs rather than seek for them. To put it into context, graduates of Banking, Finance and Economics could make themselves relevant by banding together and joining their skills and knowledge to establish a Credit ratings Agency in the country.
As a country, we have been a consumptive economy that is heavily reliant on primary commodity exports and capital intensive extractive industries which have low potential for job creation. Emphasis by the government, civic community and the society as a whole has to be placed on transforming the country into a productive economy. The sad reality is that, formal employment opportunities are few not only in Zimbabwe. In Africa, research shows that the youth constitute about 37% of the total labour force, but paradoxically make up about 66% of total unemployment. The relevance of the informal sector in creating jobs should thus not continue to be undermined.
Going forward, the problem of youth unemployment cannot be put on the back burner any longer. It has to be tackled as an issue of core importance in the strategic development of the country. We would be fooling ourselves, boasting to all and sundry about the quality and quantity of our graduates, when they fail to add value to the economy, because of unemployment. Policy, thus should be aimed at addressing youth unemployment and ensure the trained youth are absorbed in the economy.
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