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Why can't young people in South Africa find work?

Forty per cent of young people are unemployed.

South Africa has the most industrialised and diverse economy in Africa. Yet it faces a major youth unemployment crisis with around four in ten young people jobless.

Young people are becoming disenchanted and disenfranchised, which could impact elections later this year. Polls show that the governing ANC party could lose its outright majority for the first time in three decades.

Siyabonga Ncala lives in Soweto and is currently hustling to find work. He talks us through some of the barriers he’s facing. Nobuhle Simelane, a BBC producer in Johannesburg, explains what the government is doing to help.

And we also hear from Ofentse Lekwane from the Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator. She explains what the future of work could be for young South Africans.

Email: whatintheworld@bbc.co.uk
WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6
Presenter: Alex Rhodes
Producers: Mora Morrison, Kevyah Cardoso and William Lee Adams
Editors: Verity Wilde and Simon Peeks

Available now

11 minutes

Last on

Thu 15 Feb 2024 03:50GMT

Broadcasts

  • Wed 14 Feb 2024 18:50GMT
  • Thu 15 Feb 2024 03:50GMT

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