The June 16 speech by President Cyril Ramaphosa would inspire confidence to someone who has not spent time in either a township or rural area recently. While the few initiatives he identified are plauded, such initiatives should be extended to all corners of the country as they currently benefit a few young people.

Recent statistics released by Stats SA indicate that the number of young people not in employment, education, or training (Neet) is on the rise and of great concern. Youth unemployment is higher than the national rate.

As a result, searching for employment is often a priority for the youth, to the extent that it turns out to be their profession. Although SA saw the dawn of democracy in 1994, several social structures still exist that craft the experience of inequality, poverty, and opportunities in life. It is without doubt that the past system created racial tensions and social strata that persist to this day.

It is for that reason that the largest portion of young people, who are Neet and with a lack of access to the digital world, remain black Africans. SA is characterised by inequalities that create different worlds in one country, where some youth lack digital literacy skills and access to Internet connection.

As a result, it is often unclear how and what must be done to support and empower the Neets because of the heterogeneity of this population, particularly within a rapidly changing digital society. Digital literacy skills can play an essential role in developing their ability.

They require the necessary skills to search for and navigate information using the Internet, as most developmental opportunities are now increasingly found on online platforms. Interventions for upskilling young people and providing access to resources are among the critical factors required for economically inactive young people.

As the president said, digital divide is a reality that requires multi-stakeholders to work together to bridge the chasm and find solutions to equip the youth with the tools to escape poverty.

For this to work the government, in collaboration with the private sector, should capacitate the youth with digital literacy skills and access to Internet connection. For young people who are economically inactive, this is an essential component in their development for the world of work and business in the fourth industrial revolution era.

The second challenge relates to access to Internet connection. Studies show a cohort of young people are not taking advantage of ICT-enabling services, because of being computer illiterate. However, there are other young people with adequate skills to use the Internet to search for information, but are unable to as they face other types of challenges such as access.

Although logic dictates that Internet connection must be essential for every citizen, this is regrettably not the situation for those living in the periphery of the country with poor ICT infrastructure.

Young people in rural and underserviced high-density townships and informal settlements are the most vulnerable. They require philanthropic interventions in addition to other standard literacy skills programmes.

The tremendously high price of mobile data in SA prohibits people from disadvantaged and underprivileged backgrounds from having easy access to Internet connection points.

Progress is being made, making Internet access available to marginalised communities in metropolitan municipalities, compared to more rural parts of SA. This is evident through numerous Wi-Fi hotspot points, especially in Gauteng and the Western Cape.

Most young people with Neet status are at risk of permanently remaining part of this group because of failures to be integrated into the labour market or education system.

• Prof Ngoepe and Prof Walter Matli, University of South Africa archivist, author and academic