Abstract
Each year, millions of young people enter the workforce and struggle to obtain employment while overcoming difficult obstacles. The Employment Tax Incentive (ETI) was introduced in South Africa in 2014 with the ambitious goal of halving the nation's youth unemployment rate by increasing demand for labour among the vast supply of unemployed youth in the market. As a result, a substantial amount research of exists that quantitatively assesses the effect the policy has had in reducing youth unemployment. However, very little is understood of the views of Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) on the uptake of the ETI. In this context, nine interviews were conducted with SMMEs operating in the City of Johannesburg to investigate their perspectives on youth unemployment and the ETI: ultimately contributing to the limited body of research investigating small business perspectives on policy.
The study adopted a qualitative approach that was exploratory in nature. Semi-structured interviews were used to elicit responses from a purposive sample. The data was thematically analysed in accordance with the study's research objectives using the KAP framework. Several themes emerged from the separate responses of ETI-using firms and non-ETI-using firms regarding the factors that drive youth unemployment in the country, as well as perceptions of the ETI.
The low adoption of the policy by SMMEs in the study is evidence of lack of knowledge of the ETI. Though attitudes toward the policy are mixed among those who have used it, non-ETI users support its goals. However, the ease of application of the policy will determine whether it is adopted or not.
Reiterated in the study's recommendations are the need for an extensive ETI informational campaign aimed at SMMEs, the need for future research to examine the topic of human capital development, and the need to reduce the administrative burden of the policy in order to promote adoption and, as a result, lower youth unemployment.