Former ANC treasurer-general, Dr Mathews Phosa.
ANC stalwart and former Mpumalanga Premier Dr Mathews Phosa has issued a blunt warning to South Africa's youth: a university degree means nothing if it does not translate into skills the economy actually needs.
Speaking in a candid interview, Phosa said the country was producing graduates who were "not employable" and who then blamed the job market for their predicament.
"We must speak straight to them and not allow the victim mentality to prevail, where they think they are being victimised by society," Phosa said. "Whereas they are not giving society an investment of knowledge in different industries."
At the heart of Phosa's prescription is a call for structured, intentional career guidance, an intervention that must happen before young people ever set foot on a university campus.
