| Overview : South Africa is classified as an upper middle-income country by the World Bank and has one of the more stable financial sectors and is widely regarded as one of the most attractive investment destinations in Africa with a well-educated populace and good infrastructure. For the past five years, however, South Africa’s economy has been hovering at round 1 to 2%, much slower than the Africa average of 4%. The economy has been undergoing a structural shift with declines in the primary and secondary sector in favour of the services sector. In April 2017, the South Africa’s sovereign credit rating was downgraded to sub-investment or junk level with negative outlook by Moody’s and S&P.Human Development Reports are one of the key flagship documents produced by the UNDP, as a key partner to the Government, to contribute to its mandate as a thought leader and to stimulate discussions and influence national policies towards fighting poverty, promoting sustainable development and augmenting the capabilities and choices of peoples. The South Africa Country Office has produced three (3) National Human Development reports namely: HIV/AIDS and Human Development South Africa, 1998 Transformation for Human Development South Africa, 2000 The Challenge of Sustainable Development – Unlocking People’s Creativity, 2003
The urgency to prepare the Fourth Human Development report now is propelled by the varied developmental challenges and opportunities facing South Africa at this point – from subdued growth and high unemployment especially for the youths, to inequalities and gender disparities to environmental awareness and droughts to political transitions and formations across the country, to name a few. Given the importance of stimulating employment and growth to the country; and the crucial question of what renders the South African employable, the UNDP with wide consultations with the Government, private sectors, civil society and academicians, have decided to prepare a National Human Development Report on EMPLOYABILITY in South Africa. Purpose: To prepare the South Africa National Human Development Report (SANHDR 2018). The SANHDR 2018 will explore the underlying and roots causes that affect employability in the country with a view to creating greater prospects for enhancing Employability in South Africa. |
