Unemployment is a global crisis. From Saudi Arabia to Spain, to South America, the number of people unable to secure work has been described as a ticking time bomb and, in many regions, has been a trigger for civil unrest. Coronavirus has only deepened the inequalities that exist in the unemployment market, with youth and women disproportionately affected.

In this episode of The Impact Room, we are joined by two women who are at the vanguard of finding new solutions to this complex problem.

Mona Mourshed is the founding CEO of Generation: You Employed, a global organisation dedicated to solving joblessness by creating pathways from education to employment.

Maryana Iskander is the CEO of Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator, a South African-based social enterprise tackling the barriers that lock young Africans out of work, with a goal of region-wide systems change.

Generation uses a seven-step matching system to bring employees to employers. It has an 83 percent job placement rate within three months of programme completion, with graduates earning up to four times their previous salaries.

Harambee has created more than 500,000 work placements and recently led South Africa’s first social impact bond aimed at securing and keeping young people in work.

In this episode of the Impact Room, Mona and Maryana talk unemployment models and why they fail, chasing systems change over scale, and why donors need to listen more and demand less.

The Impact Room is brought to you by Philanthropy Age and Maysa Jalbout. Find us on social media at @PhilanthropyAge.

Source: Originally published at https://www.philanthropyage.org/podcasts/the-impact-room/rooting-for-change-solving-the-unemployment-crisis/. Photo: Unemployment has fuelled social tensions in South Africa. Getty Images.

Other Interesting Articles

Harambee in the News

Empowering South Africa’s Youth: The Key Role of Collaborative Partnerships

20 Nov 2023

In a recent article, Busisiwe Mavuso, CEO of Business Leadership SA, highlights the critical issue of youth unemployment in South Africa and emphasizes the need for collaboration between business and government to address this pressing challenge. Mavuso points out that while businesses face various economic challenges, youth unemployment poses the most significant risk to social stability.


Read More >

 

Harambee in the News

Empowering South Africa’s Youth: The Key Role of Collaborative Partnerships

09 Nov 2023

The automotive repair industry in South Africa has long been a male-dominated field, with limited data on the representation of female artisans. This disparity in gender representation becomes even more concerning given the country’s high youth unemployment rate, particularly in the Eastern Cape, where it surpasses the national average. In response to this challenge, a groundbreaking partnership between Wise Cracks, a local windscreen repair company, and Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator was initiated. Their aim was to empower young women from townships in the Eastern Cape through entrepreneurship and to expand the market for windscreen repair, promoting both cost-effectiveness and environmental sustainability.


Read More >

 

Wise Cracks

Harambee in the News

Empowering Women in South Africa’s Automotive Repair Industry

07 Nov 2023

The automotive repair industry in South Africa has long been a male-dominated field, with limited data on the representation of female artisans. This disparity in gender representation becomes even more concerning given the country’s high youth unemployment rate, particularly in the Eastern Cape, where it surpasses the national average. In response to this challenge, a groundbreaking partnership between Wise Cracks, a local windscreen repair company, and Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator was initiated. Their aim was to empower young women from townships in the Eastern Cape through entrepreneurship and to expand the market for windscreen repair, promoting both cost-effectiveness and environmental sustainability.


Read More >