Transitions from school to work : Local black and migrant youths in a South African mining community

The mining sector in South Africa has its history thoroughly embedded in the migration process and has been described as being the forerunner to the apartheid system. Yet fifteen years after the eradication of the apartheid system it is the mining sector where the old system still lingers in terms of the discriminatory practices in employment and social conditions. The migration system borne out of the discovery of the gold mines in the country still continues with migrant employment peaking at 59% the total mining labour force whilst the country reports a 40 percent unemployment rate with the youths recording the highest unemployment rates since the country gained independence in 1994. This qualitative study utilising grounded theory explored the factors influencing the experiences and expectations of local black and migrant youths in the transition from school to work in a South African mining community. The theoretical framework that emerged from data collected reflected complex aspects of the study brought about by the combination of the transitional period that South Africa is going through, the closed nature and migratory process of the South African mining communities. The theories drawn from data included theories of migration; historical structural approach, the neo-classical equilibrium perspective and the migration systems approach, forms of capital; taking account of the main influential contributors namely Bourdieu, Coleman and Putnam, and developmental theories; focussing on the Capabilities approach by Sen and Nussbaum, and Freire’s education and empowerment theories. The findings revealed that major factors impacting on the transition from school to work related to the gaps that existed between the micro, meso and macro levels of analysis which manifested mainly in the gaps between policy and practice, expectations and realities and the contradictions between globalisation and national interests.