We’re into the second month of the new year and for many, 2024 presents another year of promise, with the opportunity to set goals, pursue new avenues and prioritise growth and development. Many South African youth, young, talented and ambitious but for many, for reasons beyond their control, their dreams will have to wait or even change. At the beginning of 2024 897,775 South African youth eagerly awaited matric results, with 82.9% successfully passing and obtaining a matric certificate, which presents access to various avenues these young people theoretically could pursue. For the rest however, generally speaking, the lack of a matric certificate poses a barrier to accessing further educational and training opportunities as well as the labour market. Moreover, as it stands, the employment landscape in South Africa is not particularly encouraging. The youth unemployment rate in South Africa, measuring job-seekers between 15 and 24 years old, was set at 60.7%  in Q1 2023, (Statista, 2023).

This is significant as research suggests that individuals possessing post-secondary education are more likely to find employment and earn higher than their non-matriculated or degree-possessing counterparts. Furthermore, for those who may qualify to pursue further education, poverty, food insecurity, financial constraints, lack of social support, and a lack of clarity on career options to pursue are just a few of the other barriers that limit the options young people can pursue.

The iHub Africa solution

Each year our team begins the exciting and equally daunting task of intake – a 6- month intake cycle where we receive applications from youth all over Gauteng eager to lock in their place in the next iHub Africa cohort. In 2023, we received 2898 applications for the 60 available spots in the 2024 cohort.

iHub Africa is a free, 10-month, in-person training program that bridges access to opportunities by training young, hopeful South African youth in digital marketing and soft skills. Moreover, these young people are paired with professionals across a range of industries, in various stages of their careers who help these young people personalise and develop strategies to personalise the soft skills training facilitated through virtual coaching sessions that happen bi-weekly over the course of the year.

These ambitious young school leavers face a range of barriers to accessing opportunities. Some bleak numbers to consider: According to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) Q2:2023, 43.4% young people aged 15-34 are not enrolled in education or training (NEET). In Q2 of 2023, 40.2% of unemployed South Africans have less than a matric certificate (Statista, 2023). Moreover, as of 2022, only 5.5% of Black Africans aged 18 to 29 were enrolled at a higher education institution in South Africa, highlighting the limited opportunities available to higher education (Statista, 2023).

Given the demography we serve, a range of psychosocial, financial, emotional and relational issues emerge, often serving as barriers to not only to process of learning but also to committing to and completing the program. Think of the lack of social support, financial limitations affecting travel ability, poverty and food insecurity, as well as compromised safety depending on the communities students come from.

While we do our bit to attempt to lessen the impact of these by providing a light snack daily supplied by a local business, as well as a 60-80% travel scholarship to shortlisted applicants to attend our bootcamp. Bootcamp is a finalist selection week where applicants go through rigorous testing to get a taste of the program and culture while our team gets to know the applicants in order to make final selections.

Yet still, the many barriers still pose a challenge – 7% of the applicants are shortlisted for Bootcamp, and over the past three years, only half of those invited actually show up. The reasons cited: financial challenges to get to the hub on the first day, lack of family support to share family responsibilities and occasionally the emergence of alternative opportunities.

The Conundrum

So, how do we best facilitate access to opportunities for young people in light of the complex, interconnected nature of the issues they face that create barriers to access? Whose role is it to play? How do we do this in a sustainable and resource efficient way? Who ought to foot the bill?

These are important questions and our team is constantly grappling with these  questions, exploring innovative solutions to overcome these barriers. But for now, with the final week of Bootcamp underway and many eager, capable and ambitious young people vying for these 60 spots, we look forward to another great year and another successful cohort. In the labyrinth of barriers to opportunity, the riddle remains unsolved, but our commitment to unraveling it persists, one opportunity at a time.