While young South Africans have confidence in their own abilities to succeed, and most are positive about their future in general, they also face major obstacles in becoming part of a more inclusive economy, the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation’s (IJR's) yearly Transformation Audit found.

Given the country’s history and the structural composition of its economy, South African youth are probably more vulnerable than their peers in many other emerging economies, said the report, which was launched on Wednesday.  

This year’s Audit, which comprises contributions from leading and emerging South African thinkers, tackles economic governance, the labour market, skills and education as well as poverty and inequality – from the perspective of youth.

While it finds that young people’s economic vulnerability is not peculiarly a South African phenomenon, “ours is more pronounced, given the deeply entrenched history of exclusion upon which it is superimposed,” said IJR head: policy and analysis unit Jan Hofmeyr. Hofmeyr is also the editor of the Transformation Audit.

“In an age of rapid change and uncertainty, where the predicative value of long-held beliefs are being challenged almost daily, one of the few enduring and reliable pointers to the future of a country is the wellbeing of its young people," Hofmeyr added.

“Their energy, their attitudes and their sense of empowerment to exploit opportunities are what drive and determine the direction in which a society moves."

This emphasis on young people is also what makes the National Planning Commission’s (NPC) National Development Plan 2030 (NDP) a compelling document worth engaging in and was a strong focus of this year’s audit.

“It has already been hailed broadly for the sense of common purpose and direction that it has induced to the search for a more equitable and caring society,” he explained.

Hofmeyr said the NDP’s real persuasiveness stems from the fact that it is grounded in a thorough, forthright and empirical engagement with South Africa’s demographic realities.

“Its bias, as one would expect of a forward-looking document, is towards the interrogation of obstacles and opportunities for this country’s young.”

In a contribution, Neil Rankin and his team of researchers from the University of the Witwatersrand interrogated this same vulnerability.

Their labour market analysis shows the “uneven” impact that the global recession has had on young South Africans in particular.

Rankin asserts that it is important to foster an understanding of the new realities for young South Africans in a post-apartheid context.

“Without much notice, the first group of the so-called ‘born-free’ generation quietly reached voting age in 2012.

“While their world view may have been shaped under conditions of political freedom, an unresolved past that manifests in the presence of poverty and inequality for many of them continues to constrain the sense of social agency and opportunity,” said Rankin.

To avert the "perfect storm", which the NPC cautions against, those in leadership positions would do well in treading a fine line, cautioned Hofmeyr.

“Neither denial, nor manipulation of historical fact for political expediency will sit well with this constituency.

“Their reality is, after all, incontrovertible and is there for everybody to see. What is required is humility, and responsiveness, but above all, the wisdom to listen and take action,” concluded Hofmeyr.

Click here to download the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation’s 2013 Transformation Audit 'The Youth Dividend: Unlocking the Potential of Young South Africans'