Black youths miss bus

Black youths have been the biggest losers in the acquisition of skills in the 20 years of democracy, but their white and Indian counterparts have increasingly leveraged education to get ahead in the jobs market.

Figures released by statistician-general Pali Lehohla in Pretoria yesterday showed that the proportion of black Africans between the ages of 25 and 34 with a skilled job shrank from 18% in 1994 to 15% in 2014.

But 60% of whites in the same age group, and 50% of Indians, now have skilled jobs. This is up from 40% for whites and less than 2% for Indians in 1994.

Whites with skilled jobs increased by 19 percentage points to 61% this year. More than half of Indians now have a skilled job, compared to about a quarter 20 years ago.

Many coloureds also have better jobs, with 22.5% in skilled positions compared to only 12% in 1994.

"When it rains and you have a bucket," said Lehohla, "you will be able to collect water. Without a bucket, you [can't] ... in this case the bucket for whites and Indians is education. That is why there is rapid movement among them in the skilled area."

Lehohla said young people make up 75% of the national workforce.

Deputy Minister in The Presidency Buti Manamela said the disparity was a "generational catastrophe" that needed urgent attention.

He claimed that the government had turned the tide, saying the youth employment accord signed almost 18 months ago had created close to 5.3million jobs.

The population has increased from 38million in 1994 to 54million today, and the number of people with a job has increased from 9million to 15million.

The youth wage subsidy came into effect in January and gives a tax break to companies that employ young people.