Abstract
South Africa’s youth unemployment rate is increasing because of a variety of issues, including a lack of education and an absence of necessary skills. The lack of investment in youth programmes and slow economic growth in the country has worsened this situation. There are difficulties that township secondary school learners in South Africa encounter after completing their education and entering the world of work due to the need for more exposure to specific skills, such as personal leadership. To reduce youth unemployment, leadership coaching at Grade 11 and Grade 12 levels is needed to assist learners in defining their capabilities and shortcomings, taking daily action to reach their goals, communicating effectively, building relationships, and working well with others.
The purpose of the study was to explore the role of leadership coaching interventions in the development of personal leadership for township learners. A qualitative phenomenological research design was used. Purposive sampling was employed with ten participants, five boys and five girls, who were selected from five township secondary schools. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted. The data were analysed using thematic analysis, and five themes emerged. The findings showed that leadership coaching interventions could assist the learners to boost self-esteem, improve their academic performance, and build relationships. The study provides the intervention as a flow chart that can be used when coaching is implemented for the learners.
The study made recommendations to the Department of Basic Education. The main recommendation is that the Department of Basic Education should implement work-readiness programmes in township schools. Making these programmes available in schools would give learners the opportunity to be confident and well-prepared for employment.
Keywords: leadership, leadership coaching, personal leadership, coaching intervention, youth employability