This as many employers are prioritising experience as a prerequisite while hiring young people.

The latest unemployment figures indicate that unemployment rate increased by one percentage point to 32.9%.

Figures released by Stats SA last month show that the number of unemployed people increased by 237 000 to 8.2 million during the period under review.

Economist and Lecturer at the University of Venda Rowena Mudzunani says most employers have resorted to technology and the use of self-operated machinery.

“That on its own creates a challenge wherein now, institutions sometimes may fail to produce students who are having skills. Or we find ourselves with a mixed mash between what may be our potential source of employment could offer. And what the students or young people have. One could not also ignore the issue of the Forth Industrial Revolution. Wherein now, the introduction of machinery has also created a lot of unemployment. In a sense that companies and businesses are failing to absorb more people as a result of higher usage of technology.”

--SABC--