Tap Into The Youth Market: NEETs

Solutions for the Youth Market and NEETs. Education and training organizations are uniquely positioned to address market shifts and opportunities. Aligning with government policy to alleviate poverty conditions can increase their competitiveness.

The Youth Market and Improved Business Competitiveness

The Unemployment and Sustainable Livelihoods Problem:

What can we do about training and career development to shift vulnerable youth out of poverty?

Diverse interventions can address youth market challenges. Especially those who are not in employment or education (NEETs).

Who is most affected by poverty?

Stats SA reported that the following South Africans are most likely to struggle in poverty:

children aged 17 years and younger
black Africans
females
people from rural areas
those living in the Eastern Cape and Limpopo
those with little or no education

NEETS in the Youth Market

career pathing for learnerships and apprenticeships youth market

Where Youth Come From

Many South African children live in households where only a mother is present.

Does this have an impact on how we shape youth strategies?

In 2011, over four in every ten (41,9%) of black African children were in this situation, compared to only 9,9% of Indian/Asian children. 27,2% Black children were also in households where neither parent was present.
The percentage of children living with both parents was highest among Indian/Asian children (83,0%), and lowest among black African children (27,2%).

Career Paths for the Youth Market

When you’re poor, even if you’re intellectually capable, the odds are stacked against you.

Learnerships, apprenticeships and internships learners are from family contexts that cannot afford to financially support career development. When stipends are too low to cover daily expenses and contribute to households, they are inaccessible to youth surviving below the poverty line. Therefore pro-poor interventions cannot also be used as cheap labour models. When these interventions pay less than R3000 per month, only youth with access to a support unit can participate.

As a result, the most vulnerable youth are unable to participate as they cannot afford to.

Youth often comment on my blog, Keep Climbing, complaining about the difficulty of surviving and meeting professional rigors on stipends that are less than R3000 per month.

Most learners who complain are actually paid R1500, they feel stripped of dignity and hope.

NEETs and Business Development

To maximize impact and stay ahead in the dynamic landscape of accredited training, organizations must proactively shape both their sales and product development strategies based on up-to-date and pertinent data. This approach not only ensures a competitive edge but also cultivates adaptability in responding to market demands. Therefore, seizing these two prime opportunities for research becomes imperative for organizations aiming to tailor their interventions effectively and stay attuned to the ever-evolving needs of their target markets.

1. Data informs functions for the youth market

Form Follows Function

Use data to inform the shape of products and services for the youth market.

Finding specific information about target markets can be tricky. Many organisations make assumptions about the youth, where they are from and what they need.

As a consultant I provide clients with market insights they may not know or have not previously considered. Conventional and alternative sources of information can drive product and service design. Heard about the Siyaka Report? (2016):

…despite significant investments into the education system, learners from Quintile 1-3 schools (still largely catering for African learners) continue to achieve at far lower rates than their Quintile 5 counterparts (where white learners are more represented). Research demonstrates how learners from the lower quintiles consistently exit the education system and fall either into unemployment or are only able to access low paying, low skilled jobs.
…Quintile 5 counterparts exit the schooling system and transition quite smoothly into higher or further education and onto jobs; often jobs that have a clear pathway to professional and/or managerial positions.

If organisations only base products and services on assumptions and competitor actions, they’ll be unable to innovate and forge ahead of their competition.

2. Data Determines Youth Market Competitive Edge

Find data to determine youth market opportunities and competitive advantages.

NEETs are young people who are Neither in Employment, nor Education or Training.

The largest group of NEETs are 21 – 25-year-olds, coming in at a massive 51%.

There are nearly 10.2 million young people between the ages of 15 and 24 years:
33% are NEET = 3 366 000 (3 million 3 hundred sixty-six thousand)

For more on what this means to firms driving youth market development, book an appointment with Leonie.