{"id":173315,"date":"2020-11-26T08:27:16","date_gmt":"2020-11-26T06:27:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/?p=96847"},"modified":"2020-11-26T08:27:16","modified_gmt":"2020-11-26T06:27:16","slug":"could-niche-skills-development-solve-the-neets-employment-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/could-niche-skills-development-solve-the-neets-employment-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"Could niche skills development solve the NEETs employment crisis?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Niche skills development \u2013 Learn to Live School of Skills<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With SA\u2019s youth unemployment and NEET (not in employment, education or training) rates on the rise, now is the time to rethink the way we teach and the way we inspire a lifelong love of learning in the future leaders of our country.<\/p>\n

According to Statistic SA\u2019s Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) Q3: 2020, \u2018Compared to Q3: 2019, the percentage of young persons aged 15\u201334 years who were not in employment, education or training (NEET) increased by 2,6 percentage points from 40,4% to 43,0% (out of 20,5 million) in Q3: 2020. The NEET rate for males increased by 3,1 percentage points, while for females the rate increased by 20 percentage points in Q3: 2020\u2019. These are powerful statistics, depicting just how serious the NEET crisis is.<\/p>\n

Father Pat Naughton, CEO of Salesian Institute Youth Projects (SIYP), says that confronting the situation starts with offering equal access to quality education, understanding the barriers to skills development, practising new ways of teaching and creating more economic opportunities for young people \u2013 whether it be in existing employment opportunities or encouraging entrepreneurship. \u201cOf course, many of these equalising factors are already in play, but there is no overnight solution. At SIYP\u2019s Learn to Live School of Skills all courses are approved by the Western Cape Education Department. We are piloting the interactive 21st century teaching methodology of project-based learning (PBL) with the Department of Basic Education and we remove stressors such as the cost of learning materials and transport, so that pupils can truly focus on their studies. But above all, we believe that the programmes we have in place that teach skills in niche industries such as hospitality, carpentry, maritime and automotive will provide opportunities for placement straight out of school\u201d.<\/p>\n

Naughton continues, \u201cThe demand for human capital in the labour market continues and whilst the majority of learning curricula now focus on technology-driven \u2018jobs of the future\u2019, \u2018jobs of the past\u2019 are not yet obsolete. By focussing on growing industries in the current labour market, we can make employment and entrepreneurship opportunities more accessible to NEETs\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Salesian Institute Youth Projects current programmes include:<\/strong><\/p>\n