Beyond job numbers: what 20,000 young Africans say about dignified work

Résumé détaillé

A landmark study across Africa reveals that while non-profits provide young workers with purpose and respect, short grant cycles and limited funding leave…

South Africa’s youth unemployment rate stood at 47.4% in the second quarter of this year, according to Statistics South Africa: five million people between the ages of 15 and 34 without work. The debate that follows each release rightly centres on growth and the private sector, where most jobs will come from.

One part of the labour market receives far less attention. Across Africa, non-profit organisations employ young people, train them and support them to start businesses. Yet their contribution is barely visible in the evidence, and what is missing from the evidence can also be missing from policy.

Since 2023, the Centre on African Philanthropy and Social Investment (CAPSI) at Wits Business School has been examining this contribution across 17 African countries, through an African-led research network whose regional research I lead. We have now surveyed 20,180 young people and 4,170 non-profit organisations in 15 of those countries. As far as we can establish, nothing of this scope has been attempted across these countries before.

The study treats dignified and fulfilling work as having four dimensions: reliable income, enough to live on and steady enough to plan around; respect, both in the workplace and in the community; a sense of purpose beyond the wage; and reputation, meaning the work is valued by the people whose opinion matters to the young person.

Employment policy tends to measure the first and assume the others will follow. A young person who is paid well but treated as disposable is not doing dignified and fulfilling work. Neither is one who is respected for what they do but cannot earn a living from it. Employment statistics record whether a young person is working, not whether that work is secure, adequately paid or valued. We therefore asked about each dimension separately.

Among young people who had received work from a non-profit, almost 85% told us they feel respected at work, and almost exactly the same proportion feel respected in their…

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