I recall a time, during my bachelor’s studies, I was on campus with a close friend of mine, and we were just sitting around and talking. From our vantage point, we could see a large number of students going about their normal business, in the study hall and on their way to class or just sitting around campus. There could have been around one thousand students in that general area alone. My friend and I began to ponder, among all the students here on campus, what percentage of us would be able to find jobs immediately after graduation. Obviously, we could only speculate what the answer would be, but this is a question that many young people are having all across the continent.
Every year, thousands of students are graduating into, honestly, woeful job markets. To make matters even worse, many African economies are currently really struggling to deal with the aftermath of the pandemic and delays in global supply chains. Therefore, what lies ahead for many recent graduates will likely be a seemingly endless journey of looking for and applying for jobs only to never even hear back from businesses (speaking from experience).
While sitting with my friend on campus that day we pondered that, perhaps if they are lucky, maybe half may be able to find a job their first year after graduating. However, even that number is probably aiming too high. The reality is that there are various systemic disadvantages that are working against recent graduates, such as:
- 1. African employers have all the power
I remember a lot of articles about “the great resignation” that took place mostly in America, where due to a shortage of workers many businesses were offering outrageous packages to attract talent. I watched with bewilderment as, on this rare occasion, workers seemed to have all the power in the relationship, and it was benefiting them greatly as a result.
“The Great Resignation” phenomenon was especially bewildering for me because the dynamics between jobseekers and employers almost always favour the employers in most African countries. Due to the large number of new graduates seeking to enter the job market, businesses have a large pool of talent to choose from, therefore they hold all the power. Which can mean those fortunate enough to even find a job, may experience being overworked for low pay, and would have to accept it because it’s the best offer they can receive.
- 2. Entrepreneurial challenges
During my time studying, we all had to take a class in entrepreneurship. We were told flat out by our lecturer at the time that, there are zero jobs waiting for us after graduation, therefore the university wanted us to learn entrepreneurial skills. Therefore, rather than sitting around waiting for a job, we would have the ability to start our own businesses.
Though, I can appreciate the idea behind it, often poor business environments make it difficult for anyone, let alone a recent university graduate, to start a business. The rampant corruption and economic mismanagement by governments in many African countries have rendered many countries business environments highly unfavourable.
That and I haven’t even mentioned all of the funds associated with running a business, that would prevent many recent graduates from even attempting it. Because at the end of the day, in order to start a business, you need money. Therefore, unless you are fortunate enough to have the means to fund a business, in order to get money, you would need a job.
Is emigrating the solution?
Well if there are no jobs here then wouldn’t it just make sense to leave and find a place where there are jobs, perhaps in developed countries? I recall this very debate taking place between a group of my friends, some time ago. Some were of the opinion that they wish to use their skills to grow and develop the economy for future generations, rather than use their skills to help further in an already developed nation, while things just stay the same here.
The other side of the argument was that it is not worth it for younger people to sit around, wasting their youth, just hoping that one day they would be able to find a job.
Truthfully, neither scenario is ideal. Immigrating can be very difficult because you will be in a foreign country far away from friends and family, possibly even having to learn a different language, it would be very easy to begin to feel very lonely in that type of scenario. As a foreigner, you can fall victim to bigotry in the forms of racism and/or xenophobia as well.
Another downside is that when large numbers of people emigrate, especially people from minority tribes, they are often taking their cultures and languages along with them, as a result their cultures are at risk of slowly eroding away. However, it is also valid that staying and waiting for, in some cases, years before you are able to find stable employment is a terrible scenario to envision for oneself.
Valid points had been made by both sides, this sort of dilemma faced by millions of people all around the world, and something I am sure many graduates would be faced with if they enter the job market and struggle to find employment. This unfortunate reality is something that we have to deal with.
What is the solution?
There obviously is no black and white solution to solve unemployment. Any scenario aimed at addressing youth unemployment would have to tackle the specific issues facing each community. However, if the problem is to be solved, we must be willing to take the necessary steps towards fixing it. That means that more and more younger Africans must be willing to be politically engaged, because it is not enough to sit around and complain, we must be willing to do something about it.
