The Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU) at the University of Cape Town is running a research project called:
This study explores how young people’s social and professional networks affect their chances of finding work and succeeding in the labour market. Social networks are one of the main ways youth get information about jobs and how to do well in the workplace. However, in South Africa, these networks are often unequal: individuals are clustered into groups with similar employment histories, which may restrict access to information on critical labour market navigation skills like professional conduct, asking for help, interacting with senior managers and searching for appropriate opportunities. At an economy-wide level, these challenges can lead to meaningful issues in workplaces with motivation, work-preparedness, employee turnover and significant costs faced by employers in screening for good candidates. Despite the potential importance of these patterns for productivity and inequality, this remains an under-studied issue. Our project addresses this gap using innovative survey instruments to understand the current barriers to forming and utilising strong professional networks within South African workplaces and, in later phases of the work, randomised controlled trials to explore potential ways to overcome these barriers. The results will advance understanding among policy actors, youth employment practitioners and researchers, with the aim of informing strategies to support more equitable labour market outcomes.
We are inviting entry-level employees to take part in a short voluntary survey. Those individuals who do participate will receive a R40 airtime voucher as a form of compensation. Interviews will be conducted at the workplace, at a time arranged to minimise disruption. A quiet or semi-private space is requested to ensure comfort and confidentiality.
Participation is entirely voluntary, employees can withdraw at any time, and all responses are strictly confidential. No individual or firm will ever be identified in any reporting. The study has been reviewed and approved by the University of Cape Town’s ethics committee.
If you would like to participate in the study or if you have any questions, please contact Claudia Dhludhlu, Project Associate (cdhludhlu@povertyactionlab.org | +27 82 072 7887). If you wish to raise a concern or lodge a complaint, please contact the Research Associate, Jess Qvist at jqvist@povertyactionlab.org or +27 76 421 3663
Our field officers can be identified by:
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