Youth empowerment requires mindset change and systemic solutions
Leaders share that systemic solutions and enhanced community participation in development programmes could lead to the true empowerment of young people in Alexandra.
Statistics South Africa’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey for the first quarter of 2025 reveals that the youth unemployment rate in South Africa stands at a staggering 46.1%.
This paints a bleak picture of young people’s prospects of securing employment in the country. The grave impact of joblessness is also felt by young people in Alexandra, prompting questions such as what needs to be done to truly empower young people in Alexandra?
Community leaders hold differing views. Sindi Ndlovu, a skills coordinator in Region E, said empowerment initiatives have been introduced but are failing due to a lack of engagement. “I think what needs to happen here in the community of Alexandra is for us as youth to change our mindset on what we expect from our organisations… Stakeholders have been bringing skills here in Alexandra, but only to find that the community here is not taking it seriously.”
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Ndlovu said that young people focus on the money rather than the long-term benefits of skills development programmes. “Their main focus is always on their stipend, not on the achievements of that programme. So, we need to take things seriously and be productive when it comes to community initiatives.”
On the other hand, Mush Raletjena, founder of the SA Job Seekers Movement, said structural barriers play a role in exacerbating unemployment. For the true empowerment of youth, he said he advocates for a centralised job portal that would simplify access to employment. He noted this is their proposal to the department of employment and labour.
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“One of the things that discourages young people from searching for jobs is that they are always expected to deliver their CVs, and are not getting called or any opportunities. That is why we came up with this [centralised job portal] proposal.” His proposal comes on the back of Stats SA’s report that at the beginning of the year, about 1.9 million youth between the ages of 15-34 were classified as discouraged work-seekers.
Raletjena concluded that a single registration system with personal profiles could streamline the job search process, and that would empower young people, including Alexandra youth.
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