active labour market policies

International Experience with Worker-side and Employer-side Wage and Employment Subsidies, and Job Search Assistance Programs: Implications for South Africa

Smith summarises international experience with labour market interventions aimed to improve employment, particularly among disadvantaged job seekers. These interventions include firm-side wage and employment subsidies, worker-side wage and employment subsidies, and job search assistance programmes. The review then assesses which policies are particularly relevant to South Africa’s unique labour market situation. Because active support for…

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The State of youth: Labour market status & policy challenges

South Africa’s demographic profile and its youth bulge provide a unique opportunity for reducing poverty rates over the next decade, and fundamentally changing the structure of the labour force. Doing this, however, requires deliberate policies and interventions to address the needs of young people in the post-apartheid labour markets. Altman and Potgieter-Gqubule examine reasons for…

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Grappling with Youth Employability in South Africa

Marock reviews youth employability in South Africa, focusing on the minimum capabilities required to enable economic participation. She then considers the extent to which these capabilities are being developed in local schools, and explores the role of special programmes in bridging identified gaps. Finally, she analyses broader contextual issues around employability and highlights questions that…

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