If we are to have a crime-free, reconciled and democratic SA, we must have an employable and employed citizenry.
That was the sentiment expressed in former president Nelson Mandela’s 1998 statement on the Jobs Summit. As we approach what would have been Madiba’s 107th birthday, one cannot help but reflect on our democracy as he envisioned it.
In the 1998 state of the nation address, Mandela drew attention to what was already a national crisis of unemployment. That this remains a crisis is not the democracy he imagined.
Few will dispute that the Mandela’s words are as true now as they were then. If you were to ask any job-seeking graduate in 2025, what is left out is the need for not just jobs, but jobs that offer liveable and dignifying pay especially at entry-level.
For thousands of graduates, having a democracy without having a job feels like a contradiction. However, the common entry-level jobs (internships), though a small step up from unemployment, require transport, time and full-day availability for what amounts to glorified pocket money.
Meanwhile, in the background of these offers is the deafening silence about student debt, familial responsibilities and the real costs of being a young adult in SA today.
For many graduates and people starting in their careers, securing work is imagined as the beginning of regaining a sense of value and hope because it often comes on the back of months, sometimes years, of not hearing back from companies.
It is no wonder that when a positive response is received, all hope is reignited and progress becomes within reach. At least that is the sentiment and reality every graduate hopes for, but as things stand, that is far from the common experience.