Africa-Press – South-Africa. By the end of the month, around 600 000 young South Africans will have completed a 10-month placement in schools as part of the government’s school assistant programme.
This comes as the second cohort of 245 000 young people finish their placements at the end of August, President Cyril Ramaphosa said in his weekly newsletter on Monday.
The president said the initiative was launched in 2020 and was part of the Presidential Employment Stimulus, the largest youth employment intervention in the country’s history.
Cyril Ramaphosa |
Let’s all be part of building young people’s future
It has had close to a million participants.
The school assistants have either supported teachers in classrooms or performed school maintenance, security, food garden production and other upkeep activities.
“Updates sent by participants to the Department of Basic Education show the impact the initiative has had on more than 22 000 participating schools around the country. There are images of new libraries and reading corners.
“There are before-and-after pictures of barren school grounds now bursting with cabbages, and of once dilapidated classrooms gleaming with new paint.”
The president said:
He said young South Africans who struggled to find work were now able to make modest extensions to their homes, start small businesses, or further their studies.
“Of approximately 60 000 teachers and principals surveyed, more than 95% say the programme has greatly improved the learning environment in our schools and want it to continue.
Ramaphosa said:
“Beyond the monthly stipend, the programme has provided young people with work experience and skills. They have received accredited training across several disciplines, ranging from digital literacy to basic bookkeeping, from child and youth care to bricklaying, plastering, and plumbing.
“For those who have completed the programme, the Youth Employment Service aims to place many in work experience positions at companies and the National Youth Development Agency will help those with business ideas,” the president said.
He called on businesses to hire more young people and create learnerships.
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