Youth unemployment is one of the key global challenges facing the world today. Statistically, the global youth unemployment rate is 13.1%. Youth entrepreneurship is viewed as a possible solution to youth unemployment. Interestingly, the world has adopted entrepreneurship as a strategic approach to facilitate economic participation among the youth. Youth entrepreneurship has gained importance in recent years in many countries, as a way of fostering employment opportunities, boosting economic competitiveness, and promoting local and regional development. Youth involvement in entrepreneurship assists in boosting their confidence, achieving economic independence, and alleviating poverty. Some researchers describe entrepreneurial orientation as innovativeness, pro-activeness, risk taking, and competitive aggressiveness. Other researchers see entrepreneurial orientation as being pushed or pulled into entrepreneurship. In this study, push and pull factors to become entrepreneurs were used to determine the entrepreneurial orientation of the respondents. The objectives of the study were to investigate whether there is a relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and the business performance of youth entrepreneurs in the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality. A descriptive research design within a quantitative research approach was adopted using online surveys and physical administration of questionnaires. The study used a census method to sample 555 youth entrepreneurs in the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality. A low response rate was achieved as only 96 respondents fully completed the questionnaires, which were used in the analysis. The collected data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences. The findings of this study revealed that push factors had a significant influence on the business performance of youth businesses in the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality; whereas there was no statistical evidence to suggest that pull factors predicted the business performance of youth businesses in the study area. The research found that entrepreneurship among young individuals is essential to enhancing young people’s economic development. The study discovered that most TMM youths were pulled in to starting their own businesses. The research also suggested that, EO could encourage TMM youth entrepreneurs to continue to become innovative, take- risk, be pro-active and competive aggressive in the businesses. / Business Management / M.A (Business Management)

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 238- 250) / People who are Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET) in the Gauteng province are faced with a number of challenges that have many detrimental effects. One major issue is the large number of NEET people who are information illiterate to operate information services that are largely web based. Previously, information services used to be more static in nature, but ICT advancement have enabled flexibility in terms of how people actively search for developmental and work opportunities information. Scholars and research institutions have conducted extensive studies on developing the capacity of NEET people. However, there was little evidence of studies that focus on services that serve information to this community of NEET people. Therefore, this thesis aims to propose an information services framework and provide an insightful discussion about information services and NEET people. Data were collected primarily through semi-structured interviews with NEET people and, in the process, observations transpired along, with document analysis. The study adopted qualitative research and the findings were analysed thematically in line with the objectives of the study. The study revealed that intervention programmes are important to support NEET people to gain confidence and prepare them for work by refining their skills. In addition, there are initiatives that offer support and training at no cost. The major findings of the study were that there are inequalities experienced by NEET people because of socio-economic issues. It was also discovered that there are NEET people who are self-taught to utilise information services on ICT platforms. The study concludes that information literacy is important for NEET people to proficiently make use of information services to search for information. Work experience topped the agenda in terms of challenges experienced by NEET people when seeking for work. Furthermore, seeking for work or developmental opportunities information is an emotionally draining exercise for most NEET people. Such that some of the NEET people have indicated that they feel discouraged, particularly when continuously being rejected by potential organisations. Good education remains important as it has the capacity to build the individual’s mind and better place the individual’s mind to demonstrate passion towards what the persons envisage to do. A further study is recommended to investigate the extent to which lack of ICT skills has an impact on increasing the risk of NEET people remaining NEET. / Information Science / D. Litt. et Phil. (Information Science)

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of unemployment on the mental well-being of the South African working age population. The implication of exploring this relationship is to indicate the importance of good mental health among persons who are not employed. The present study also aimed atinvestigating the role that government can play in mitigating the impact of unemployment on mental health. This part of the research assessed the effectiveness of government’s social security system. The current study employs a mixed research design whereby both quantitative and qualitative methods of data analysis are used. The relationship between unemployment, mental well-being and government intervention is investigated using a cohort group in which the mental health of persons not employed, aged between 15 and 64 years, are followed over the period, 2004 to 2008. The results are presented using two types of data. First, secondary data from Statistics South Africa’s General Household Survey (GHS) were used to measure the impact of unemployment on mental health and to ascertain the impact of government social assistance on affected individuals’ mental well-being. Secondly, in order to explore individual perceptions around government intervention, the research employed a qualitative phenomenological design. This involved conducting semi-structured personal interviews with four unemployed women residing in Gauteng. The results showed that incidences of self-reported mental health illnesses were most likely to be found among individuals who were not employed as compared to those that were employed. This finding proved to be consistent using both descriptive and multivariate statistics which included predictive models. In terms of government intervention, positive mental well-being was shown to be positively related to access of social welfare services (in the form of social grants). This finding was true for all the years of reporting (i.e., 2004 to 2008). In conclusion, although unemployment was found to have a negative impact of mental well-being, government intervention was shown to positively mitigate this impact, thereby giving hope to an otherwise hopeless situation. Unemployment and its impact on mental well-beingalso proved to be a complex subject, requiring multidisciplinary intervening strategies to solving it. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

Cette thèse porte dans une perspective sociohistorique et ethnographique sur le mouvement piquetero en Argentine et ses transformations successives durant les années 2000 en un vaste réseau d’organisation prestataires de services. Ce mouvement est né des actions collectives des chômeurs et travailleurs précaires à la fin des années 1990 contre les effets des réformes « néolibérales » et tient son nom de l’un de ses modes de protestation privilégié, le barrage de route ou piquete. Dès ses débuts, les piqueteros ont fait l’objet d’un double traitement de la part de l’État, entre répression et récupération dans le cadre de la mise en place de programmes de transferts conditionnés des ressources (Conditional Cash Transfer Programs). Dans cette nouvelle configuration de l’action publique ciblée, il s’agit désormais pour l’État de déléguer la distribution des aides sociales aux organisations, au regard de leur proximité territoriale avec les populations précarisées. Or, cette thèse montre que ce rôle flou de guichet, qui tend à introduire d’une manière ou d’une autre de la concurrence entre les organisations, a ainsi rapidement contribué à fragmenter l’espace piquetero, et produit des effets ambivalents sur les pratiques et les trajectoires des participants. La thèse s’appuie sur des méthodes mixtes, qualitatives et quantitatives, à partir d’une enquête de terrain menée pendant 40 mois, entre 2000 et 2015, dans deux provinces argentines. D’une part, à travers une ethnographie et des entretiens biographiques approfondis auprès des leaders, des délégués et des militants de la base (N=104), nous avons observé les interactions entre ces différentes catégories. Une prosopographie des leaders (N=76) nous a, d’autre part, permis à partir des méthodes statistiques de l’analyse factorielle (ACM) et de la classification (CAH) de rendre compte de la structuration de cet espace des organisations. Dans une première partie, la thèse s’attache – à l’appui d’archives et d’entretiens – à mettre en lumière les conditions de possibilité de la cristallisation progressive d’un mouvement social en un espace d’organisations. Nous avons cherché ici à appréhender le contexte, les enjeux et les moyens d’action de ce mouvement contestataire, en rapportant son inscription à l’évolution depuis le début du XXè siècle des rapports entre État, partis politiques et syndicats. La deuxième partie de la thèse est, elle, consacrée à l’analyse des pratiques militantes et des formes d’encadrement au sein des organisations. L’ouverture de la boîte noire des organisations révèle ainsi à quel point leur fonctionnement interne résulte de la capacité d’un ensemble d’intermédiaires à mener un travail de représentation, de mobilisation et de gestion des ressources vis-à-vis de certaines fractions des classes populaires particulièrement disposées à s’engager dans la durée. L’examen statistique des trajectoires de leaders nous renseigne par ailleurs sur les ressources nécessaires à l’occupation d’un tel poste et aussi sur ce que l’engagement fait aux parcours individuels. Enfin, une troisième partie a servi à appréhender les pratiques associatives au sein des organisations. Restituer les logiques de recrutement et les profils des recrutés a donné à voir dans la durée aussi bien les conditions de l’engagement de ces chômeurs et travailleurs précaires que les effets sur leurs trajectoires. L’observation des pratiques notamment lors des assemblées permet de montrer les principes d’encadrement tendus entre militantisme et entreprenariat qui pèsent sur les participants. Si cette fraction de précaires témoigne au sein des classes populaires de formes de mobilisation et de résistance particulièrement exemplaires, ils tendent également à déployer des modalités d’accommodement aux organisations, différenciées suivant leur socialisation et le volume et la nature de leurs ressources. / This thesis discusses the Piquetero movement in Argentina and its successive transformations during the 2000s into an extensive network of service provider organizations throughout the territory from a sociohistorical and ethnographic perspective. This movement was born out of the collective actions of the unemployed and precarious workers in the late 1990s against the effects of "neoliberal" reforms, and takes its name from one of their preferred modes of protest, the roadblock or picket. Since its beginnings, the Piquetero movement has been the subject of a double treatment by the State, between repression and recovery in the context of the establishment of Conditional Cash Transfer Programs. In this new configuration of targeted public action, it is now up to the State to delegate the distribution of social assistance to a network of organizations, given their territorial proximity to the underprivileged populations. However, this thesis shows that this fuzzy wicket role, which tends to introduce in one way or another the competition amid the organizations, has thus quickly contributed to fragment the piquetero space, and produces ambivalent effects on the practices and the trajectories of the participants. The thesis is based on mixed methods, qualitative and quantitative, from a large 40-month field survey conducted between 2000 and 2015 in two Argentinian provinces. On the one hand, through an ethnography and in-depth biographical interviews with leaders, delegates and grassroots activists (N=104), we observed the interactions between these different categories. A prosopography of the leaders (N=76) allowed us, on the other hand, from the statistical methods of factor analysis (ACM) and hierarchical classification (CAH), to report on the structuring of this space of organizations. In the first part, the thesis focuses – with the support of archives and interviews – on the conditions of the gradual crystallization of a social movement into a space of organizations. We sought here to understand the context, the stakes and the means of action of this protest movement, relating its inscription to the evolution since the beginning of the XXth century of the relations between State, political parties and unions. The second part of our thesis is devoted to the analysis of activist practices and forms of supervision within organizations. The opening of the black box of the organizations thus reveals to what extent their internal functioning results from the capacity of a set of intermediaries to carry out a work of representation, mobilization and management of resources among working classes particularly willing to engage in the long term. The statistical examination of the trajectories of leaders also informed us about the resources that were necessary to occupy such a position and also about the effects of their engagement to their individual trajectories. Finally, a third part serves to apprehend associative practices within organizations. Restoring the recruiting logics and the profiles of the recruits has shown in the long term both the conditions of the commitment of these unemployed and precarious workers and the effects on their trajectories. The observation of practices, especially during assemblies, shows the principles of supervision stretched between activism and entrepreneurship which weighed on the participants. If this fraction of precarious people testifies within the working classes of forms of mobilization and resistance particularly exemplary, they also tend to deploy modes of accommodation to organizations, differentiated according to their socialization, and the volume and nature of their resources.

Summaries in English and Afrikaans / Text in Afrikaans / Die probleem van armoede is aangespreek deur middel van die groepwerkproses, waardeur mense sodanig bemagtig is dat die kringloop van armoede verbreek kon word. 'n Kwasi-eksperimentele navorsingsontwerp is gebruik met die groepwerkprogram as onafhanklike veranderlike en die algemene tevredenheid en graad van bemagtiging van die groeplede as die afhanklike veranderlikes. Slegs die voorondersoekgroep en twee eksperimentele groepe is aan die program onderwerp, maar nie die kontrolegroepe nie. n Voor- en natoets is deur aldie groeplede voltooi, om kwantitatiewe data te versamel. K walitatiewe data is versamel deur deelnemende waarneming en doelgeribte gesprekvoering. Die belangrikste verskil tussen die resultate van die eksperimentele groepe en die kontrolegroepe, was dat eersgenoemde tot aksie oorgegaan het terwyllaasgenoemde passief gebly het. Die gevolgtrekking kan dus gemaak word dat die groepwerkprogram wei tot die bemagtiging van die groeplede gelei het wat aan die program onderwerp was. Sleutelterme: Armoede, werkloosheid, haweloosheid, kwantitatiewe en kwalitatiewe navorsing, eksperimentele ontwerp, beskikbaarheidsteekproef, groepwerk, bemagtiging. / The problem of poverty was addressed through the group work process, in order to empower people so that the cycle of poverty could be broken. A quasi-experimental design was used with the group work programme as the independent variable and the general contentment and degree of empowerment of the group members as the dependent variables. Only the pilot study group and the two experimental groups were exposed to the programme, while the two control groups were not. Pre- and posttests were taken of all the group members to gather quantitative data. Qualitative data was gathered by means of participant observation and purposeful conversation. The most important difference between the different groups was that action was taken by the groups subjected to the programme, whereas the control groups remained passive. It can thus be concluded that the group work programme was instrumental in empowering those group members exposed to the programme. / Social Work / M.A. (Social Work)

Text in English / This study examines the successes and limitations of the Competency Passport (CP) for the empowerment of unemployed citizens in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The CP was designed to identify formally, informally and non-formally acquired competencies of people with the help of a counsellor. In the process, the CP uses the asset-based approach which focuses on the strengths of people. The investigation was conducted on the basis of qualitative interviews and a focus group discussion. The results have shown that the CP was able to identify competencies and, thereby, has helped to increase the self-confidence of people. In the area of employment, the impact of the CP showed some limitations as it was not yet sufficiently recognized by the society of BiH. Employers have given little feedback on the CP. The public sector, especially, needs a paradigm shift in the recognition of informally and non-formally acquired competencies by the CP. / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)

Summaries in English and Afrikaans / Text in Afrikaans / Die probleem van armoede is aangespreek deur middel van die groepwerkproses, waardeur mense sodanig bemagtig is dat die kringloop van armoede verbreek kon word. 'n Kwasi-eksperimentele navorsingsontwerp is gebruik met die groepwerkprogram as onafhanklike veranderlike en die algemene tevredenheid en graad van bemagtiging van die groeplede as die afhanklike veranderlikes. Slegs die voorondersoekgroep en twee eksperimentele groepe is aan die program onderwerp, maar nie die kontrolegroepe nie. n Voor- en natoets is deur aldie groeplede voltooi, om kwantitatiewe data te versamel. K walitatiewe data is versamel deur deelnemende waarneming en doelgeribte gesprekvoering. Die belangrikste verskil tussen die resultate van die eksperimentele groepe en die kontrolegroepe, was dat eersgenoemde tot aksie oorgegaan het terwyllaasgenoemde passief gebly het. Die gevolgtrekking kan dus gemaak word dat die groepwerkprogram wei tot die bemagtiging van die groeplede gelei het wat aan die program onderwerp was. Sleutelterme: Armoede, werkloosheid, haweloosheid, kwantitatiewe en kwalitatiewe navorsing, eksperimentele ontwerp, beskikbaarheidsteekproef, groepwerk, bemagtiging. / The problem of poverty was addressed through the group work process, in order to empower people so that the cycle of poverty could be broken. A quasi-experimental design was used with the group work programme as the independent variable and the general contentment and degree of empowerment of the group members as the dependent variables. Only the pilot study group and the two experimental groups were exposed to the programme, while the two control groups were not. Pre- and posttests were taken of all the group members to gather quantitative data. Qualitative data was gathered by means of participant observation and purposeful conversation. The most important difference between the different groups was that action was taken by the groups subjected to the programme, whereas the control groups remained passive. It can thus be concluded that the group work programme was instrumental in empowering those group members exposed to the programme. / Social Work / M.A. (Social Work)

This diploma thesis deals with the topic of social enterpreneurship in the Czech Republic and is specifically focused on the work integration of particular needy groups (such as ex-convicts, long- term unemployed, disabled persons and former alcohol or drug addicts etc.). The aim of the thesis is to identify patterns and regularities between specific groups and types of social enterprises they work for. The secondary data analysis explores social enterprises registered at czech social enterpreneurship website as well as the groups they employ and compares different approches of the enterprises. The qualitative empirical research uncovers enterpreneurs' motives and furthermore explores connections between the types of social enterprises and the target groups they employ.

Die Dissertation beschäftigt sich mit dem Thema "Hilfe zur Arbeit" nach dem BSHG. Grundsätzlich zielen alle mit Hilfe zur Arbeit im Zusammenhang stehenden Paragraphen des BSHG auf (Re-)Integration der Hilfeempfänger in den ersten Arbeitsmarkt und die Aktivierung der Selbsthilfekräfte. Unter Berücksichtigung der Zumutbarkeitskriterien geht die Bundesregierung von knapp einer Million benötigter Arbeitsplätzen aus, um alle in Frage kommenden Empfänger von laufender Hilfe zum Lebensunterhalt in den Arbeitsmarkt zu integrieren. Die Schaffung und Akquise dieser Arbeitsplätze sind Aufgaben der Kommunen. Die vorliegende Studie spiegelt wieder, wie die Städte Dresden, Leipzig und Chemnitz die Paragraphen 18 bis 20 und 25 des BSHG bis zum Jahr 2000 in ihre Praxis umsetzten und welche Schlüsse sich daraus für das Gelingen einer beschäftigungsorientierten kommunalen Sozialpolitik unter lokalen Bedingungen ableiten lassen. Im von mir untersuchten Zeitraum führten alle drei Städte Maßnahmen der "Hilfe zur Arbeit" durch. Jede der Kommunen entwickelte eigene Konzepte zur Umsetzung der gesetzlichen Vorgaben. Zusammenfassend stelle ich fest, dass die Chancen auf einen Arbeitsplatz im Bereich des ersten Arbeitsmarktes, neben der direkten Einstellung mit Hilfe von Lohnkostenzuschüssen, im Anschluss an Maßnahmen mit Arbeitsvertrag am größten sind. Voraussetzung ist allerdings, dass der Hilfeempfänger ein Jahr sozialversicherungspflichtig beschäftigt war. Ich komme also mit Hilfe meiner Studie zu dem Ergebnis, dass "Hilfe zur Arbeit" nach dem BSHG für die Sozialhilfeempfänger lediglich eine äußerst geringe Chance darstellt, einen Arbeitsplatz auf dem ersten Arbeitsmarkt zu bekommen. Keinesfalls handelt es sich hierbei um eine wirkliche Chance und gleich recht nicht um ein Instrument, welches in der Lage ist Massenarbeitslosigkeit zu bekämpfen. Die Mehrzahl der Hilfeempfänger findet auf diesem Weg keine Arbeit auf dem ersten Arbeitsmarkt.