Youth Unemployment Scenarios: South Africa in 2040

This book examines the factors driving youth unemployment in South Africa, explores potential future outcomes, and offers strategies to avoid an impending crisis. It illustrates four possible future states of youth employment in 2040 and presents five strategies to fight youth unemployment.

Format: Hardback
Length: 178 pages
Publication date: 12 July 2022
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This comprehensive book delves into the intricate factors contributing to youth unemployment in South Africa, shedding light on the potential consequences of its widespread prevalence. Through a rigorous analysis, it explores a range of strategies aimed at averting an impending crisis within the country. The author employs a scenario analysis rooted in complex systems theory, drawing upon statistical and field research to paint a vivid picture of four possible future states of youth employment in South Africa by the year 2040. These scenarios encompass the South African version of the Arab Spring, characterized by young people engaging in riots or protests due to their perception that access to education and jobs is solely attainable through social status or corruption. Additionally, the book presents a fair access to a high number of jobs supported by Chinese interventions, a technology-driven decline in the number of jobs where merit-based access for youth is granted, and the collapse of the economy, leading to widespread desperation among youth.

In response to these challenges, the author offers five compelling strategies to combat youth unemployment. These include the training of youth to start their businesses, the stimulation of small- and medium-sized enterprises, and the sending of unemployed youth abroad for skills development and employment opportunities. This book appeals to scholars of South African politics and economics, labor economics and youth studies, as well as individuals passionate about addressing youth unemployment on a global scale. By examining the root causes of youth unemployment and proposing innovative solutions, this book contributes to the ongoing discourse on youth empowerment and economic development.

Dimension: 216 x 138 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032029627