SABPP HR Voice FINAL 310513.pdf

professional servicesNEW INITIATVE LAUNCHEDTO ENCOURAGE BUSINESSESTO EMPLOY YOUNGSOUTH AFRICANSA trio of a law firm, media firm andan employee incentive company hascombined to launch a platform similarto Proudly South Africa, to encouragebusinesses to employ young SouthAfricans. Companies would register onthe index to show support, be able touse the logo and are then also able tocompete for the most favourite youthemployer at the annual awards dinner.The suggested criteria will be thefollowing:• Skills Development Initiatives,• Bursaries,• Internships,• Internal mentorship• Corporate Social InvestmentOpportunities• Young people in managementpositionsFor more details:www.yeindex.org orcontact info@yeindex.orgPRINTED FROM BUSINESS DAY, MAY 8TH 2013EDUCATION SHOULD BE AFRICA’S HIGHEST PRIORITYBy Mo Ibrahim, founder and chairman, Mo IbrahimFoundation; founder, Celtel International; co-chairman,World Economic Forum on Africa 2013.Wherever I go, I find myself askedabout the unique opportunity thatAfrica’s rich natural resources offerfor our future. I quickly agree thatAfrica has remarkable resourceswhich, properly harnessed, can helpdeliver widespread prosperity.But I am not talking about oil, naturalgas or precious minerals, importantas they are for our continent’sprospects. I have no doubt thatAfrica’s greatest gift is the talent andenergy of our young generation.Our continent is in the middle of anextraordinary demographic shift.The median age of our populationis now 18, seven years youngerthan in south Asia and 16 yearsbelow China. These young peopleshould form a powerful motor foreconomic growth in Africa, and, asour continent prospers, globally.They should also provide a hugepotential consumer market for goodsand services. It is no wonder thatcompanies and investors worldwideare beginning to see Africa in apositive light.And it is not just these extraordinarynumbers which should excite us.Because it is clear that so far we arenot living up to this challenge.The statistics are stark. Economicgrowth has been strong, with nearlyhalf of African countries, accordingto the World Bank, reaching middleincome status.Yet youth unemployment continuesto rise worryingly. Africa is makingreal progress in getting its childreninto school. But the figures show thatthe longer our young people stay ineducation, the less chance they haveof being employed.We know, too, that agriculture is, byfar, the continent’s biggest employerand vital in tackling hunger anddriving wider development. Yet lessthan 2% of our young people arestudying agriculture.Africa also has the lowest proportionof engineers in the world – a matterof great concern given the role theextractive industries play in manyeconomies.These failures risk holding backAfrica’s positive trajectory and we arein danger of letting down the mosttalented generation in our continent’shistory.Whenever I meet young Africans,I come away impressed with theircreativity, ambition and drive. Sowhen the World Economic Forummet in Cape Town to discuss how todeliver on Africa’s promise, I wantour discussions to centre on whatwe can do to get the best out ofour greatest resources – our youngpeople.There is no single solution to this.Nor can it be solely the responsibilityof governments. In fact, I believestrongly that education is tooimportant a subject to be left onlyin the hands of politicians andadministrators, no matter how wellintentioned.After all, the principal aim ofcontinued...12