Not only is youth unemployment an ongoing problem for South Africa, at 38,2%, but a staggering 30% of young peope who begin employment leave their jobs within the first three months of being employed.
A study of youth selected from a database of jobseekers by Lulaway found that, of those who prequalified for interviews, only 50% of them arrived for the actual interviews with potential employers.
These inconsistencies were later attributed by jobseekers to a lack of transport money; not remembering the date of the interview; lack of appropriate interview etiquette; not being able to find the location where the interview was to take place; and the job not being in-line with their expectations.
To assist more jobseekers make it to their interview destinations, Lulaway began offering logistical support in the form of follow-up SMSs, reminders of interview dates and locations to all potential candidates.
Lulaway CEO Jake Willis says of those who made it past the interview stages and were placed in a job, 16% would self-select themselves out of the work place in the first month of employment, and 30% would drop out in three months.
“Our study revealed that reasons for dropping out were linked to the new recruits finding work too overwhelming as they were not formally inducted into the workplace. Others did not know how to deal with the rules and procedures that governed the institution they were employed at. A lack in communication skills was another, as they could not thoroughly express their conflicts.
“Others were dismissed due to inappropriate conduct such as arriving late, not reporting to the correct line manager or failing to produce quality work on time. Lack of motivation and insufficient training were also named as contributing factors. Some, this being their first job, did not take it seriously enough,” he explains.
By engaging with the candidates who dropped out, Lulaway was able to understand that most of them met the technical requirements but lacked the work-readiness skills that would allow them to retain employment.
Willis says work readiness skills are those competencies that contribute to the employability of a person, beyond their technical and educational skills sets. “They include understanding codes of conduct, how to present themselves to be marketable for employment, communication skills, teamwork and confidence building.”
He says this lack of work readiness in jobseekers can be linked to the shortage or limited nature of young people’s social capital.
“Social capital incorporates the links, shared values and understandings in society that enable individuals and groups to trust each other and be able to work together so that the group or individuals within the society can thrive. These links include family; close and distant friends; colleagues and associates; and people who may be further up or lower than us on the social ladder.”
Understanding this, he says it is easy to see how most of young people have little social capital at their disposal. Most live in a society that is ravaged by poverty, violence, crime and HIV/AIDS. They lack skills, credentials, role models and mentors, all which form the basis of social capital and enable the securing of employment. This is backed up by research indicating that having family members and friends who are employed increases one’s chances of finding and remaining in employment.
The high numbers of attrition have a knock-on effect. They not only negatively affect the future of jobseekers, but also impact businesses in the form of recruitment and training costs associated with new employees. Employers are then often reluctant to permanently hire entry-level employees due to the uncertainty surrounding their career’s longevity. They also lose productive hours when inducting and training new candidates.
To counter this, employers often rely on labour brokers, which offer little or no long-term employment progression or job security.
With no growth or security, employees often leave the company in search of employment with better offerings.
Willis says job-hopping is often poorly regarded by employers as it reflects a lack of commitment and consistency on the part of employees. “This, in turn, affects the future employability of the early self-excluding candidates, as most entry level jobseekers do not have a comprehensive resume and often rely on work experience to bolster their employment opportunities.
“Without the relevant work experience, employees often feel stuck and after multiple early employment drop outs, they eventually give up looking for work and become permanently excluded from actively participating in the economy, forming the 32,4% of young people between ages of 15-24 who are not in employment, education or training. This then becomes a cycle as employers tend to want employees with work experience, but having dropped out, these young people lack such and are further permanently excluded from the job market,” he adds.
To encourage employees to stay in employment for longer, Lulaway began informally supporting candidates over the phone. They called them periodically, gave them encouragement as well advice on how to deal with workplace challenges. They coached them through conflict resolution, expectation management and provided general emotional support.
This process has been formalized through the LulaLAB division which offers the ReadytoWork work-readiness programme to job seekers.
In addition, Lulaway is rolling out Absa’s work-readiness programme called ReadytoWork, which is a pan-Africa project aimed at equipping young people with the knowledge and skills needed to make the critical transition from education to work through digital and face-to-face learning journeys.
Lulaway’s study found that once a person remained employed for a period of six months, they gained confidence in their ability to be resilient and endure workplace challenges. Having gained confidence in themselves, they began to contribute towards their work environment and were able to do the same financially for their family. They were recognised and often promoted for displaying attributes like reliability and dependability.
Says Willis: “In a country where one in three young people is unemployed, it is important to understand why these statistics remain so high. Without interrogating these figures and linking them to socio-economic conditions, both the government and private sector will continue to pour resources into fighting unemployment without any tangible results.
“New jobseekers need employers to be understanding of the challenges they face when they first enter the workplace and structure the organisation so it is welcoming and supportive of these candidates. Only then can a real difference be made in tackling youth unemployment.”