M.Com. (Development Economics) / South Africa’s youth unemployment rate is one of the highest in the world and is a concern to both economists and policy-makers. What is particularly concerning is the disparity in unemployment rates among the different population groups. Previous studies on youth unemployment have attributed the high unemployment rate in South Africa to a lack of necessary skills in the economy and the fact that a large proportion of the population gains university qualifications for career paths that have few employment opportunities. This latter fact contributes to the high unemployment rate among graduates. Thus, this dissertation endeavours to determine whether identity influences this choice. This is done by using a survey to determine the population’s cultural traits and then applying a multinomial logit model to determine whether these cultural traits influence the selection of the fields of study and, by implication, the career choice. The fields of study considered are financial sciences, humanities, law, management, and sciences. The more popular choices are then compared with the fields with the highest unemployment rates, from the second quarter of 2014, to establish whether there is a link. The results show that some cultural traits do indeed influence career choice; but, they also reveal that career choice alone does not influence youth unemployment rates. The results further show that such fields as sciences could have more graduates; but, factors such as experience have a bigger influence on whether or not these graduates will find employment.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management specialising in Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation. Johannesburg, 2017 / South Africa has one of the highest unemployment rates in the world, with youth unemployment sitting at 37.5 percent in 2016. In an attempt to remedy South Africa’s unemployment, the government sought entrepreneurship as a solution. The South African government has implemented various policies and established numerous institutional bodies to accelerate entrepreneurship. Some of these policies and bodies are aimed specifically at enhancing entrepreneurship among the youth. In order to understand the best approach to assist these young entrepreneurs, it is important to understand what drives performance in current young entrepreneurs’ enterprises. This paper evaluated the impact that entrepreneurial capital (human, social, and financial capital) had on the performance of youth-owned enterprises. It surveyed 199 young entrepreneurs (between 18 and 35 years old) to understand what drives performance within their enterprises. The research found that there were high levels of performance within youth-owned enterprises, when there were high levels of human capital and social capital. However, there was a negative relationship between financial capital and the performance of youth-owned enterprises. Overall, the research concluded that high levels of entrepreneurial capital had a positive relationship with the performance of youth-owned enterprises. The objective of this study was to understand what drives the performance of youth-owned enterprises, in order to best facilitate government assistance and support for young entrepreneurs. The outcome suggests that human capital and social capital drive performance of youth-owned enterprises, it would thus be advisable for the South African government to focus on those two variables when drafting policies and forming institutional bodies to enhance youth entrepreneurship. / MT2017

Job creation remains a critical challenge for South Africa. Despite strong achievements in macro-economic stability and increases in employment, the growing labour force has outstripped the capacity of the labour market to absorb young people. The state of the country’s skills base, rendered inadequate by the legacy of apartheid, contributes to sustained inequalities in the labour market. This impacts on the capacity of the economy to grow in an increasingly competitive global environment. In this context, Vocational Education and Training (VET) is viewed as an important mechanism for building the necessary intermediate technical skills to support key sectors of the economy. However, international experience demonstrates that expanding the VET system and developing human capital more broadly will not in itself lead to increased job creation. The alignment of skills supply and demand can only be achieved through a well-developed understanding of the factors that support or inhibit the transition of young people into the labour market. This study investigates these factors through the lens of social capital theory. Through tracing 1,532 individuals who graduated from FET Colleges in the Gauteng province in 1999, the study interrogates the role of bonding and bridging social capital in supporting the transition into colleges and from colleges into the labour market. The findings show support for the three hypotheses: 1) Poor socio-economic family contexts appear to offer little information from which to make effective educational choices. Young people generally make such choices on the basis of perceived long-term value of post-school education rather than short-term economic considerations. 2) FET colleges are ineffective agents of bridging social capital and therefore have limited impact on the rate of employment, in particular the rate of relevant employment. 3) Personal networks are critical, but in impoverished environments are ineffective for finding meaningful employment on initial entry into the labour market. Therefore, restricted social networks have the potential to further entrench social inequality. The study contributes to a greater understanding of the challenges facing youth in navigating through the transition from school to work and the implications for FET policy in pressurising colleges to create access to effective social networks for their students and thereby meaningfully contribute to job creation.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Economics))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, School of Economic & Business Sciences, 2016. / No abstract.

A Research report submitted to the School of Social Sciences, Faculty of Humanities University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the field of Demography and Population Studies for the year 2016 / INTRODUCTION: Youth labour force participation (YLFP) measures the level of economic activity among the youth. It is measured as the sum of all young people who are employed, unemployed or looking for work, as a percentage of the youth population. The weakening of the global recovery in 2012 and 2013 further aggravated the youth jobs crisis and the queues for available jobs have become longer for young jobseekers (ILO, 2013). This study examines the association between the level of education and labour force participation among the youth in South Africa. It also seeks to examine other socio-demographic factors influencing YLFP in the country. METHOD: Analysis of the data from a sample of 30144 youth aged 15-35 years who participated in the South African 2014 Quarterly Labour Force Survey was done using logistic regression models. In the multiple logistic regression, two models were used. Model 1 included the following variables: education level, age and gender whilst in model 2 this study controlled for: population group, type of residence and province because these socio-demographic factors influence youth labour force participation. RESULTS: When controlled for potential confounding effects of age, gender, type of residence, population group and province, youth with higher education were more likely to participate in labour force as compared to youth who have no or have primary education [(Q1: OR1 4.28, 95% CI2 3.74 to 4.90); (Q2: OR 4.34, 95% CI 3.78 to 4.97); (Q3: OR 3.91, 95% CI 3.41 to 4.48) & (Q4: OR 3.88, 95% CI 3.38 to 4.45)]. The association between education level and youth labour force participation was found to be statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Young people with tertiary qualifications in South Africa are more likely to participate in the labour force. The evidence from the study shows there is a higher risk of mismatch for youth at the bottom of the educational pyramid, which is reflected in relatively high unemployment rates for the low skilled in comparison with the high skilled / GR2017

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2017-03-27T10:21:36Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Thiago Machado Rodrigues.pdf: 1490154 bytes, checksum: 3432574fe078be706566ae44bf5ffbf3 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-03-27T10:21:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Thiago Machado Rodrigues.pdf: 1490154 bytes, checksum: 3432574fe078be706566ae44bf5ffbf3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-03-15 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / Nowadays, society has been suffering from recurring economic crises in many ways. In this scenario, countries are greatly affected by unemployment which, in turn, is one of the main features of the current capitalist economic system. Furthermore, innovations brought by new production and management models driven by the microelectronics and information technology revolution also foster the creation or reduction of jobs. Unemployment hits society as a whole, but the youth of today is one of its levels which are most affected. Currently, young people seek their insertion into the labor market without any experience and qualification in a scenario in which, according to data from surveys, 50% of employers require hands-on experience as a prerequisite for employment. Through a qualitative and exploratory approach, the present study aimed to identify different aspects involving young Brazilians’ particularities and the main factors involving their insertion into the current labor market. For such a purpose, the historical development of labor evolution and its interactions with the capitalist system have been addressed, as well as the major changes in employment relationships, through which labor projections as to the future of society and the impacts caused by new forms of production and information technology were discussed. Issues concerning the interaction of young people with education and the labor market in Brazil were also addressed. The present Brazilian youth population and quality of education provided to such individuals, as well as its scope, were also discussed. Through an extensive use of secondary data from main national social survey agencies, an analysis of the labor market in Brazil has been conducted by highlighting aspects that lead to youth unemployment. In conclusion, young Brazilians are not inserted in the labor market mainly on account of lack of experience, qualification and jobs / Recorrentes crises econômicas impactam a sociedade atual em diversos aspectos. Neste cenário, as nações são altamente afetadas pelo desemprego, que por sua vez é uma das principais características do atual sistema econômico capitalista. Em conjunto, inovações trazidas por novos modelos de produção e gestão, impulsionados pela revolução da microeletrônica e da tecnologia da informação, também influenciam na criação ou redução de postos de trabalho. O desemprego abrange a sociedade como um todo, porém alguns grupos são mais afetados, como a juventude. Os jovens da atualidade buscam a inserção no mercado de trabalho sem experiência e qualificação, justamente em um cenário em que, segundo pesquisas, 50% dos empregadores solicitam experiência na função como pré-requisito de contratação. Utilizando uma abordagem qualitativa, de caráter exploratório, o presente trabalho buscou como objetivo principal identificar os diferentes aspectos que envolvem as particularidades dos jovens brasileiros e os principais fatores que envolvem a inserção destes indivíduos no mercado de trabalho atual. Para isso, foi abordado o desenvolvimento histórico da evolução do trabalho e suas interações com o sistema capitalista, assim como as principais alterações nas relações de trabalho, onde foram discutidas as projeções do trabalho no futuro da sociedade e os impactos causados pelas novas formas produtivas e a tecnologia da informação. Foram abordados temas relacionados com a interação dos jovens com a educação e o mercado de trabalho no Brasil. Discutiu-se o que é hoje a juventude brasileira e a qualidade da educação disposta aos indivíduos deste grupo, assim como a sua abrangência na população jovem do Brasil. Por meio de uma ampla utilização de dados secundários dos principais órgãos de pesquisas sociais nacionais, realizou-se uma análise do emprego e do mercado de trabalho brasileiro, evidenciando os aspectos influenciadores do desemprego jovem, onde se conclui que o jovem brasileiro não se insere no mercado de trabalho principalmente por falta de experiência, qualificação e ausência de postos de trabalho

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1981. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH. / Bibliography: leaves 139-142. / by Theresa Linell Alford. / M.C.P.

Thesis. 1976. Ph.D.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning. / Microfiche copy available in Archives and Rotch. / Vita. / Bibliography: leaves 242-252. / by Paul Osterman. / Ph.D.

This study uses grounded theory method to explore how effective China's social policy in promoting social integration through an investigation of the social consequences of youth unemployment in Shanghai. Research questions include: What is the impact of unemployment on the social integration of young people in Shanghai? What are the roles of state welfare institution and family system in the influencing process? The results show that the unemployed young persons in Shanghai face the risks of social exclusion in their lives, such as, access to state welfare, economic condition, consumption, leisure activities, time structure, social relations, and life transition. The reason for the emergence of these risks is that the state gives the highest priority to system integration and shifts its unemployment protection obligation to the family without well-developed family-supportive polices to assure and promote the realization of the protecting function of family. Thus, under the current framework of social policy, family becomes the primary social institution to promote social integration among the unemployed youth. However, the realization of family protecting function is not automatic inevitable, but a negotiated consequence of the harmonic interaction among family economic resource, family structure, family obligation and family relationship. The failure of family support would make the young unemployed socially excluded. This study suggests that China's social policy should emphasize both system integration as well as social integration: establishing the social right value based upon fair reciprocity of rights and responsibilities, formulating family-supportive polices, and applying the perspective of "new social policy" to broaden the scope of social policy interventions. / 曾群. / 論文(哲學博士)--香港中文大學, 2005. / 參考文獻(p. 251-267). / Adviser: Ngan-pun Ngai. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-07, Section: A, page: 2756. / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest Information and Learning Company, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts also in English. / School code: 1307. / Lun wen (Zhe xue bo shi)--Xianggang Zhong wen da xue, 2005. / Can kao wen xian (p. 251-267). / Zeng Qun.

The Oregon Youth Conservation Corps (OYCC) is a youth work program created by the Oregon Legislature in 1987. The OYCC provides both summer and year-round employment programs primarily for disadvantaged and at-risk youth. The legislatively defined purpose of the OYCC is to protect, conserve, and improve the natural, historical, and cultural resources of the state, and to increase the education, training, and employment opportunities for participating youth. In addition, youth are given the opportunity to improve work skills and work-related social skills, develop the work ethic, and increase employability. The OYCC's impact on Oregon's resources, such as the improvements made to parks and the enhancement of public recreation areas, has been well documented. What has not been methodically studied are the outcomes of OYCC participation on youths' work skills, social skills, employability, and educational goals. This study examined participant outcomes for 400 of the over 600 youth enrolled in OYCC 1996 summer programs. Summer programs operate in nearly all of Oregon's 36 counties, and programs vary in length from 5 weeks to 10 weeks duration. Crew sizes vary from 4 to 10 participants, and are led by an adult crew leader. Pretest surveys were completed by participants and crew leaders at the beginning of each program. Participants and crew leaders completed posttest surveys again at the end of each program. Retrospective (post-then pre) pretests were also used. Measures were adopted from a Colorado State University evaluation of Youth Conservation Corps (Johnson, Driver, Ross, & Shikiar, 1982) These measures assessed changes in work skills, work-related social skills, educational goals, and potential for future employability. Data were analyzed to determine if outcomes of OYCC participation varied by program length, residential status, or participants' risk status. Investigator-designed measures were used to obtain demographic data. Both the traditional pretest-post test and the retrospective pretest methodologies revealed significant increases in participants' work competence and skills, work attitudes and behaviors, and comfort with diversity among co-workers. Increases were most significant among higher risk youth. Residential programs were particularly effective. Suggestions for future evaluation development and implementation are made. / Graduation date: 1998