Many companies now look for experience as opposed to skill. This is justified by hiring managers concluding that experience means skill which is not always the case. This further makes it hard for newly graduated individuals to work their way up in their designated industries.
In the first quarter of 2020 South African’s unemployment rate was at 30,1% which was a steep rise but according to StatsSA, during the second quarter of 2020 the unemployment rate decreased to 23,3%. This was of course unexpected considering the outbreak of the coronavirus and the rate at which people would be dismissed because companies were not making enough money anymore. Now, with economies settling back to what we refer to as the new normal and remote work is slowly pushed aside again, we have to question whether all the individuals who graduate in 2021 will have job opportunities.
There is an issue of male dominance, age dominance and experience in various industries. The point of internship programmes and learnership programmes is to help all these walls fall away and create fair, equal and liberal candidate selections. What about experience though? Can companies overlook experience and hire a candidate based on the work they can provide? When companies look at experience, they look at the connections that candidate has made in the industry, how those connections can benefit them and how that person’s status or title or even their name will help uplift their company.
Companies find it better to hire a candidate who’s work and name are self-marketable but what about bringing in people with fresh minds and more advanced technical knowledge. The new generation might not be practically capable but they know the importance of innovation. The purpose of an internship is for companies to test an individual’s capabilities and determination. This should be definitely be taken as a learning experience and of course short-term exposure and working experience.
The youth is more impacted and vulnerable in the economy as it was stated that during the first quarter of 2020, 59% of people between the ages 15 and 24 were unemployed. Graduates however were said to have experienced an increase as 33,1% of graduates faced unemployment during the first quarter of 2020. This is a great increase if we look at the unemployment rate amongst graduates in the fourth quarter of 2019 which was 24,6.
It is understandable why employers prefer people with a high level of experience and a high level of education at the same time but this leaves graduates and the youth at a point where they feel it is best to halt their job seeking and disconnect from the hopes of being employed. There are thousands od graduates who have qualifications, certificates and the understanding of certain positions or career paths who end up working in supermarkets, retail stores or any other minimum wage job they can qualify for.
In industries like film and television, media, advertising and communication there is a growing culture of male dominance and with that added issue on top of the already disadvantageous experience issue female graduates find it hard to grow in their industries as executive members, camera operators, sound engineers, sports broadcasters and etc. there have been various attempts to empower women in these various industries but they will of course be given prominence when they have a colourful background full of experience to show and as for fresh graduates, the ladder is much more difficult to climb.
Companies that offer internships and learnerships give graduates a chance to prove themselves and a chance to gain experience so that the next time they apply they can tick the minimum requirement of two years or a year experience. Many organisations however don’t have internship programmes or any learnership opportunities for graduates and the this implies that they either have no interest in hiring individuals who are fresh out of college or university – or the other implication can be they do hire graduates, just those who know which channels to go through.
In December 2018, studies showed that about 4,7% recent graduates were either self-employed or freelance based. At that time about 0,6% of graduates had actually started their own businesses. The number is even higher now that graduates are not being granted the opportunities they need in the world. With all the stereotypes: gender, cultural, disability, sexual orientation and more; it is difficult to make a first impression without being generalised before hiring managers and executive members get to know you based on the questions they are meant to ask you.
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The word is moving to much more digital environment that allows thousands, even millions learn how to provide for themselves opportunities they wouldn’t normally see as employees. Graduates know exactly what they want after acquiring their qualifications. The unfortunate thing is that many companies don’t have enough faith in graduates.
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