Sam Nape writes:
Past President, Witbank Chamber of Commerce & Industries
One need not be a prophet of doom to unpack the colossal and devastating unemployment expected after the effect of Covid-19.
There was no pandemic when the previous national leaders promised to squash off unemployment of 500 000 South Africans to zero.
The new leadership also assured South Africans of curbing unemployment by half.
None of these occurred, instead the worst, traumatic and bizarre is ahead of us.
Being employed and living within the unemployed is more traumatic than being unemployed and living with the unemployed.
Those unemployed have camaraderie and visiting each other every morning sneaking for open opportunities coming at the back door or through nepotism or even if it warrants bribery.
There is protectionism amongst these groups compared to the employed who walk tall to work whilst the others nurse their self-esteem degraded by the work market that is not opening to them.
The employed feel threatened when the unemployed feel they are not to blame when others are employed to an extent that they will disrupt the employed not to go to work but sympathies and be in solidarity with them. With their work transport blockaded or even burned, to avoid being labelled sellouts.
Not being aware that the unemployed will have the unemployable amongst them pushing their luck that skilling is ongoing even at the age of over 55-years whilst unemployed.
To be unemployed and be multi-skilled you will be employable even during tough times.
This is the life-saving new profession acquired by foreigners and refugees who survive far better than local communities.
They still fail to close the gap and have less interest in being on-the-spot cell phone repairers, television repairers, mechanical and auto mechanics or street vendors.
The challenge facing the unemployable will expose lack of skills whereon their performances will be replaced with robots and the skillful unemployed will be accommodated and absorbed
The Fourth Industrial Revolution will create opportunities for the unemployed in the workspace.
Their available multi-skills will see them not replaced by robots but working in teams with robots as master planners
Modern industrialized countries record less on unemployment and sit with the access of the employable.
It is better to have some skills and be employable whilst unemployed with no skills and remain unemployable.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution will not accommodate five street sweepers whilst a machine manned by one will do the same job far cheaper and quicker.
It won’t accommodate a construction traffic controller 24/7 with possible lockdowns, slow go, running stomachs, ‘babalaas’, bathroom intervals and headaches when a battery-operated robot will go 24/7 with no leave benefits.
It will control long queues and manage times without uproars and countless misunderstanding from the human security employee.
The influx of foreign labour will be unavoidable whilst we relax and hope the government will address unemployment and improve and sustain unemployment insurance benefits when we make ourselves unemployable.
