ANC secretary-general, Fikile Mbalula, has called for the abolition of job experience requirements in recruitment, urging unemployed South Africans to report employers who demand experience for entry-level work.
His remarks come amid growing frustration among young job seekers who say experience clauses shut them out of the labour market before their careers even begin.
Addressing a community gathering in Madibeng, North West, on Thursday, Mbalula said that insisting on experience for first jobs was a barrier to opportunity.
“Young people finish their education and seek work only to be told they don’t qualify because they lack experience,” he said.
“I am saying young people must work, they will get experience at work. This thing of blocking young people because of experience must come to an end.”
South Africa’s jobless crisis is deep. According to the latest official figures, the national unemployment rate stands at 33.2%, with youth unemployment significantly higher.
Millions of young graduates, from doctors to engineers, teachers to technicians, find themselves stuck in a cycle of joblessness because their first step into the workforce is blocked by requirements they cannot meet.
In some cases, there are no jobs available.
Universities and colleges continue to produce thousands of qualified graduates each year, only for many to be met with rejection slips citing a lack of experience.
At job centres in cities such as Johannesburg, Pretoria and Durban, young people queue for hours to submit applications, only to be told repeatedly that they are unqualified without prior work experience.
Critics of the experience requirement say it effectively makes entry-level jobs inaccessible, creating a catch-22 where candidates cannot gain experience because no one will give them a chance.
Business groups have argued that some positions do require specialised skills, but youth and labour organisations say that training and internships should replace arbitrary experience barriers.
The government has promised to create more opportunities for the youth.
Mbalula’s call comes as the ANC celebrates its 114th anniversary this week, bringing renewed political focus to economic challenges facing South Africa’s youth and the broader labour market.
Meanwhile, reported this that President Cyril Ramaphosa said unemployment was keeping him awake at night.
Politics
