Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management (ETDs)

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    Factors Influencing Entrepreneurship in the South African Construction Industry
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021) Maluleke, Sanele
    The unemployment rate in South Africa is at its highest and it has been noted that SMMEs are needed to stimulate job creation. The construction industry is a major contributor to the economy with the contracting industry spearheading the absorption of unskilled and skilled labour. The National Development Plan of 2030’s deadline is approaching and its target to reduce employment is far from being reached by various sectors (which include the construction sector) that were earmarked to create jobs. This problem requires an in-depth look at the factors influencing entrepreneurship in the construction industry. A quantitative method was adopted to gather data from over 1000 sampled respondents who were contractors registered with the CIDB. The findings of the study revealed that internal and external factors have an influence on entrepreneurship equally with neither having any significant impact on the success of an entrepreneur but when looked at separately the two external factors that Influence success were access to funding and the supportive environment and the two internal factors were innovation and creativity. The internal and external factors have an equal influence on the reasons why construction companies are formed were. The findings also showed a positive relationship between age and the success of an entrepreneur
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    A creative business venture to promote youth development in townships
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022) Ngidi, Tebogo Lorna; Venter, Robert
    From the apartheid era up until the current state, unemployment has been a challenge in South Africa, especially amongst the young people in underprivileged townships (Hodge, 2009). To try and redress this, profit and non-profit sectors have undertaken a mixture of commercialised and social tasks to respond to changes that occur within the economic and social contexts (Social Enterprise Alliance , 2021). Such tasks include start-up businesses, interactive technologies and constantly evolving demographics that try to reach different aspects of life (Social Enterprise Alliance , 2021). It is through such convergences that social entrepreneurships were established. This social entrepreneurship project investigates whether a more creative business venture can assist with regards to promoting youth development in townships. According to Venter and Urban (2015), government support on its own is not enough to meet societal demands. This is more especially with regards to wicked problems that tend to be more complex to tackle due to its interlocked nature with other issues. Even though social entrepreneurship operates in diverse realms within the community, for the context of this research paper, this project investigates the introduction of newer and more creative business ventures within the Southwest Townships (SOWETO), a township that accommodates close to half of the Gauteng population. The report draws on the findings from reviewed literature and interviews with various stakeholders; entrepreneurs (both new and established), community support institutions and the local government.
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    Skills development programmes for Out-of-School Youth and learner failures
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Raphela, Raesetja Augustina
    This study investigates factors which resulted in learners dropping out of a skills development programme for out-of-school youth provided by the Mpumalanga Regional Training Trust (MRTT). this investigation plays a critical role in identifying the factors that result in out-of-school youth enrolling for the skills development programmes.This will assist the training providers to ensure learners complete the programme and be able to participate in economic activities of the country.
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    ‘Born free’ to unemployment? A Tax Incentive Post Implementation
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023-06) Greeff, Shiaam; Padia, Misha
    South Africa, the economic engine of Africa’s youth face numerous challenges in accessing employment. Young individuals have been confronted with unemployment percentages exceeding 40 per cent after democracy and the unemployment rate has persisted closer to 50 per cent of late. To combat the youth unemployment crisis the South African government implemented the Employment Tax Incentive (ETI) in 2014. The ETI is an incentive offered with the intention of mitigating extraordinarily high youth unemployment in South Africa by encouraging qualifying firms to hire younger and less experienced individuals. This research dissertation serves to provide a critical analysis of the youth unemployment in South Africa and how the ETI has affected the youth unemployment in the nine-years post implementation. During the implementation period, South Africa endured the COVID-19 pandemic affecting life as we knew it and employment globally. The youth unemployment in the BRICS member countries has been analysed with their measures to address youth unemployment. Lastly the study analyses the experiences small business owners in South Africa have had with the ETI post implementation. This study aims to evaluate the influence of the Employment Tax Incentive on the unemployment of young South Africans. This is achieved by conducting a qualitative study using critical analysis to review the ETI post implementation, determining the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on unemployment, assessing the other BRICS member countries who have implemented initiatives to improve youth unemployment and conducting interviews with small business owners in South Africa to understand the ETI in the business sector. The data suggests that a subsidy is not a stand-alone answer to youth unemployment in South Africa. The subsidy, however, does create some employment according to the data analysed. The country experiences extraordinary youth unemployment rates. The employment of young South Africans generates greater value than just the employment, it allows for the youth to use their time constructively by gaining experience and skills instead of participating in socio-economic issues such as alcohol and drug abuse. It is acknowledged that the implementation of an employment incentive on its own will not be enough to resolve the South African youth unemployment crisis; the inferior education needs to be addressed. The BRIC member countries face similar challenges and their interventions have not entirelyhad the desired outcome.
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    The democratic participatory experiences of black youth in the City of Johannesburg
    (2020) Ntshwanti, Thandile
    The purpose of this study was to assess the response of youth to government public participation platforms and approaches using the youth in the City of Johannesburg as a case study. Local government was chosen as the focus of the study because of its proximity to citizens. The study explored the current approaches used in the City of Johannesburg, the general views on youth participation, the response by youth to current public participation approaches used by the city and how youth participation can be improved. The study used a qualitative research approach. A combination of data collection tools was used. These were observations, document analysis, interviews and focus groups. The findings of the study show that there are various modes and approaches that the city uses to engage with the community of the City of Johannesburg. These include community meetings, suggestion boxes at municipal offices, izimbizo public meetings for discussion of specific issues and official council and ward committee meetings. While the significance of youth participation is acknowledged and expressed in various official documents, the tangible experiences by the youth indicate the opposite. In paper there are youth focused structures, but practically, they are not adequately utilised. Because youth participation is guided by the same rules and principles as general public participation with no specified allowance made for the participation of youth, the youth is not responding positively and as such youth participation is low. That is not to say that the youth has no interest in becoming active citizens, engaging with government. In fact the opposite is true. They are cognisant of their social, political and economic environment, associated challenges and their role as youth in all of it. They are not as cynical and disinterested. There are numerous other reasons why youth participation in broader participation spaces and platforms is low. One reason is that the mainstream approaches used are found to be alienating by the youth. Further, the knowledge of the different ways the youth can engage officials at local government on various issues is limited. Access to information required to participate confidently in these meetings is not easy to access