Africa-Press – South-Africa. The Youth Employment Service (YES) programme has reached a new record of helping 32 400 youths access jobs this year, President Cyril Ramaphosa has said.
The programme has helped 100 000 youths access work experience through YES over five years. In addition, through YES, approximately R6 billion in youth salaries has been injected into the economy, enabling participants to support their families.
The YES programme is part of the broader Presidential Youth Employment Intervention, which is government’s flagship initiative to respond to youth unemployment.
In his weekly newsletter, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the programme was “an ambitious partnership with the private sector to address the crisis of youth unemployment”, with companies providing work experience opportunities for young people.
“Many young people in South Africa find it difficult to get jobs because they don’t have any work experience. They come out of school, university or college with qualifications, but many employers are looking for people with experience,” he said.
Around 61% of YES participants come from households that are reliant on social grants.
Ramaphosa said:
Many young people have been placed in future-facing industries such as IT, the green economy, and systems and software engineering. In addition to facilitating work experience, YES also operates several training hubs across the country.
“One of the YES participants was placed at the Drone Academy, a hub in Alexandra township in Gauteng that offers training in the maintenance, repair, servicing and operation of drones used for business. Having completed his training, he is now employed as a systems integration engineer with a leading Netherlands-based chip manufacturing firm,” Ramaphosa said.
Other hubs operated by YES offer training in IT, aquaponics and sustainable farming, culinary skills, textile manufacturing, ceramics and pottery, and automotive manufacturing. Research has shown that around 40% of participants are employed on completion of the programme.
Ramaphosa said:
“We have always said that the unemployment crisis can only be overcome if all social partners come on board. As the main source of job creation and retention in most countries around the world, including our own, the private sector’s involvement is critical.”
Ramaphosa said he expected the number of young people assisted with work experience and employment to increase in the months and years ahead.
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