When Kabelo, 27, chose a career in electrical engineering he thought getting a job would be easy as it was in high demand. Three years later, armed with a trade test and a couple of internships under his belt, he is struggling to find employment.

Kabelo, who asked not to be identified, said his dreams of getting a full-time job have been dashed by a recently published second quarterly employment report by Stats SA, which shows that electricity is one of the industries that has shown a decrease in employment...