Key points:.South Africa's youth face a 60% unemployment rate, fueling poverty and crime.Labour laws hinder job creation, excluding unskilled school leavers from work.The JSEC offers a solution, exempting first-time job seekers from restrictive laws..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here..The seventh BizNews Conference, BNC#7, is to be held in Hermanus from March 11 to 13, 2025. The 2025 BizNews Conference is designed to provide an excellent opportunity for members of the BizNews community to interact directly with the keynote speakers, old (and new) friends from previous BNC events – and to interact with members of the BizNews team. Register for BNC#7 here..If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here.By Eustace Davie*.After the euphoria of passing matric fades, most of South Africa's 2024 matriculants will face a harsh reality: they are unlikely to find work. Of the 1.22 million bright-eyed children who started Grade 1 in 2013, only 614,562 passed matric. The real pass rate is just over 50%, and even among those who passed, most are unprepared for higher education or work. The official pass rate of 87.3% obscures the education system's failure to equip students to become active and productive members of society..Adding to this tragedy, the matric pass requirements are shockingly low; 30% in three subjects and 40% in three others. These minimal standards leave graduates without the skills needed for work or further study..The cost of Labour Laws.For the majority of matriculants, university is not an option. Although 48% achieved a bachelor's pass, fewer than 15% will enrol in university. The rest will look for work. Unfortunately, South Africa's labour laws make it nearly impossible for businesses, especially SMEs, to hire inexperienced school leavers..Read more: The education myth: Why degrees won't solve unemployment – Woode-Smith.Minimum wage laws make hiring unskilled workers unaffordable, while complex dismissal procedures increase risks for businesses. As a result, school leavers with no experience or the right to negotiate are excluded from the job market. Collective bargaining agreements exacerbate the problem by extending unaffordable wage and benefit requirements to all businesses in an industry, discouraging job creation. Instead of protecting workers, these laws protect those already employed, locking out young, unskilled job seekers..The tragedy of youth unemployment.South Africa's youth unemployment rate is above 60%. This is a national disaster. Young people without work or prospects face a future of poverty, dependency and social alienation, often turning to crime or drugs. Meanwhile, the economy loses the productivity and energy of its youngest citizens..The education system, already failing to prepare learners, feeds into a labour system that keeps them unemployed. It is a vicious cycle that must be broken..The Job Seekers Exemption Certificate (JSEC): A real solution.The Job Seekers Exemption Certificate (JSEC), a solution long proposed by the Free Market Foundation, would offer a practical way to address this seemingly insurmountable crisis. It would allow young people with no work experience to exempt themselves from restrictive labour laws. With a JSEC, a school leaver would have the right to negotiate directly with an employer, agreeing on wages and conditions of employment without the barriers of minimum wage laws and other restrictive labour regulations..What is the JSEC?.A certificate that allows first-time job seekers and the long-term unemployed to opt out of the labour laws.Gives young, inexperienced workers the right to negotiate directly with employers to, for example, secure an apprenticeship arrangement or low-paying job to gain experience.Removes barriers such as minimum wage laws, conditions of employment and collective bargaining agreements for certificate holders.Aims to reduce the cost and risk of hiring inexperienced, unskilled, and long-term unemployed job seekers, encouraging businesses to offer entry-level jobs..This simple reform would lower the cost and risk of hiring inexperienced workers, giving businesses the freedom to create jobs that would not exist under current conditions. Small businesses would be able to take on young employees, train them, and provide the experience they need to build their futures..The JSEC would not undermine protections for established workers or wages in general. It is a targeted solution for those who currently have no opportunity. It would open the door for young people to gain experience, develop skills, and move up the economic ladder..Time to act.The real 2024 matric results highlight the failures of South Africa's education and labour systems. Most of these school leavers will not find work unless bold reforms are made. The JSEC is a straightforward, free-market solution that empowers individuals and removes the barriers keeping them out of the workforce..South Africa cannot afford to let another lost generation languish in unemployment. Every day of delay leaves more young people behind. The government must act now to adopt the JSEC and give school leavers a chance to build a future..This is not just about policy. It is about the country's future. A nation that does not provide opportunities for its youth sacrifices its potential and ensures its own decline. The JSEC is the key to breaking the cycle of poverty and unemployment. South Africa must seize this opportunity before it is too late..Read also:.BELA Bill: Threatening public education and increasing inequality – Andrew KennyGauteng Education Department: Deceit, delusion and dishonesty – Richard WilkinsonScathing revelations emerge in Parliamentary examination of higher education – OUTA uncovers the deception.*Eustace Davie is a Director and Board member of the Free Market Foundation and author of Unchain the child.
