The youth should focus on technical skills, not degrees

The mad rush by matriculants to get into universities has once again revealed our obsession with university qualifications.

And yet there are no guarantees that after three or four years at university, if you actually go beyond the first year, one is guaranteed a job, let alone a learnership.

Many learners who get into universities drop out because they realise, years later, that they were never cut out to be what they are studying towards.

A lack of career guidance and obsession with a university degree condemn many to a bleak future. The job market remains highly vicious towards new entrants. Our education system needs an overhaul.

The focus should shift from university degrees to technical skills training. SA has a critical shortage of artisans.

Kganthane Lebaka, e-mail