Crime and corruption, lack of job opportunities, failing infrastructure, and the rising cost of living in South Africa have driven the desire of 90% of university students to seek employment opportunities abroad.
This is according to the 2022/23 Student Confidence Index conducted by the Professional Provident Society (PPS), which focused on the major concerns of university students about life after graduation and their career prospects.
The survey included over 2 400 undergraduates and postgraduates, many studying towards profession-specific degrees.
Seventy-eight percent rated crime and corruption as the most worrying factor, 65% unemployment, 66% failing infrastructure, and 52% the economy.
Ninety percent of students, especially younger black students, want to live and work overseas – compared to 39% recorded in 2021/2022.
Most respondents cited a lack of local opportunities.
On finding employment within three to six months after finishing their degree, 53% of students felt unsure.
A lack of confidence was attributed by 88% to the high rate of young people without jobs, while 57% thought they were at a disadvantage because they didn’t have good connections and couldn’t access the resources needed for job applications and interviews.
Institute for Security Studies’ Dr Jakkie Cilliers told Newzroom Afrika that the situation is terrible. ‘If we want to grow the economy, then we must attract and retain skilled people’.
Cilliers explained that the country is actively deterring foreign skills. ‘We literally do our best to make it as difficult as possible to enter South Africa’.
‘South Africans do not believe that skilled foreigners benefit the country. They believe foreigners come to threaten locals and take their jobs when the opposite is true – they bring in skills and create employment’, he said.
The Index noted that 67% would consider returning due their love for South Africa and their families.