A wake up call for parents and matriculants!

It is common knowledge that the Dept of Education had to "adjust" the 2009 Matric results in order to increase the pass rate.

According to Stats SA, the unemployment figures for South Africa have decreased in the first quarter of 2010.
In 2009, there were 208 000 unemployed people in SA.
In 2010, there were only 171 000 people without work.

What they don't tell us is that the FIFA spin-off created about 50 000 jobs which are now going to become redundant. This will raise the number ot unemployed to 221 000, which means an extra 13 000 jobs will have been lost.

A factor to bear in mind are that the figures they quote are based on the 2001 population census.
Another factor that will severely skew their figures is the fact that they use their unemployment figures based on numbers from the UIF. Conservatively, add 10% to the unemployment figure.

Not a pretty picture. For now or the future.

Economists are advising matriculants to study further. That is all fine and well, but for three factors.

One. South Africa has a toilet load of graduates who, if they have a job, are working outside of their field, as they are unable to find employment in their chosen field.
Two. As a nation, we need more technicians, and people with technical skills. Schools have neglected technical subjects, and apprenticeships in technical fields seem to be almost impossible to secure, as most technical colleges have disappeared!
Three. Two thirds of first year students never finish their studies!

School leavers, you need to know that the possibility of not finding work is very real. The South African economy and the South African Education system are ensuring that survival beyond school is a matter of survival.

Surviving a poor economy is not a matter of being stronger than the rest, but about being smarter.

Rather than planning to study further for a job that you will probably not get, plan your own home business.

Parents. Calculate the costs of:
Sending your child to Varsity for 10 months.
Sending your child to Varsity for 4 years.
Maintaining your child, at home, while they are job hunting, for, lets say one year.
And finally, the cost of helping your child start up their own little business.

Every person has at least one skill, talent, or ability that they can utilize to serve another person. This rendering of a service is obviously linked to a financial reward. Just walking dogs twice a day is a service, and will attract a financial gain. This is a business. Now, obviously one will never get rich walking dogs, but, if the dog walker were to recommend a particular collar, leash, or doggie jacket to their existing clients, the chances are good a sale can be made, on which the walker will receive either a commisiion, or the profit.

Parents and pupils, wake up. Work is available, lots of it, but don't expect to find it anywhere except within yourself. Just to give your creative juices a bit of a running start, have a look at this list of small business ideas that can be run from home

Good Luck!

Resources:
http://www.statssa.gov.za/ (PDF Download)
http://www.statssa.gov.za/
http:/www.news24.com/