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Giraffe: Addressing Unemployment in South Africa

Unemployment in South Africa
Although South Africa’s GDP is the second-highest in Africa, more than 50% of the population lives in poverty. One of the factors preventing people from escaping poverty is the nation’s staggering unemployment rate. With over 28.18% of the population looking for work in 2019, South Africa’s unemployment rate is one of the highest in the world. Giraffe is a job recruitment platform that Anish Shivdasani created in 2015 with the mission of alleviating unemployment in South Africa.

3 Causes of Unemployment in South Africa

  1. Apartheid systematically excluded black people from the educational system and the skilled workforce throughout the 20th century. Recently, there are more women and people of color participating in the education system and receiving training. As a result, there are more job seekers in South Africa than there are hiring employers.
  2. South Africa’s labor market favors highly skilled workers. This results in few accessible jobs for the general public. The nation’s labor laws, which include high wages and policies that constrain employers from letting employees go, discourage employers from hiring young workers with minimal experience.
  3. Despite the government’s increased spending on education, the South African education system does not provide students with adequate training or skills necessary for the type of employment available in the formal sector. Additionally, many students are unable to finish school and are, therefore, highly likely to experience unemployment. The problems within the nation’s education system resulted in a youth unemployment rate of 55.97% in 2019.

Giraffe: A Solution

More than 1 million job seekers use Giraffe’s platform, and the software has invited more than 500,000 applicants for an interview in the last five years. The app is convenient for both employers and applicants, as it takes just a few minutes to post a job with the employer’s desired criteria. Here are three ways Giraffe addresses the problem of unemployment in South Africa.

3 Ways Giraffe Addresses Unemployment

  1. Giraffe aims to empower its employers by focusing on the problem of job retention in South Africa. The technology screens candidates so that employers only have to assess applicants that meet their qualifications. Giraffe even provides an option for a voice recording through which applicants respond to a question that the employer poses. Therefore, when candidates receive a request to come in for an interview, employers are confident that they have picked the right person for the job.
  2. Giraffe is the platform with the most medium-skilled workers in South Africa, including recent graduates and students. The app offers jobs for many levels of training rather than just providing jobs to wealthy, highly educated applicants. This could eventually serve to reduce the youth unemployment rate by providing opportunities to young people with mid-level training.
  3. In 2019, Giraffe announced that it would provide its services “for free to exempted micro-enterprises (EMEs) who are willing to hire first-time job-seekers.” This helps small businesses who are often unable to afford job-recruitment technology. In South Africa, where economic competition is rare and small businesses struggle to gain traction, Giraffe’s services could serve to invigorate entrepreneurial culture while actively reducing unemployment.

Impact of COVID-19

With more than 380,000 cases and over 5,000 deaths, COVID-19 has taken a toll on unemployment in South Africa, which experts expect to increase to 35.31% by December 2020. Additionally, 8.1% of people reported having closed their businesses or lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 lockdown in May 2020.

Giraffe’s platform will be integral to the thousands of people who lose their jobs in the wake of COVID-19, as more people will be looking for work once the virus subsides. The company also adapted to COVID-19 by educating other start-ups about how to conduct business productively from home.

Looking Forward

In the future, Giraffe aims to provide job training through its app. This should provide even more opportunities for job seekers to improve their skills, become qualified for higher-paying jobs and to meet more employers’ criteria. The start-up also intends to expand internationally and to continue to narrow its focus on small businesses.

Giraffe is a fast-growing company using modern technology that has garnered support and funding from around the world. Unemployment remains one of the most pressing issues in South Africa. However, companies like Giraffe provide tangible solutions that will help address the issue of unemployment in South Africa.

– Melina Stavropoulos
Photo: Flickr

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Harambee: Fighting Youth Unemployment in South Africa

Youth Unemployment in South Africa Globally, 71 million youths were unemployed in 2017, according to a report by the International Labor Organization. Unemployment in South Africa is particularly high and has been so for decades, with 5.5 million young people currently searching for work. In response to high youth unemployment in South Africa, a social enterprise known as Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator was created to help connect young people seeking work with employers.

Youth Unemployment in South Africa

With 26.7 percent of the population unemployed, South Africa has one of the highest unemployment rates in the world. With 63 percent of South Africans being under the age of 35, South Africa has a large youth population. The unemployment rate for youths, defined as those aged 15 to 34, was estimated to be 38.2 percent in the first quarter of 2018. Each year, 1.1 million South African youths enter the labor market, but only 6 percent enter formal employment, and an additional 8 percent are informally employed. The remaining 86 percent are either continuing their education, looking for jobs or becoming discouraged by the system.

High youth unemployment in South Africa is caused by a variety of factors, including high public education drop-out rates, a lack of significant economic growth and the nation’s legacy of apartheid. With many of the poor still living in townships located far away from urban centers, finding work remains difficult. Even if they are qualified for certain positions, they may lack the ability to travel into the city, particularly in the face of inadequate public transportation.

Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator

Formed in 2011 in Johannesburg, Harambee has been providing services for the youth across the nation and has helped more than 50,000 young South Africans obtain their first job. In order to provide opportunities to youths outside of the city, Harambee hires recruiters who go to the townships and record contact information for young people who are searching for jobs. From there, some youths are given an invitation to come to a Harambee office to discuss their skills and interests. A trained job coach them helps them through the process of creating a CV and preparing for job interviews. Harambee even provides free interview clothes for those unable to access or afford them.

Another way of connecting with job-seeking youth and working to reduce youth unemployment in South Africa is through the application on the Harambee website. On this application, young South Africans indicate their skills and what kinds of work they are interested in, making it easier for Harambee to successfully match them with an employer.

Harambee has partnered with 450 employers, ranging from small businesses to large corporations. Many of these employers are looking to fill entry-level positions, providing opportunities for South African youths without any prior job experience to find gainful employment. When deciding on matches, Harambee considers the needs of the company, as well as the skills of the potential employee and their proximity to the job. Transportation costs must be considered, and if they are too high, workers may go into debt, in spite of being employed.

For those who have the potential to get hired for more rigorous jobs, Harambee provides vocational training for up to eight weeks to prepare applicants for employment. Since many of the youths Harambee works with come from poor backgrounds, they often lack the knowledge and skills needed to be successful in the workforce. Harambee does what it can to ensure the young people the organization is working with will be successful in their employment.

Success Stories

One South African youth, 23-year-old Thabo Ngwato, was unemployed and had been having difficulty filling out job applications until his friend recommended Harambee to him. Through Harambee, Ngwato found work at a call center in Johannesburg, allowing him to support his mother and nephew as well as to purchase his first car. Ngwato told Reuters that, thanks to Harambee, “I know how to network, look for employment. The skills are ones I can take anywhere.” Helping with the application process and teaching basic jobs skill is essential in reducing youth unemployment in South Africa.

Similarly, 29-year-old Oratile Phekoayane was hired as a Webhelp worker after finding Harambee. The services Harambee provided helped her develop interpersonal skills in order to have more confidence in interviews. According to Reuters, Phekoayane stated, “I see myself as a business partner here. I’m looking to grow, maybe join the executive side.” Thanks to Harambee, she was able to gain employment, develop her skills and become successful with the potential for mobility.

Currently, Harambee has a goal of helping at least 10,000 young South Africans find employment each year. By 2022, they want to have matched 500,000 young people with employers, which will require a significant increase in the number of youths they help become employed each year.

Luckily, Harambee is not alone in addressing youth unemployment in South Africa. Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa’s president since February 2018, has also been making youth unemployment a priority. Ramaphosa launched the Youth Employment Services (YES) initiative in 2018 and has been working to convince companies to reinvest 1.5 percent of their profits into providing paid work experience to young South Africans. By encouraging companies to reinvest in the country’s youth, Ramaphosa is acknowledging the important role that young people will play in the future of South Africa.

Harambee’s success and continuous growth indicate that the goal of ending youth unemployment may be attainable. Harambee has already had a significant impact on reducing youth unemployment in South Africa. Furthermore, it has provided a model for other organizations around the world to use to reduce youth unemployment.

– Sara Olk
Photo: Flickr