Daily Archives: May 1, 2022

Fundamental changes are taking place in the world: what are the implications for Africa?

A generation ago, newly appointed Organisation of African Unity (OAU) Secretary-General Dr Salim Ahmed Salim posed that question under circumstances different from today, but of comparable significance.

Two strategic shifts marked the early 1990s. The first was the sudden collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, with implications for Africa. The second was the winding down of colonialism as white-minority rule came to an end in southern Africa.

Today, Africa faces sudden changes in renewed tensions. This has been crystalised by a number of developments. These include the war in Ukraine, a new Cold War and the rise of China as a global power. These are unfolding against the backdrop of changes in global economics and society resulting from the COVID pandemic, climate change and the fourth industrial revolution.

Salim and his team prepared a report for the July 1990 26th Ordinary Assembly of African Heads of State and Government that met in Addis Ababa. After much debate the summit issued a declaration. Its title was: The Political and Socio-Economic Situation in Africa and the Fundamental Changes Taking Place in the World.

Diplomatic historians regard the 1990 OAU declaration as the starting point for a decade-long series of policy and economic developments that culminated in the transformation of the OAU into the African Union (AU).

Politically astute African leadership in 1990 overcame diverse identities and interests to eventually agree on a new set of principles. These enabled the reform of Africas main inter-governmental institutions and processes.

However imperfect, AU norms and institutions have been sustainable and politically useful for two decades. Peace has prevailed among virtually all AU members. More challenging has been building AU consensus for new ways to prevent and resolve conflicts within states. This is particularly notable in the politically sensitive area of democratic elections.

History does not repeat itself, but it has lessons to teach.

The 1990 exercise boiled down to three core components that are worth recalling: governance and preventing deadly conflict, socio-economic integration and leadership and institutional reform.

There is little doubt that in 2022 the world is in the midst of another inflection point that few predicted or prepared for. I believe there are lessons to be learned from the analytical framework used by Salim in 1990 and the OAUs Declaration about the implications for Africa. Although todays changes may require broader civic involvement.

The AUs Constitutive Act and the African Charter on democracy, elections and governance recognise that the most deadly conflicts in Africa occur within, not between or among countries. A case in point was the 1994 Rwanda genocide.

In 1990 Salim clarified the strategic importance of good governance as the foundation for national and regional integration. That years declaration endorsed the goals of respect for human rights and democratisation. This foreshadowed the emergence of the principle of non-indifference when it comes to the risk of violent domestic conflict.

Early warning signals include:

Severe human rights abuses

Blatant violations of electoral integrity

Unconstitutional changes of government, and

A breakdown in the rule of law.

An urgent question today is whether escalating tensions and competition among China, Russia and the US, and their non-African allies, will impede Africas democratisation. And will they abet domestic abuses of power that threaten to undermine peace and prosperity, as well as national and regional integration?

Africa is feeling the effects of accelerating globalisation socially as well as economically.

In 1991 African leaders began mounting their response with the adoption of the Abuja Treaty establishing the African Economic Community. But ambitious goals that were envisioned to be realised over six stages (1994-2027) have not been met.

Amid the current escalating competition for markets and influence in Africa among the major powers, Africas collective agency needs to be reassessed. This is true for each of the eight AU affiliated regional economic communities too. Can Africans devise practical ways to entice all major powers to support the African Continental Free Trade Area?

Africas socio-economic resilience and recovery was tested recently during the COVID pandemic. Wealthy Western democracies turned inward and practised vaccine nationalism. This hardship exacerbated inequalities and disproportionately hurt the poorest Africans.

The war in the Ukraine over the past two months is already severely affecting the continent. A dire impact on food prices, and food and nutrition security in Africa is already being felt. The implications for global food supply chains and food trade in Africa are also serious.

Among other alarming implications of the war in Ukraine for Africa are the curtailment of development assistance and other needed support to mitigate the effects of global climate change.

Africa is the region most vulnerable to climate change for which it is least responsible. And it has the greatest need for financial assistance in dealing with climate change.

The 1990 strategic review that Salim undertook sought a major revamp of the OAU. It is too early to judge the need, capacity, and resolve of AU members to undertake major reforms of their continental and regional organisations. The last big institutional reform took over a decade to effect, and results inevitably have been mixed.

But it will take leadership to generate sustained and politically salient debate about the necessity of institutional reforms. The transition to the AU also required leadership by African statesmen, notably by Thabo Mbeki of South Africa and Nigerias president Olusegun Obasanjo.

Africas regional international relations today appear to lack the central leadership that was possible during Salims era. And African democracies, as those elsewhere, are preoccupied with voter interests. These rarely focus on foreign affairs. Autocratic rulers may have more freedom to lead regionally. But they are handicapped by a lack of democratic legitimacy.

Todays challenges may require a more bottom-up approach, with key inputs from non-governmental leaders. This years declaration against unconstitutional changes of government, for example, involved a much wider array of players. Hosted by Ghana for the AU and affiliated inter-governmental organisations, it included representatives from a broad spectrum of society. These included African civil society organisations, academia, professional bodies, youth and womens groups.

Having these representatives in the room might produce practical recommendations to help Africa adapt to fundamental changes in the world, consistent with African norms and interests.

More:

How Africa can respond to the seismic changes in the world: lessons from history - The Conversation Indonesia

South Africas workforce must step up efforts to become more effective contributors to the countrys economy.

Skills development and recruitment company Afrika Tikkun Services (ATS) said workers must take responsibility and rise to the task of developing the skills that will keep them relevant and beneficial to the home and the economy.

Its important that economic empowerment ensures that people acquire the skills which translate into real economic activity, says ATS CEO, Onyi Nwaneri.

While one can empathise with the argument for a living minimum wage, employers at the corporate level express that many workers in South Africa are under-skilled and present limited competence in carrying out their tasks., said Nwaneri.

Industry players have maintained South Africa is among the most expensive workforces compared to other developing countries, despite crippling inequality.

South African employers operate in an unequal society which requires redress from the injustices of apartheid, but this alone cannot justify policies that may hinder economic progress.

The controversial national minimum wage (NMW) might offer a small victory to workers, but it has compromised the ability of small businesses to experience business growth.

This will only shrink SAs workforce into a smaller, more expensive and under-skilled workforce.

At the same time, many traditional professions are evolving, creating obsolescence for some jobs while others will require workers to upgrade their skills to remain relevant in their profession.

Given that companies have little organic incentive to keep these jobs open as technology evolves, it will be incumbent upon workers to keep themselves employable with skills that speak to the evolving needs of the employer, emphasised Nwaneri.

A recent report by PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) shows 87% of South African CEOs are most worried about a skills shortage in their organisation.

We need to look at what other emerging economies are doing correctly when it comes to keeping employment numbers up and what best practices are being followed by companies that maintain skill relevance and abundance in their workforce, says Nwaneri.

The latest official productivity data suggests that South Africas workforce is lagging in productivity, dropping by 5,03% year-on-year in December 2021.

According to the Census and Economic Information Center (CEIC), there was a significant decline in labour and multifactor productivity.

Productivity SA, a government agency which promotes employment growth, said these productivity trends reflect a decline in creativity, or innovation, as the leading factor in the collapse of productivity during this period.

We need to do a lot more learning on how to tackle this issue by taking into account learnings from other developing countries.

There also needs to be a greater discussion around how labour is protected over the enterprise and not beholden to a free market, which makes it difficult to deal with unproductive labour, says Nwaneri.

Studies have found over-regulation and unproductive labour discourage investment.

Economists at Frontier Economics found in 2012 that higher levels of employment protection legislation (EPL) could positively and negatively impact innovation.

But it was more likely that the impact on overall productivity growth is negative. The report also found a negative relationship between higher EPL and investment.

Plummeting employment numbers and a growing skills gap in South Africas most vital economic sectors occur as global pressures demand that the economy produce young, skilled and productive workers in great numbers.

Failing to do so means South Africa could face an economy of pensioners and low-skilled workers.

Now is the time for job seekers and employed workers alike to adopt an attitude of self-empowerment which begins with acquiring the skills that keep workers productive and contributing to the economy, ATS urges.

Complacency in the face of a 66% youth unemployment rate and sinking labour productivity numbers is not an option if South Africa is to weather the storm of socio-economic turmoil.

Ensuring more South Africans acquire relevant skills and access to economic opportunities will create a more professionalised labour market.

This will ensure increased employment capacity at every level of the economy, relieving the volatility faced by entry-level and informal sector job-seekers.

Compiled byNarissa Subramoney

NOW READ: SA dominated by white supremacy: Not much to celebrate this Workers Day

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Workers Day: Onus on staff to upskill themselves - The Citizen

VOICES

The advent of another Workers Day, which is annually celebrated worldwide on May 1 gives workers and their families an opportunity to pause and deeply analyse the progress, if any made in the numerous uphill battles that they face on a day-to-day basis, as they eke out a living in an increasingly hostile neo-liberal world that South Africa has steadily become over the past century.

The prognosis is bad.

The ANC, an erstwhile ally of workers has morphed into the worst acolytes of a discredited neo-liberal capitalist system, whose only response to high levels of poverty, chronic joblessness, and the highest level of inequality in the world is to implement austerity measures.

READ:Inside Labour | Mayday, Mayday, Mayday! the distress signal workers are sending out today

Through its numerous failures, the ANC and its business friends (with whom, and on whose behalf, it governs), have extracted more than a pound of flesh from workers and their families. The deliberate devaluing and collapsing of viable state-owned enterprises (SOEs) leading to thousands of job losses is but a case in point. Eskoms inability to provide reliable electricity which is therefore throttling an already anemic economy, is perhaps one of the ANC governments greatest historic failures.

This incredulous own goal, which came after numerous warnings about building future capacity, some going as far back as former president Thabo Mbekis administration, as well as 10 years and counting of loadshedding, with no credible solution in sight, demonstrates astounding incompetence at the highest levels of the ruling party. Numsa does not hold any hope for any accountability because the factional politics of the ANC have made it well-nigh impossible to scrutinise certain ministers whose misrule has resulted in untold suffering for workers and their families.

READ:How Eskoms board helped the Guptas buy a mining company

Here are just a few of the ways that workers have borne the brunt of the rolling blackouts that have become normalised in South Africa:

Job losses through company and plant closures

Numerous small and medium-sized businesses are closing down. According to Stats SA in the Quarterly Labour Force Survey, the unemployment rate has increased to 35.3% and the expanded definition which includes those who have given up looking for work is at a staggering 46.6%. The manufacturing sector was hardest hit, having shed 85 000 jobs, followed by the construction industry which lost 25 000 jobs followed by the utilities and transportation sectors which shed 14 000 and 13 000 respectively.

READ:Zumas critical role in Guptas plans to capture Eskom revealed

Numsa is experiencing first-hand the impact of these job losses because it is reflected in the large number of retrenchments notices it has received in the last two years. In many cases, companies cited persistent load-shedding and increasing energy costs as part of the rationale for downsizing operations or closing down. The situation has also been exacerbated by the hard lockdown caused by the covid-19 pandemic, and, the unrest we experienced in July last year. It is worthwhile to remind the reader that every South African worker looks after up to seven family members, on his or her meagre income. So, every job lost has a devastating impact, not just on the worker involved, but on society as a whole.

Safety and security

The areas where the majority of the working class reside particularly in townships and informal settlements are places which are usually rife with crime. This is made worse by regular blackouts because it allows criminals to perform their dirty deeds under the cover of darkness. This makes it particularly unsafe for women to walk to and from their places of work. Workers are easy prey for vicious criminals and the police have unfortunately proven to be quite weak in protecting our communities. The sharp increase in the crime rate is no coincidence.

The state seems unable to deal with this spike in crime that all South Africans are acutely feeling. As a result, vigilante attacks are on the increase.

This has also given rise to the unfortunate scapegoating of all foreign nationals as being responsible for criminality. This is because communities are frustrated by the slow pace of service delivery and by the prevalence of violent crime and the failure of the state to adequately address this.

Higher electricity tariffs

Eskoms position is indefensible. The country is subjected to crippling rolling blackouts but South Africans are paying more for electricity. When Eskom was making an application for a tariff increase of 20.5% in January 2022 to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa, it justified the request on the basis that the cost of procuring energy from Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and the carbon tax were driving the tariff increase. These two factors contributed 13.8% of the proposed increase. (As of April 1, a tariff increase of 9.5% went into effect).

READ:Mmusi Maimane | Why we are gatvol

When Numsa went to the high court to prevent the signing on of 27 Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer projects in 2018, we were severely criticised. But we had a duty to defend the principle of a Just Transition and currently, the manner that this government has embarked on this process does not match up at all to what was envisioned by the International Labour Organization as a just transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

The ILO calls for a human-centred approach, one where the livelihoods of workers and communities are not negatively affected. Where every job lost in the coal industry is replaced, or, workers are upskilled. The best way to achieve that is, Numsa argued, is if these companies are owned and controlled by workers and communities.

We demanded ownership, but instead, what we got was loans to the tune of R131 billion to fund the transition.

The CSIR predicted that over 90 000 jobs would be lost because of the transition and yet there is still no social labour plan from the government to mitigate against this looming disaster.

READ:Forget Eskom, go renewable

Furthermore, the union warned that these privately owned renewable energy projects were a vehicle to privatise energy generation at Eskom, and as a result, the cost of energy would increase. It was revealed in court papers that the REIPP project would cost the fiscus R1.4 trillion, an amount significantly larger than the nuclear deal.

Green capital seeks to profit too

Capital, even green capital, does not have a vested interest in mitigating against climate change. It seeks to profit and as long as that is the primary motive, this can never be a sustainable solution to reducing carbon emissions. Numsa demands that a considered approach be taken before coal power stations which are the lifeblood of the economy of the Mpumalanga province, are arbitrarily shut down. Our critics have unfairly attacked the general secretary Irvin Jim of having sold out to the coal industry, when the union is simply demanding that the Just Transition which we signed up for, should be done at a rate the country can afford, and, in a way that does not cost the country any more suffering for the working class.

READ:Irvin Jims birthday party paid for by embattled life insurer

In May 2021 Numsa identified the following issues that needed urgent intervention if we were to find long term solutions to Eskoms spiraling debt crisis:

1. Government must intervene in the ever-escalating costs of primary energy, which have been rising at a minimum of 17% per annum. This includes the cost of IPPs, coal and diesel. These contracts must be investigated and, in some cases, set aside because the cost escalations are not justifiable. There is a directive from government on this but no action has been taken to date.

2. In contrast, employee benefit costs decreased by 6% between 2019 and 2020. Since 2017 until the end of the financial year for 2020, this cost has remained flat. The false narrative that the wage bill is to blame for Eskoms financial problems, is just that. A lie. And it is being used to unfairly target workers and justify job cuts.

3. The governments disastrous decision to allow big business to self-generate by up to 100 MW. This is scandalous because the ANC government, which is also the erstwhile shareholder, is enabling the private sector to compete against Eskom, thereby fast-tracking the collapse of the entity. We recommended that this decision must be reversed immediately because government should not drive an agenda that results in Eskom losing much-needed revenue.

4. At least R250 billion of Eskom debt must go onto the government books. This must include the R38 billion owed by municipalities which cannot be paid as a result of the reduction in allocation by the National Treasury. Those municipalities do not have any revenue as a result of the depressed socio-economic conditions and poor governance and expecting them to pay the owed amount is beyond incredulous.

5. Eskom must establish its own renewable energy company which must execute 70% of the renewables in the IRP and it must be allocated nuclear in light of the government having taken a decision to include nuclear in the energy mix. Such a demand is in line with the 1998 Government White Paper and it is in the best interest of job security for workers at Eskom. It also ensures the long-term sustainability of the power utility.

If no action is taken, the consequences will be dire. The food riots witnessed in July are just the tip of the iceberg of what is to come. There are those who claim that the financial cost of saving Eskom is too high, but surely the cost of violent unrest and political instability is far higher.

Hlubi-Majola is a former journalist and currently the Numsa National Spokesperson

news you need

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Green capitalism is not the solution to South Africas energy crisis - News24

Rwanda has the most effective government among low-income countries globally and across mainland Africa, according to thesecond Chandler Good Government Index, released Thursday, April 28.

The annual index, published by the Singapore-based non-profit Chandler Institute of Governance (CIG), is built around the notion that every country deserves good leadership, sound policy and effective institutions, as well as systems that work.

Based on over 50 open data sources, the index measures government capabilities and outcomes across 104 countries (about 90 per cent of the worlds population).

One of the insights that emerged from this years index, it says, is the close relationship between good governance and social mobility which it describes as the extent to which socio-economic circumstances at birth influence a persons future status and prosperity.

Our findings suggest that good governance not ideology, income-level, or geography is what determines the extent to which countries create opportunities for their people to rise on the basis of their creativity, work ethic, and contribution, the report says.

Countries that score highest on the CGGI (Chandler Good Government Index) also have the highest levels of social mobility, the report says.

It shows the importance of investing in enhancing the capabilities of public servants and the structures they operate within, to achieve a better and more sustainable future, reads part of a statement.

The top 15 African countries:

The index focuses on seven pillars: Leadership and Foresight; Robust Laws and Policies; Strong Institutions; Financial Stewardship; Attractive Marketplace; Global Influence and Reputation; and Helping People Rise.

Rwanda emerged the second best-performing country in Africa and 55thglobally. Mauritius, ranked 38thglobally, tops Africa. Botswana (60) completes Africas top three, with Morocco (64), South Africa (70), Senegal (71), Tunisia (72), Egypt (73), Ghana (73) and Namibia (78) making Africas top 10.

Finland tops the world, followed by Switzerland, Singapore, Denmark and Netherlands in that order. Norway, Sweden, Germany, New Zealand and the United Kingdom complete the top 10.

Rwanda performed strongest under the Leadership and Oversight pillar, ranking 17thglobally, while it also performed relatively strongly in capability to serve as an Attractive Marketplace, emerging 28thoverall. But it performed poorly on Global Influence and Reputation (91st), generally reflecting Africas trend. Rwanda ranked 49thin Financial Stewardship, 57thin Robust Laws and Policies, 63rdunder the Strong Institutions pillar, and 79thin its capability with regard to Helping People Rise.

Rwandas skills development approach

In particular, the 132-page report takes note of Rwandas strides in upskilling its workforce to meet new demands and to attract foreign investments.

For many years, the Rwandan government has worked to create conditions favourable to foreign investment, and to position the country as an attractive market for investment and business in East Africa. These efforts continued even during the pandemics initial impact, the report reads in part. Decades of good governance since the 1990s have led to successful policies addressing economic and development issues that have enabled inclusion in the workforce and nurtured a skilled and capable workforce for a range of industries.

A National Strategy for Transformation has also sought to bolster foreign direct investment and set Rwanda on a course for steady gains into the future, it says.

The countrys National Skills Development and Employment Promotion Strategy, along with its predecessor the National Employment Program, align with the broader national development strategy, building skills and promoting employment to support economic transformation.

Structured across 11 schemes, the Strategy connects enterprises and public agencies, increasing opportunities to help close skills gaps. By matching skill supply and demand, policymakers aim to support those already in the workforce, as well as young people entering it, in particular those enrolled in technical and vocational education and tertiary education, the report says.

The rankings of Mauritius, Rwanda, and Botswana by pillar:

This, it adds, represents a proactive and integrated approach to bolstering the nations workforce as a key factor in attracting foreign direct investment and strengthening the small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that make up a majority of firms in the Rwandan economy.

Covid-19 response was swift and methodical

The Covid-19 pandemic presented a formidable challenge, it says. Rwandas tourism industry, which had been witnessing steady growth, was devastated by the global collapse in travel. The governments response to this crisis was swift and methodical.

Rwandas Chamber of Tourism quickly started training programmes for those in the hospitality sector who were placed on forced leave, it says. The training enabled participants to acquire future-oriented skills, remain employable, and reintegrate into the workforce.

The governments skills development approach focused on supporting SMEs, and enabling linkages with European and African investors.

The report also acknowledges Rwanda's open-door migration regime, stating that the country took steps to leverage immigration policies to encourage the in-flow of highly skilled workers to fill demand gaps, with immigrants tending to enter high-skilled occupations at a faster rate.

In 2021, the country also opened up citizenship to anyone with special skills or talents determined to be in demand or of national interest, it adds.

To attract foreign direct investment, the report says, the Rwandan government developed the Kigali Innovation City (KIC) in 2020, a commercial zone inspired by Silicon Valley, to promote development across technology and biotech firms in partnership with private investors and major universities.

In tandem, it also developed the Kigali International Financial Centre (KFIC) to position Kigali as a premier financial centre, and established a framework of laws and regulations to promote the development of talent and the creation of leading technologies.

The new policies, the index says, promote the growth of start-up and medium-sized enterprises while appealing to investors in high-tech industries through transparent schemes that incentivise the management and governance of investments.

The KIC and the KIFC, backed by a new investment law launched, in 2021, herald for Rwanda a new development approach that promotes a diverse private sector and start-up ecosystem while growing the relevant talent pool.

These, along with further support measures such as adjustments to taxation, interest rates, and labour laws, set Rwanda on a durable course for the long-term attraction and retention of both talent and investment.

Rwandas progress and decisiveness in response to rapidly changing circumstances, including the pandemic, signal the benefits of well-coordinated, mutually reinforcing policies as key expressions of effective governance, the index reads in part.

An enduring source of competitive advantage

The 2022 CGGI shows that countries with good governance were better prepared for the Covid-19 pandemic, conducted more tests per capita, and generally experienced fewer excess deaths per capita, the non-profit says in the statement.

Government capabilities are an enduring source of competitive advantage for nations. These capabilities include systems, institutions, processes, and skills elements that take time to improve and build up, Wu Wei Neng, Executive Director, Chandler Institute of Governance, says in the statement. Once developed and strengthened, government capabilities are not easily eroded in the short-term, and can support governments through brief periods of instability or crisis.

The top 20 countries globally:

Ed-Olowo-Okere of the Governance Global Practice at the World Bank said thatIn the absence of good governance, countries may not be able to formulate good policies. Even when governments adopt good policies, without good governance they will struggle with gaps in implementation that derail intended outcomes. This is especially true in Africa where poor governance has affected development outcomes, resulting in a high concentration of people living below the poverty line.

According to the report, effective government capabilities are closely linked to better outcomes for citizens.

It cites Rule of Law, Property Rights, and Anti-Corruption capabilities as the cornerstones upon which trust-based societies and economies are built.

These three capabilities are essential factors in determining good governance, and sturdy foundations for national development and flourishing. Their presence suggests several other healthy behaviours and processes are being implemented ones that prevent money from being siphoned, for instance, or the law being selectively applied.

The index established that there is a moderate relationship between good governance and Covid-19 outcomes.

Well-governed countries had fewer excess deaths from Covid-19 than poorly governed countries, the report says.

Leadership makes a difference. What public sector leaders decide, do, or say impacts public trust in government. Good leaders create and sustain cultures of integrity, competence and service. They have a clear sense of medium- and longer-term pathways for their government and country. They cultivate the foresight needed to anticipate emerging challenges and opportunities.

jmunyaneza@newtimesrwanda.com

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Rwanda most effective low-income country - report | The New Times - The New Times

So, youve submitted your dissertation, your final-year tenancy lease is coming to an end, and your final trip to Jason Donervan is on the horizon. What now? With over fifteen years of education already under their belts, many graduates are asking themselves, Whats one more?. Thats right, its time to start your last-minute application for the infamous panic masters.

Youre not the only one. Since the 2015/16 academic year, the number of students going on to pursue taught postgraduate courses has been continuously increasing 2020/21 saw a 16 per cent increase in enrolments for masters taught courses compared to the previous academic year.

In 201920, 40.5 per cent of postgraduate students at UUK member institutions (Universities UK) were from outside the UK. These numbers have only been exacerbated since the government launched the Graduate immigration routefor international students last year. This visa allows international students to remain in the UK and work for two years after they successfully complete a bachelors or postgraduate course.

Admissions expert Mary Curnock Cook said the rise is also in part due to a collapse in confidence in the graduate employment market. Under-25s took the brunt of pandemic related unemployment, and in 2020 only 18 per cent of graduating students secured jobs, compared with an average of 60 per cent in a normal year.

The post-Covid graduate job market is a murky, overcrowded and shrinking pool that many final-year students feel unprepared for. The perception that employers expect graduates to have transferable, experiential skills before they even enter the workplace has left many students citing a lack of experience, practical skills, and vacancies as significant barriers.

English graduate Issy originally had plans to enter the publishing sector, but she told Epigram that shes now waiting for decisions from postgraduate admissions teams: The search for a graduate job honestly felt completely hopeless. There were so few roles in comparison to the number of applicants, and a lot of them were asking for the type of relevant experience that Ive just never been able to find.

Many so-called entry-level graduate jobs now seem to require up to three years of prior experience in a work environment. As the unlucky victims of the pandemic-stricken university experience who lost out on CV-boosting internships and in-person work experience, workforce newcomers may feel theyre already at a massive disadvantage.

Issy further explained I didnt want to end up in a job that completely deviated from my career plans, and I didnt want to put financial pressure on my parents by moving home unemployed. By March it seemed like doing a masters in a subject I at least know I enjoy was my best option.

If an undergraduate degree and motivation alone are no longer cutting it, final year students might need something more to guarantee their entry into the world of graduate employment. That might be relevant internships, or the connections to navigate a bewildering application process without being quickly eliminated by an algorithm. But not everyone has access to these advantages.

Whilst the comfortable route of further education might therefore look appealing, particularly in a time of economic turbulence, the question of whether postgraduate study is a worthwhile investment still remains: is a panic masters going to open doors for you, or are you just postponing the inevitable?

If future job security is your concern, the good news is that research indicates masters study does have a career benefit - a Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) report from 2020 suggests that postgraduates earn on average 18 per cent more than first degree holders, six months after graduation. So, a relevant masters degree could give you the competitive edge amongst a crowded cohort of candidates, demonstrating your ability to commit to a period of intense study.

In fact, the UK Commission for Employment and Skills predicted in 2015 that roughly 1 in 7 jobs are likely to require a postgraduate degree by 2022.

One explanation for the growing desirability of postgraduate qualifications is that increased enrolment may have diluted the value of first degrees. In the past, candidates with undergraduate degrees were more expensive to hire because their qualifications were relatively rare - in 1990, only 19.3 per cent of the population participated in higher education. But thats no longer the case. With almost half of the UK population now having a first degree, has the masters become the new undergraduate?

And there could be further, more alarming knock-on effects. Postgraduate fees are market-driven rather than government set - that means when demand goes up, fees go up. The long-term impact of graduates seeking out further study to boost their employability could be that rising fees make the possibility of further study unfeasible for students from lower economic backgrounds. Since a high unemployment rate creates a law of supply and demand that works in the employers favour, this may have a detrimental effect for lower-income students applying for roles where postgraduate degrees are desirable. The socio-economic impact of a job market where postgraduate degrees accessible only to higher-income students give the upper hand in the eyes of the employer could be drastic.

The costs of higher education are already out of reach for many, and the financial commitment of a postgraduate course is certainly not to be overlooked. The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) reports that large increases in enrolment from 2016/17 coincided with the introduction of postgraduate loans for masters students.

But with the average cost of a taught masters degree standing at 8,740, and the government loan offering up to 11,836, a panic masters may not be a tangible option for grads who cant afford to cover their living costs. Its not uncommon though for universities to guarantee fee reductions on postgraduate courses for their current undergraduate students - Bristol offers an alumni discount of twenty-five per cent for recent graduates.

If you can afford it, taking on a masters degree could be the short-term solution to your impending graduate disorientation. However, as more and more graduates turn to postgraduate study in the face of career uncertainty, the lasting impact on both the job market and the higher education sector remains to be seen.

See the rest here:

The 'Panic Masters': is postgraduate study the solution to your career crisis? - Epigram

There has been a staggering increase in LGBTQ+ hate crimes over the past five years, which, in England and Wales, have risen year on year. Homophobic hate crimes recorded by the police have tripled since 2014/2015, while transphobic hate crimes have quadrupled in the same period. Because LGBTQ+ people are often reluctant to report these crimes, the real figures are likely to be even higher. This increase cant be attributed to any single factor. Hate crimes tend to happen more during times of socio-economic turbulence; when people are angry, minorities get scapegoated, which is why weve also seen an attendant increase in crimes linked to race and disability.

Hate crimes can function as a kind of retaliatory violence against social progress, and they are often directly downstream from government policy. Within the same timeframe, right-wing authoritarianism has become resurgent in Britain, which is a worldview that goes hand in hand with discrimination. But if were talking about the rise in anti-LGBTQ+ violence specifically, the anti-trans or gender-critical movement surely deserves a portion of the blame. It stands to reason that if you flood the media including online platforms with vitriolic attacks on a given minority group, this is going to make them more vulnerable. Moreover, the specific way that the anti-trans movement demonises gender variation is something which poses harm to all LGBTQ+ people which makes it all the more frustrating that a small contingent of cis gay men and lesbians are continuing to propagate it. What these people fail to understand is that, sometimes, transphobia and homophobia really arent all that different.

Its true that gay people do frequently get abused in the street for expressing intimacy with their partners in public, and that discrimination based on sexuality alone is still a big problem. But in public, we are less at risk because of who we are, innately, and who we are attracted to, and more because of how we act and what we look like both of which relate to gender. If someone attacks you because you look gay, that has very little to do with who you sleep with. Its entirely possible to be the victim of a hate crime while youre walking around and minding your own business and this has far more to do with gender expression than sexuality (as it relates to either sexual or romantic behaviour). Its a popular line that the two concepts are entirely distinct, but in reality they collapse together all the time.

I recently read the playwright Travis Alabanzas forthcoming nonfiction book, None of the Above: Reflections on Life Beyond the Binary (published by Canongate this August). In it, Alabanza depicts how ruthlessly gender nonconformity is policed in public; the way that harassment forms a near-constant backdrop for gender-nonconforming people, and how suffocating this can be to live through on a daily basis. Theres actually not much of a clear line between gender and sexuality, Alabanza tells Dazed. This is why we often misunderstand whats happening with transphobic and homophobic violence. With the latter, we place it as a form of discrimination based on sexuality, which can sometimes be the case. But I think the majority of the time whats happening is a punishment based on gender. What it stems from, in my opinion, is a correction back to the gender binary: when people see others being free from the expectations which they believe are a contract, violence starts to happen.

Because of this, homophobia and transphobia cant always be delineated as two distinct forms of bigotry. To offer an obvious example, and one which is true for lots of gay men: I wasnt out in my early years of high school, nor was I going around getting off with guys or wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the rainbow flag. In terms of behaviour that could be classed as gay, I wasnt doing much of anything, really, other than acting a little bit fruity but this was still enough to get bullied. Later in life, just about every instance of homophobic abuse Ive experienced has been occasioned by simply vibing in a way that was read as feminine, rather than doing anything explicitly gay, such as engaging in public affection with someone of the same gender (although needless to say, this does also inspire violence.) Because a significant proportion of homophobia is really about gender expression, its impossible to whip up fury against the trans community without this eventually backfiring on cis gay people. You only need to look at the situation now unfolding in the US, where LGBTQ+ people of all stripes are being smeared en masse as groomers, degenerates and perverts, to realise that this rhetoric cant be targeted with precision at one subset of the community.

A society where we are policing each others gender, which is fundamentally what they want to enact, leads to violence for all of us Travis Alabanza

To be clear, this is not the only basis on which we should fight transphobia the fact that it harms trans people, and that it is so evidently cruel, is reason enough. Leaning too hard into the watch out gay men, theyll be coming for us next! framework risks being a little self-involved; on social media, it can sometimes feel as though were a little too keen to position ourselves as the protagonists of a dramatic moment in history which is still primarily impacting other people. We should extend solidarity because its our natural human inclination and we should fight for that, and not for something as boring as at some point this could affect me, says Alabanza.

But at the same time, there is merit to the idea that its in the self-interest of cis gay people, and indeed everyone, to support trans liberation. In a sense, theyre already coming for you, says Alabanza. The gender binary is already harming us and the anti-trans movement is creating further harm. A society where we are policing each others gender, which is fundamentally what they want to enact, leads to violence for all of us. As has been made clear time and time again, you dont need to be trans to be the victim of transphobia. The scores of butch cis women whove been challenged in public bathrooms over the last few years can attest to that.

Maybe the gay people pushing anti-trans narratives are aware of this, and simply dont care because they think it will never affect them personally. But gender nonconformity can be extremely subtle and still draw negative attention. If youre a man, you dont need to be sashaying down the road in a fabulous, sequinned pantsuit to be perceived as feminine: I often hear about masculine-presenting guys being subject to homophobic abuse in public simply because something about the way they moved or spoke rubbed someone up the wrong way.

A lot of gay people with anti-trans views seem anxious that being lumped together with a more marginalised group will expose them to greater risk. But its impossible to bargain your way out of the fact that significant segments of the straight world still consider you a degenerate. Handing over trans people on a sacrificial platter isnt going to appease them for long. The people who would attack you in the street are likely to be significantly less invested in the gay-trans distinction than you are. If youre a cis gay person concerned with your own safety, the wiser strategy would be standing against the cruel ideologies which oppress all LGBTQ+ people, and endanger even the most conservative of gay men. As Alabanza says, the punitive enforcement of the gender binary is something which impoverishes us all.

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Homophobia and transphobia have more in common than you think - Dazed