24/7 National Hotline: 0860 163 272 | Email: info@neasa.co.za
Creating a generation of entrepreneurs: Business holds the key!
CREATING A GENERATION OF ENTREPRENEURS
BUSINESS HOLDS THE KEY
(This initiative was launched by NEASA in October 2021)
Dear employer
Our South African house is on fire, in many places literally. Last week, four people were killed, and several buildings were gutted in service delivery protests in Tembisa. Protests are at the order of the day.
We are plagued by stubbornly high unemployment, particularly among our youth.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you should also be alarmed by all of this happening around us.
With this alarmist opening, let’s talk about our high unemployment. If we fail to look the problem squarely in the eye, we may even be adding more fuel to the fire.
Our economy is unable to create jobs for the more than seven million unemployed youth. About 61% of the youth labour force is unskilled and it is difficult to find employment for people who do not have the right skill set. That is also one of the main reasons for unemployment.
What is the solution?
Legendary banker, Stephen Koseff, spoke to this issue, outlining “Inhibitors to Growing Jobs” – click here to watch the video.
He maintained that the current environment is not ideal for the creation of jobs. The economy is down. Big corporates are not investing and not hiring either. Besides, if they do, they mostly need skilled workers.
His solution is to leverage business resources by training youths to become entrepreneurs and create small businesses right there where they live, including township economies, which hold huge economic opportunities.
GG Alcock, the well-known informal business guru and author of Kasinomics, has done extensive research on the township economy, and estimates that the fast-food business alone amounts to more than R90 billion per year. Click here to view.
A proper solution then seems to be to train the unemployed youth in entrepreneurial skills and expose them to the entrepreneurial environment.
This is exactly what NEASA and its strategic partners offer, and in which all businesses can participate, to empower the unemployed youth with basic entrepreneurial training, giving them access to the knowledge and skills required to become business owners in their own right.
As a business owner, you hold the key.
You can use tax rebates, available from SARS, to train the unemployed youth and enable them to take their future into their own hands. Through this initiative, you can also contribute to your BEE scorecard.
Should you wish to participate in this program, please click here.
For more information:
NEASA Media Department
media@neasa.co.za