Unemployment, Education and Skills Constraints in Post-Apartheid South Africa

This paper investigates the relationship between education and unemployment in post-apartheid South Africa, and probes the argument that employment growth has been inhibited particularly by skills constraints. We use probit regression analysis to show that higher education protected against unemployment in both 1995 and 2003, and that overall, the relative benefits to tertiary education rose over the period

The graduate labour market

This chapter looks at the labour market destinations of graduates who participated in the student retention and graduate Destination Study. The first part steps back from this study to analyse the South African graduate labour market, as a lead-in to the more specific examination of the employment outcomes of the students under investigation - the graduates of the seven institutions

A review of labour markets in South Africa: education and training

Commissioned by SIDA, OctoberThis paper focuses on the distribution of education and training in South Africa and the reasons for the observed skewed distribution. The premise is the recognition that education is one of the most important determinants of individuals' levels of earnings and status in the labour market

The state of the labour market in contemporary South Africa

The state of the labour market in South African today is a reflection of the crippling legacies of the apartheid years and, as such, is a major challenge confronting the government. Wherever one looks in the workplace that sector's HRD is characterised by racial inequalities. There are pockets of progress, but this progress has been miniscule in relation to the magnitude of the inequities inherited from the apartheid era.

Finding work: employment experiences of South African graduates

Complementing existing labour-market research on graduates, this study provides qualitative and quantitative data relating to graduates? experiences in the labour market. The data presented here offers a clear picture of graduate employment and includes the time it takes graduates to find employment, the factors that influence employability, the types of jobs they find, their perceptions of the relation of the level of jobs they found to their qualifications and to the sectors of employment. The report also looks at graduate unemployment, the period of unemployment and the reasons for unemployment. It reports on mobility in the South African labour market and what influences such mobility, and reviews the extent to which graduates move abroad and the reasons for deciding to move. It further investigates why the graduates surveyed chose to continue studying after obtaining their first degrees and reports on graduates? perceptions of the skills they acquired through higher education. For planners and employers, the report will inform long-term strategies aimed at developing an effective and appropriately trained workforce for South Africa. Prospective and current students will find the report?s in-depth information on the way in which the graduate labour market works both useful and relevant

Employment experiences of graduates

People with higher education experience a persistent advantage in the labour market. Their likelihood of being unemployed is low; and when this does occur, the period of unemployment is of relatively short duration. When they are employed it is often in relatively better paid jobs. Such employees also gain in terms of knowledge and experience which further benefit them in the job market. However, this advantage is not experienced by all segments of people with higher education, as there are differentiations by race and gender. By regularly surveying graduates, a picture can be built up of their entry into and progression through the labour market. A regular graduate tracking system can potentially provide prospective and current students, as well as employers, with indepth information on the way in which the graduate labour market works, thus helping them to make realistic plans. It would also help planners to develop longer-term strategies for the development and retention of people with the necessary levels of knowledge and skill. This focus on graduates is essential, given the considerable resources invested in their education by both the public and private individuals. The first chapter presents findings on employment of graduates and includes: the period it takes them to find employment, the factors that influence employability, the types of jobs they find, their own perceptions of the relation of the level of jobs they found both to their qualification and the sectors of employment. Chapter two looks at unemployment, the period of unemployment and the reasons for unemployment. Chapter three reports on mobility in the South African labour market and its influences. Chapter four looks at moving abroad and the reasons for this choice. Chapter five covers further studies and investigates why graduates choose to continue with studies after obtaining their first degrees. Chapter six reports on graduates' perceptions of the skills they acquired through higher education

Inequalities in higher education and the structure of the labour market

Part of the ongoing research on the employment experiences of university graduates in South Africa and based upon the most comprehensive tracer study of university graduates yet conducted, this paper looks at the inequities in higher education and their consequences in the labour market for people with tertiary qualification. Two key phenomena in occupation segregation in the South African labour market are examined: discrimination and acquired human capital, and it is argued here that these perpetuate the inequalities observed in the labour market. The influence of inequities in acquired human capital on educational attainment is examined, and the related influence on labour market prospects and the impact of qualification differences and other discriminatory factors on employment in South Africa are explored, in light of the key role that higher education has to play