The Committee made the following observations: . Firstly, Germany's and South Africa's labour markets, though they share certain similarities, are also vastly dissimilar. While the German labour market is characterised by a highly qualified labour force, South Africa has an oversupply of unskilled and under qualified labour force. . Secondly, Germany's unemployment rate is below 7 per cent, compared to South Africa's 25 per cent. Labour demand is very high in Germany whereas South Africa's labour absorption rate is very low. For Germany, this explains the high rate of success of its PES. . Thirdly, whereas South Africa is faced with a huge challenge of youth unemployment, Germany on the other hand is in desperate need of youth participation in the labour market. Germany's population is aging and diminishing and this has led to the shrinking of the workforce, hence there are various measures, for example, raising the retirement age, to encourage women and older persons to be active participants in the labour market. On the other hand, South Africa has a fairly large youth population that cannot be absorbed into the labour market.