South African youth education and career aspirations before and after covid-19

Abstract

This study explored the experiences and investigated the extent to which the Covid-19 pandemic has changed the education and career aspirations of young people in South Africa, with particular focus on Soshanguve, a township north of Pretoria. Conceptually guided by the developing and achieving aspirations framework, the study specifically aimed to:

– explore the education and career aspirations of young people in South Africa before the Covid 19 pandemic; – understand the main factors underlying the pre-Covid-19 education and career aspirations; – explore the extent to which the Covid-19 has changed young people’s education and career aspirations; and – recommend ways in which future youth employment interventions can incorporate youth aspirations.

To achieve its objectives, the study adopted a qualitative research design and collected data from 20 young men and women who were either in high school or were transitioning to a university or tertiary institution during the height of Covid-19. The data was collected using in-depth interviews and a semi-structured interview guide. Snowball sampling was used as a sampling procedure for this study which allowed respondents to provide information not only about themselves but also give referrals about other participants who meet the requirements of the study. with the referrals from the respondents, it was easy to find subjects for the study.

The overall finding and conclusion of the study is that even though the Covid-19 pandemic brought about uncertainties in young people’s lives their pre-Covid education and career aspirations remain. Most respondents still want to pursue tertiary education and embark on various careers. Respondents who want to be entrepreneurs believe they must first get academic knowledge from tertiary institutions to build a solid foundation for their businesses. While it emerged that structural constraints, family, community, and social values greatly influence young people’s education and career aspirations, the general consensus among young people is that there is a need for government to financially and practically support them to ensure that youth aspirations are attended in the post-pandemic period.

Based on this overall study finding, the following recommendations were made for policy, practice, and further research.

– The government should provide necessary skills, support, and funds to improve young people’s access to tertiary education including vocational education where they can learn various skills. – Skills centres should be established in resource-strained communities such as Soshanguve to enhance youth aspirations as well as to equip the youth of South Africa with important skills that are relevant in the current labour market. – There should be regular career exhibitions or workshops by government, the private sector, and community-based organisations to expose young people to different fields and to equip them with any information they might need to decide on the careers they want to pursue. – Platforms should be created to allow successful community members to regularly encourage or motivate young people through talks, or workshops which will empower young people. – Given the paucity of research on youth aspirations especially in communities of low socio-economic status, a much larger study ideally using a mixed method approach is recommended.