Investigating ICT skills as enablers for sustainable youth employability in South Africa: A literature review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.20525/ijrbs.v12i6.2714Keywords:
Sustainable advancement, ICT Skills & Competence, 4IR, Livelihood, Youth Unemployment & EmployabilityAbstract
The progress and sustainability of a nation's economy are attributed to its human capital, and a country lacking competent, knowledgeable, and productive manpower will struggle to thrive due to a dearth of talented individuals in the job market. To enhance the quality of skilled manpower in industries, the South African government is promoting digital literacy among its youth. This research aims to investigate the use of ICTs skills and competencies as an enabler for promoting sustainable advancement of youth employability in South Africa, as the country's youth unemployment rate for the 15-34 age group was 55.2% in the 1st quarter of 2019. The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) era has exacerbated job scarcity and inequality due to the scarcity of advanced ICT skills. As a result, South Africa has chosen to increase ICT usage to enhance economic activity and job creation. A critical literature review was conducted to support the research inquiry through a systematic literature review (SLR) as the research methodology since the contents are based on existing literature studies in identifying research needs and gaps, collecting or gathering lines of thoughts Memon et al. (2020) and views in relation to ICT skills and competences as an enabler for sustainable advancement of youth employability in South Africa. The approach was supported using the Sustainable Livelihood Theory as the research framework to support the findings.
Downloads
References
Akpan-Obong, P. (2010). Unintended outcomes in information and communication technology adoption: a micro-level analysis of usage in context. Journal of Asian and African Studies, 45(2), 181-195. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0021909609357412
Attwood, H., Diga, K., Braathen, E., & May, J. (2013). Telecentre functionality in South Africa: Re-enabling the community ICT access environment. The Journal of Community Informatics, 9(4). DOI: https://doi.org/10.15353/joci.v9i4.3137
Fujisaka, S., & Khisa, G. (2000). FFS/IPPM contributions to sustainable livelihoods in Uganda and Kenya. Rome: FAO.
Gomez, R. (2014). When you do not have a computer: Public access computing in developingadvancing countries. Information Technology for DevelopmentAdvancement, 20(3), 274-291. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02681102.2012.751573
Gorard, S. (2003). Quantitative methods in social science research. A & C Black.
Kryukova, E.M., Vetrova, E.A., Maloletko, A.N., Kaurova, O.V. and Dusenko, S.V., (2014). Social-economic problems of Russian mono-towns. Asian Social Science, 11(1), p.258. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5539/ass.v11n1p258
Manalo IV, J. A., Pasiona, S. P., Bautista, A. M. F., Villaflor, J. D., Corpuz, D. C. P., & Biag-Manalo, H. H. M. (2019). Exploring youth engagement in agricultural developmentadvancement: the case of farmers’ children in the Philippines as rice crop manager infomediaries. The Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension, 1-17. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/1389224X.2019.1629969
Oye, N. D., Inuwa, I., & Shakil, A. M. (2011). Role of information communication technology (ICT): implications on unemployment and Nigerian GDP. Journal of International Academic Research, 11(1), 9-17.
Van Broekhuizen, H. and Van Der Berg, S. (2016). How high is graduate unemployment in South Africa? A much-needed update.
Bakhshalipour, V., Sareshkeh, S. K., & Azizi, B. (2019). The effect of the use of information and communication technology skills with empowerment indicators on staff in the Ministry of Sports and Youth of Islamic Republic of Iran (Case Study in Youth and Sports General Directorate of Guilan Province). Arquivos de Ciências do Esporte, 6(3). DOI: https://doi.org/10.17648/aces.v6n3.2938
Bloem, J., Van Doorn, M., Duivestein, S., Excoffier, D., Maas, R., & Van Ommeren, E. (2014). The Fourth Industrial Revolution. Things Tighten, 8.
Booi, S. L., Chigona, W., Maliwichi, P., & Kunene, K. (2019, May). The Influence of Telecentres on the Economic Empowerment of the Youth in Disadvantaged Communities of South Africa. In International Conference on Social Implications of Computers in DevelopingAdvancing Countries (pp. 152-167). Springer, Cham. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18400-1_13
Brink, R., & Ohei, K. N. (2019). A framework development for the adoption of information and communication technology web technologies in higher education systems. Journal of Economic and Financial Sciences, 12(1), 1-12.
Calitz, A. P., Greyling, J. H., & Cullen, M. D. (2014). South African industry ICT graduate skills requirements. Southern African Computer Lecturers’ Association (SACLA), 1, 25-26.
Cooper, C., Booth, A., Varley-Campbell, J., Britten, N., & Garside, R. (2018). Defining the process of literature searching in systematic reviews: a literature review of guidance and supporting studies. BMC medical research methodology,18(1), 1-14. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-018-0545-3
David, J. & Surmaya, T. (2005). A Best Process Approach for Using ICTs in DevelopmentAdvancement. Intermediate Technology DevelopmentAdvancement Group. The Schumacher Centre for Technology and DevelopmentAdvancement, Bourton Hall, Bourton-on-Dunsmore, IRFD World Forum on Information Society – Tunis 2005.
DFID (2005). The economic impact of telecommunication on rural livelihood and poverty reduction Available: www.livelihoods.org
Du Toit, R. (2015). Unemployed youth in South Africa: The distressed generation.
Duncombe, R. A. (2014). Understanding the impact of mobile phones on livelihoods in developingadvancing countries. DevelopmentAdvancement Policy Review, 32(5), 567-588. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/dpr.12073
E?kinat, R. (2016). The Importance of Digital Technologies for Sustainable DevelopmentAdvancement. Inclusive and Sustainable DevelopmentAdvancement And The Role Of Social And Solidarity Economy, 106.
eTransform Africa. (2012). The transformational use of information and communication technologies in Africa (Enock Yonazi, Tim Kelly, Naomi Halewood, & Colin Blackman, Eds.). The World Bank and the African DevelopmentAdvancement Bank, with the support of Africa Union.
Eynon, R., & Geniets, A. (2016). The digital skills paradox: how do digitally excluded youth develop skills to use the internet? Learning, Media and Technology, 41(3), 463-479. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2014.1002845
Fernández-Sanz, L., Gómez-Pérez, J., & Castillo-Martínez, A. (2017). e-Skills Match: A framework for mapping and integrating the main skills, knowledge and competence standards and models for ICT occupations. Computer Standards & Interfaces, 51, 30-42. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csi.2016.11.004
Gigler, B. S. (2014). Informational Capabilities: The missing link for understanding the impact of ICT on developmentadvancement. Closing the Feedback Loop, 17. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1596/978-1-4648-0191-4_ch2
Hamilton, M., Carbone, A., Gonsalvez, C. & Jollands, M., (2015, January). Breakfast with ICT Employers: What do they want to see in our graduates. In Proceedings of the 17th Australasian Computing Education Conference (ACE 2015) (Vol. 27, No. 1, p. 30).
Harris, R. W. (2004). Information and communication technologies for poverty alleviation.
Hart, T., Barratt, P. (2009), The employment of graduates within small and medium-sized firms in England. People, Place and Policy. Available from: http://www.extra.shu.ac.uk/ppp-online/the-employment-of-graduates-within-small-and-medium-sized-firms-in-england/. Accessed: November 2019. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3351/ppp.0003.0001.0001
Hilty, L. M., & Hercheui, M. D. (2010). ICT and Sustainable DevelopmentAdvancement. In What kind of information society? Governance, virtuality, surveillance, sustainability, resilience (pp. 227-235). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-15479-9_22
Jackson, D., & Wilton, N. (2016). DevelopingAdvancing career management competences among undergraduates and the role of work integrated. Teaching in Higher Education. 21(3), 266-286. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2015.1136281
Jackson, D., & Wilton, N. (2017). Perceived employability among undergraduates and the importance of career self-management, work experience and individual characteristics. Higher Education Research & DevelopmentAdvancement, 36(4),747-762. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2016.1229270
Kraus, S., Breier, M., Lim, W. M., Dabi?, M., Kumar, S., Kanbach, D., ... & Ferreira, J. J. (2022). Literature reviews as independent studies: guidelines for academic practice.Review of Managerial Science,16(8), 2577-2595. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11846-022-00588-8
Li, G., Hou, Y., & Wu, A. (2017). Fourth Industrial Revolution: technological drivers, impacts and coping methods. Chinese Geographical Science, 27(4), 626-637. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11769-017-0890-x
Mazibuko, S., Hart, T., Mogale, M., Mohlakoana, N., & Aliber, M. (2008). Baseline information on technology-oriented initiatives in rural areas to promote economic developmentadvancement, pp 5-32.
Mckenzie, S., Coldwell-Neilson, J. and Palmer, S., (2017). Career aspirations and skills expectations of undergraduate IT students: are they realistic? In HERDSA 2017: Research and developmentadvancement in higher education: curriculum transformation: Proceedings of the 40th HERDSA Annual International Conference (pp. 229-240). Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia.
Memon, J., Sami, M., Khan, R.A. and Uddin, M., 2020. Handwritten optical character recognition (OCR): A comprehensive systematic literature review (SLR). IEEE Access, 8, pp.142642-142668.Memon, J., Sami, M., Khan, R.A. and Uddin, M., 2020. Handwritten optical character recognition (OCR): A comprehensive systematic literature review (SLR). IEEE Access, 8, pp.142642-142668. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2020.3012542
Mensah, E. J. (2012). The Sustainable Livelihood Framework: A Reconstruction. The DevelopmentAdvancement,7.
Merkel, S., Heinze, R. G., Hilbert, J., & Naegele, G. (2019). Technology for all. In The Future of Ageing in Europe (pp. 217-253). Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1417-9_8
Michael, O. I., & Samson, A. J. (2014). The impact of information and communication technology on youth and its vocational opportunities in Nigeria. Journal of Good Governance and Sustainable DevelopmentAdvancement in Africa, 2(1).
Morakanyane, R., Grace, A. A., & O'Reilly, P. (2017). Conceptualizing digital transformation in business organizations: A systematic review of the literature. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18690/978-961-286-043-1.30
Morse, S., & McNamara, N. (2013). Sustainable livelihood approach: A critique of theory and practice. Springer Science & Business Media. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6268-8
Oduwole, T. A. (2015). Youth unemployment and poverty in Nigeria. International Journal of Sociology and Anthropology Research, 1(2), 23-39.
Ohei, K.N. and Brink, R., 2021. Trends in Gender and Behavioural Disparities among South African University Students: Choosing an Ict-Related Career Path. African Journal of Development Studies, 2021(si2), p.111.
Omona, W., Van der Weide, T. & Lubega, J. (2010). Using ICT to enhance knowledge management in higher education: A conceptual framework and research agenda. International Journal of Education and Development using Information and Communication Technology, 6(4), 83.
Parkinson, S., & Ramirez, R. (2007). Using a Sustainable Livelihoods Approach to Assessing the Impact of ICTs in DevelopmentAdvancement. The Journal of Community Informatics, 2(3). Retrieved from http://jat.gws.uky.edu/index.php/ciej/article/view/310. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15353/joci.v2i3.2072
Sachs, J. D., Schmidt-Traub, G., Mazzucato, M., Messner, D., Nakicenovic, N., & Rockström, J. (2019). Six Transformations to achieve the Sustainable DevelopmentAdvancement Goals. Nature Sustainability, 2(9), 805-814. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-019-0352-9
Sadiq, A. M., & Mohammed, M. (2015). The role of information and communication technology (ICT) in providing job opportunities for youth in the developingadvancing world. Journal of Emerging Trends in Engineering and Applied Sciences, 6(7), 174-179.
Semutenga, E., Aquarius, I., & Ssengendo, L. (2019). ICT for Youth Employability.
Statistics, S. A. (2011). Statistical release P0302: Mid-year population estimates 2011. Statistics South Africa, Pretoria. Available:http://www.statssa. gov.za. Accessed: November 2013.
Statistics, S. A. (2018). Youth unemployment still high in Q1: 2018. Statistics South Africa, viewed, 14.
Statistics, S. A. (2019). Statistical release P0211: Mid-year population estimates 2019. Statistics South Africa, Pretoria. Available: http://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/P0211/P02111stQuarter2019. Accessed: August 2019.
Stukalina Y. (2018). Career Management in a Technical University as an Essential Factor Influencing Its Competitiveness. In: Kabashkin I., Yatskiv I., Prentkovskis O. (eds) Reliability and Statistics in Transportation and Communication. RelStat 2017. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, vol 36. Springer, Cham. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74454-4_61
Talbot, P., & Bizzell, B. (2016). Teaching, Technology, and Transformation. In Educational Leaders without Borders (pp. 83-104). Springer, Cham. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12358-5_4
The RSA Presidency. (2011). “DevelopmentAdvancement indicators 2008”. Pretoria: South Africa: The Presidency, Republic of South Africa. Available: www.dpme.gov.za Accessed: November 2018.
Tsakissiris, J. (2016). The role of professional identity & self-interest in career choices in the emerging ICT workforce (Doctoral dissertation, Queensland University of Technology).
Vinichenko, M.V., Makushkin, S.A., Melnichuk, A.V., Frolova, E.V. and Kurbakova, S.N. (2016). Student employment during college studies and after career start. International Review of Management and Marketing, 6(5S).
Waema, T. M., & Miroro, O. O. (2014). Access and use of ICT and its contribution to poverty reduction in Kenya. ICT pathways to poverty reduction: Empirical evidence from East and Southern Africa, 102-131. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3362/9781780448152.005
Webster, J. & Watson, R.T. (2002). Analyzing the past to prepare for the future: Writing a literature review. MIS Quarterly, 26(2), xiii-xxiii.
Willard, T., & Halder, M. (2003). The Information Society and Sustainable DevelopmentAdvancement. International Institute for Sustainable DevelopmentAdvancement (IISD), Winnipeg, Canada http://www. iisd.org/PUBLICATIONS/pub. aspx.
World Bank (2012) Information, Communication Technologies, and infoDev (Program) (2012) Information and Communications for DevelopmentAdvancement 2012: Maximizing Mobile. World Bank Publications.
Zaugolnikov, S.A. (2013). Problem after employment of university graduates. Proceedings of the Regional Financial and Economic Institute, (2). Available from: http://www. science. rfei. ru/ru/2013/2/32. html. Accessed: December 2019.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Kenneth Ohei, Evangelos Mantzaris
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
For all articles published in IJRBS, copyright is retained by the authors. Articles are licensed under an open access Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license, meaning that anyone may download and read the paper for free. In addition, the article may be reused and quoted provided that the original published version is cited. These conditions allow for maximum use and exposure of the work, while ensuring that the authors receive proper credit.