NELO SPIES | An evil hurdle blocking the first rung of the ladder

Corruption is endemic to South Africa. We usually focus on the billions of rand lost through state capture, inflated tenders or public funds diverted from schools, hospitals and infrastructure projects, but corruption also operates through far smaller doors, shaping the lives of young people trying to enter the world of work for the first time.

South Africa is grappling with one of the highest youth unemployment rates in the world. StatsSA reports that in the first quarter of 2026, unemployment stood at almost 61% among people between 15 and 24 and 41% among those between 25 and 34. Nearly 4-million people between the ages of 15 and 24 are not in employment, education or training.

Jobs for money, connections or sexual favours

I recently spent time with participants in one of Junior Achievement South Africa’s work-readiness programmes for young people who are not in employment, education or training. What struck me was their growing belief that qualifications, determination and hard work were no longer enough to win a job.

Several spoke about being asked for money in exchange for employment opportunities, while others believed that securing a job depended less on merit than on knowing the right people or being willing to offer something in return. Some said they were taking odd jobs simply to save enough money to pay these unofficial fees if the opportunity arose.

This is not simply anecdotal. A Corruption Watch survey of 1,500 South Africans aged between 18 and 35 found that almost one in three had been asked for a sexual favour to access an opportunity or benefit, most commonly a job. Women and gender-nonconforming respondents were reportedly 50% more likely to face these demands.

Their experiences also reflect a much wider corruption landscape. The HSRC’s 2025 South African Social Attitudes Survey found that 52% of respondents lived in communities where people had to pay bribes, give gifts or do favours for public officials, while 58% said they knew of officials awarding jobs or contracts to unqualified friends and relatives. When young people witness this, it is hardly surprising that many begin to believe merit alone is no longer enough.

When corruption becomes normalised, young people learn that integrity matters less than influence.

Perhaps even more damaging, though, is the lesson it teaches. When corruption becomes normalised, young people learn that integrity matters less than influence.

Every time a young person is asked to pay for a job, is overlooked because someone else has the right connections, or is pressured into exchanging sexual favours for employment, corruption denies another deserving person a fair chance to succeed.

That so many young people believe this is how the labour market works should worry us. Their first job is often the most important one a person will ever have. It teaches youngsters about punctuality and responsibility, while giving them essential workplace experience, professional references and confidence.

When access to that first opportunity is sold, exchanged for favours or reserved for the well-connected, the very institutions and businesses responsible for creating future opportunities also suffer. Usually, someone less qualified is appointed, compromising productivity and customer service.

I am by no means suggesting corruption occurs in every recruitment process, but it does highlight a dangerous shift in perception. When honest applications repeatedly lead nowhere, while stories of bought jobs circulate widely, paying for employment can begin to feel less like corruption and more like the accepted way of getting ahead.

Our young people are caught in an impossible cycle. They cannot find work because they lack experience, yet they cannot gain experience because they cannot secure that first opportunity.

Years pass, confidence declines, skills become outdated, and the distance between young people and the labour market grows wider. Millions of lives are delayed. Young adults are unable to leave home or start businesses, while families continue supporting another generation on already stretched incomes.

Addressing this challenge requires stronger policies and transparent recruitment processes, particularly where public funds or public employment programmes are involved. Complaints of jobs being sold or exchanged for favours must be investigated and organisations that benefit from public contracts or youth employment incentives should demonstrate fair and ethical recruitment practices.

Most importantly, young people need to see that reporting corruption leads to meaningful consequences.

If we are serious about tackling corruption, we must look beyond the billions lost to headline scandals. Every career has to begin somewhere, but South Africa’s conversation about youth unemployment cannot focus only on creating more jobs. We must also ask who has access to those jobs and whether recruitment processes genuinely reward merit.

• Spies is executive director at Junior Achievement South Africa