Youth Employment Project Call for Consultant

Transcription

1 GDP % GDP % Youth Employment Project Call for Consultant Develop a proposal promoting Youth Employment Project in South Africa INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND In 1995, United Nations Member States adopted the World Programme of Action for Youth to the year 2000 and beyond (WPAY). The programme (henceforth referred to as WAYP) identified 15 priorities to address challenges faced by youth; amongst some of these priorities are employment and combating poverty which are relevant to many countries in the world. In May 2015, the President of the General Assembly convened a Special Session to commemorate the 20 th Anniversary of the World Programme of Action for Youth. In addition to marking the 20 th Anniversary of WPAY, this high level event also offered an opportunity to Member States and other stakeholders to assess progress made in the implementation of the programme, to identify gaps and challenges encountered and to find innovative ways of accelerating the full implementation of the programme. Significant progress has been made in developing policy and programmes. Several Member States reported the establishments of Ministries of Youth, while others highlighted the strengthening of youth commissions and agencies. Despite these efforts and progress made, Member States acknowledged that youth unemployment continues to remain troublingly high and have soared to 13% in 2015, up from 11.7% in A sample of middle income countries (both upper and middle income countries) was taken and their GDP growth was plotted against unemployment rate. Notwithstanding positive growth in many sampled African countries, many struggled to address youth unemployment the financial crisis. Countries like South Africa, Gabon, Libya, Botswana and Namibia had youth unemployment rates above 30 per cent as shown by figure 1 below. Figure 1: Relationship GDP growth and youth unemployment (17-24): Angola 20.0 Figure 2: GDP growth and youth unemployment (17-24): HL HH Angola China 15.0 China India Argentina Cuba Nigeria Brazil Chile Turkey Mexico Spain Algeria Botswana Gabon Libya Namibia South Africa LL LH India Argentina Cuba Nigeria Brazil Chile Turkey Mexico Spain Algeria Botswana Gabon Libya Namibia South Africa 0.0 Fiji Fiji Unemployment rate % -5.0 Unemployment rate % Source: World Bank Indicators analyzed by UNDP South Africa Inclusive Growth Programme 1

2 GDP % Figure 2 has been divided into four parts: Countries with High GDP growth and Low youth unemployment denoted by HL symbol in the top left corner of the graph; countries with both High GDP growth and High youth unemployment denoted by the symbol HH are in the top right corner; countries with Low growth rate and Low unemployment are denoted by the symbol LL in the bottom left corner and lastly countries with Low growth and High unemployment are denoted by the symbol LH in the bottom right corner. The results demonstrate that many sampled countries with high youth unemployment rate in Africa are endowed in mineral resources (South Africa, Namibia, Gabon, Algeria, Botswana and Libya). Only one African country falls into the category of HL which is Angola. The International Labour Organization (2003) estimated that about 73.4 million young people globally want to work and are actively looking for a job but cannot find one. About one out of every two young people (52.9 percent) is unemployed or a discouraged work-seeker, not enrolled at an educational institution. The ILO report states that the world is facing a worsening youth employment crisis, where young people are three times more likely to be unemployed than adults. Figure 3: Relationship between GDP and Youth Unemployment in Botswana China India Angola Namibia 5.0 Nigeria Chile Turkey Gabon Fiji Cuba Brazil Algeria Argentina South Africa Mexico Spain Libya Youth Unemployment rate % source: Statistics from World Bank analysed by UNDP South Africa Inclusive Growth Programme According to the WPAY, underemployment and unemployment among the youth has continued to be a problem everywhere in the world. The financial crisis which precipitated the global recession has negatively impacted developing countries growth prospects and heralded an era of anaemic growth. Compared to the pre-financial crisis situation, youth unemployment has worsened in the majority of the countries sampled, except in eight countries were youth employment growth was anaemic ranging from one per cent to two per cent. South Africa s youth unemployment situation has worsened since 2007 from 46.5% to 53.6% increasing by 7 percentage points. South Africa Youth Unemployment Situation Unlike the United Nations, South Africa defines youth as those between the ages of Youth unemployment rates remain persistently high in South Africa, and the social and economic costs of 2

3 youth unemployment are high for both the individual and society. According to Statistics South Africa (2014), young people constitute 37 percent of the country s population. This could be a powerful resource for the country, provided the youth are supported and able to become economically active members of society. The National Development Plan noted that having a relatively young population is advantageous, provided the majority of working-age individuals are gainfully employed. Figure 4: Trends in the unemployment rate, :South Africa Source: Statistics South Africa As illustrated above, the unemployment rate among youth in South Africa is more than twice that of adults each year. Due to the global recession, the unemployment rate among youth rose from 32,1% in 2008 to 35,5% in According to the New Growth Path, the main challenges hampering young people from meaningfully participating in the mainstream economy are joblessness, poverty and inequality. If not addressed, the socio-economic effects of this situation will be dire, including increased crime, a poorly performing economy, extreme joblessness and poverty, and increased potential for political instability. UNDP s Efforts to tackle Youth Unemployment In 2013, the United Nations Development Programme in South Africa pioneered the establishment of a multi stakeholder forum on Youth Unemployment consisting of the Department of Labour, the National Youth Development Agency and the International Labour Organization. The working group commissioned two studies: (1) Profiling unemployed youth registered in the three large database with the hope that the analysis will assist other initiatives in providing improved service to the unemployed youth in South Africa; (2) Assess the effectiveness of youth employment schemes and recommend the most effective ones for scale up. Brief Overview of Current Interventions The following are Supply-Side Programmes and Policies Targeting Unemployed Youth 3

4 Education and Training: Despite receiving the highest budget allocation year-in and year-out, the South African education system is still faced with major structural challenges which worsen the youth unemployment situation. Quality of basic education is not good and therefore students complete their basic education with poor skills. Government has tried to respond to this by setting up a number of skills and vocational training programs managed through Further Education Training Colleges. However, many of these institutions have been unable to increase their capacity to produce the types of graduates with skills required by the economy or their curriculum is not aligned to the industry s labour demand. Expanded Public Works Programme: This is a self-targeting social safety net which provides income support to the poorest in the communities. Although this programme is not directly focused on addressing youth unemployment, most of the participants are under the age of 35. This programme has been less attractive to youth as it does not provide them with necessary skills that will ensure that at the end of their employment they are better equipped and skilled to get a better paying job. National Youth Development Agency s public deployment programs have been implemented in South Africa and target unemployed youth and the unskilled. The NYDA ran a 12-month program, providing youth and the unskilled with qualification credits in fields such as construction or enterprise development, where labour demand was stronger. Although the programme registered some success it needs to be scaled up to reach young people in rural areas. The National Rural Youth Service Corps is targeting rural youth. The intervention comprised a comprehensive two-year skills and incubation program after which participants would be involved in community development projects and be paid by government for their services. Training was conducted in numeracy, literacy, construction and entrepreneurship skills relevant to community development. This, it was hoped, would stimulate the rural economy. While this project has achieved a certain level of success it underestimated the amount of training required for youth to manage community projects. Youth Entrepreneurship: There have also been policy attempts at targeting youth entrepreneurship. The NYDA in particular plays a role in funding and facilitating youth cooperatives and provides training and support to youth entrepreneurs. These services are, however, not well targeted with very few young people accessing the services offered. Often interventions such as these are not pitched at the correct level or are offered to a community that does not have the required skills to exploit the opportunities. Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) play a critical role in skills development in South Africa. Of particular relevance to young people is the learnerships program, which allows the achievement of a nationally recognized qualification through a combination of structured learning and practical work experience. Learnerships involve individuals being placed within workplaces and are open to both students and the unemployed. However this programme needs to be restructured as some youth are still not skilled at the end of their learnerships. The Department of Labor s employment services: aims to create an enabling environment for job creation through regulation. The Employment Services Act was passed in April The purpose of this legislation is to promote employment, to improve the prospects of those looking for work by training and facilitating job matching. Jobs Fund represents a significant intervention aimed at reducing unemployment generally. It was launched in mid-2011 by the President of South Africa. The Jobs Fund is the world s largest such initiative??, with projects selected for funding through competitive processes. The main impact criteria is job creation and sustainability. The fund provides public funding in four areas: enterprise development, infrastructure investment, and support for job seekers and institutional capacity. 4

5 Demand-Side Policies Targeting Employers In an attempt to address the scourge of youth unemployment and stimulate a demand for young workers, the President of South Africa signed into law the Employment Tax Incentive Bill in December The purpose of this law is to implement a tax incentive which will reduce the cost to employers of hiring young and inexperienced youth through a cost sharing mechanism. The Act seeks to encourage employers to create job opportunities for young and inexperienced job seekers. It has been reported that about jobs have been created since the implementation of the Act. OBJECTIVE OF THE ASSIGNMENT 1. Objective To provide technical support to the Country Office in developing a project document on youth employment and mobilizing resources for the project, by: SCOPE OF WORK, DELIVERABLES, TIME FRAME, AND MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS OF THE EXPERT Scope of work and Expected Outputs The activities of the assignment: Identifying underlying determinants of youth unemployment in the country Identifying bottlenecks impending youth employment Assessing the current legal framework regarding employment creation in South Africa Meet different stakeholders (UN Agencies, Development Partners, and Private Sector etc.) to determine whether they have any programmes targeted at youth employment and how effective they have been. Meet with policy makers to assess government s future thinking in addressing youth unemployment Meet potential donors and funders who may be interested in funding a UNDP initiative on youth unemployment Research best practices in youth employment programmes over the world, especially in countries with similar GDP/youth employment ratios to South Africa. Use the above to develop a project document entailing innovative interventions that will address youth unemployment Submission of a mission report to UNDP Country Office and summarized desktop research on youth unemployment in South Africa Developing a summary of the situation of youth employment in South Africa Expected Results and Outcomes Situational Analysis of youth unemployment in the country focusing on the following - Determinants of youth unemployment - Bottleneck in youth employment - Current legal framework around employment and youth unemployment - Analyze successful youth employment initiative in the country and internationally Draft Project Document(template is attached as Annex A) 5

6 Eligibility of Applicants Experts must fulfill the following selection criteria: Education: Master s or equivalent degree in social sciences or development economics, PhD would be considered as an advantage Experience: - At least 10 years of experience in the area of youth unemployment in South Africa. - Five years research background on youth unemployment issues, - Experience in writing project proposals to development partners. - Good knowledge of the South Africa legal framework around youth employment. - Experience of working with UN agencies and other development partners. - Experience in working private sector and public sector on youth unemployment issues PROJECT MONITORING AND REPORTING Consultant will report directly to the Programme Manager Inclusive Growth. They will interact with UNDP Regional Office Expert working on youth unemployment who will provide inputs and advice on the draft proposal/project document. It is expected that the experts will work closely with the Senior Economist in the Country Office and the project associate who has been coordinating youth unemployment activities. 6