Richard Mukheibir Youth unemployment in South Africa is everybody’s problem, so we must make Youth Month a rallying point to tackle it afresh, says Cash Converters CEO Richard Mukheibir. “It is quite simple – we must all look at ways to take on the challenge,” he says. “The only rational and useful response is, ‘Yes, we can!’” In recent years, youth unemployment, upskilling and empowerment have been key issues discussed in the State of the Nation Address. President Cyril Ramaphosa also recently launched the Youth Employment Service. But, says Mukheibir, this is not only a task for government – everyone in business can contribute to youth development. “From mentoring interns to job creation, we can all offer our expertise and resources to help enable young people to build careers and their own businesses,” he says. “We should all look for opportunities to assist where we can.” Franchising, for instance, is a way for independently minded individuals with a flair for business...

Ydhvir Seetharam Youth should be open-minded about entrepreneurship as a career option As South Africa narrowly avoids a credit rating downgrade, one factor that can contribute positively to the revival of the economy is entrepreneurship, particularly youth entrepreneurship. Yudhvir Seetharam, Head of Analytics for FNB Business says with first quarter GDP figures not showing signs of improvement, the likelihood of creating jobs continues to shrink, leaving young graduates with fewer options in the workplace, unless they consider new business ventures. Employment figures released by Stats SA in April show that unemployment in the first quarter increased to 26.7%, which is 2.2% higher than the fourth quarter of 2015.  This coupled with the volume of job losses is a clear indication that it is going to get even harder for young graduates to secure sustainable jobs. "The reality is that there are not enough jobs available in the market to cater for all the graduates in the countr...