Solving South Africa’s Unemployment Rate

Unemployment in our country is a cancer that is growing and spreading unchecked. South Africa’s unemployment rate hit another record high reaching 35.3% – which means 7.9 million people are currently jobless.

The billions being spent on Supplier and Enterprise Development and the thousands of programs aimed at increasing employment are proving to be completely ineffective. Results don’t lie and the stats, unfortunately, attest to this reality. 

In my mind, the only cure for unemployment is to increase and grow privately owned local businesses. In order to do that we need to face a few realities: 

• People are not instant entrepreneurs – you can’t just add funding and shake! 
• Building a sustainable business takes at least seven years and that’s if you’re lucky!  
• You have to be prepared to work harder than you could ever imagine possible.  
• You have to see the world from a business owner’s perspective.  
• You have to let go of the victim view of the world.  
• Only profitable businesses are sustainable. 
   

If we are serious about creating opportunities for employment, businesses have to grow and ensure sustainability. If we’re serious about the programs that are aimed at achieving this we have to measure them against key results that support these objectives. These key results have to include: 

• Increase in sales and profitability of the businesses participating in the program.  
• The number of additional employees employed as a result of businesses growth.  
• Tangible improvements that support sustainability. 
   

The ability to work and to support oneself and our loved ones, brings dignity to our existence and gives purpose to our lives. What is it going to take for us to get serious about creating employment in South Africa?  

At ActionCOACH, we work with business owners and entrepreneurs on a daily basis – and our goal is to grow businesses across South Africa in order to improve our ever-growing unemployment numbers. We believe the only way we will solve this problem is by business owners growing their business to the point that they can hire at least one more person.

If every single business owner hires just one more person, we are able to drop the current unemployment rate by up to 50%. Not only does this mean a steady income for those specific individuals but it also has a ripple effect of improving personal and social circumstances within their immediate environment and collectively, therefore, ensures more empowered and transformed communities. Together WE can make a massive impact. Let’s EveryONE, EmployONE!

Join our EveryONE EmployONE movement to make a difference, click here to find out more!

Shirley Pearson, ActionCOACH Business Coach
inala.actioncoach.com | shirleypearson@actioncoach.com