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| Youth Employment Service (South Africa) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Youth Employment Service (South Africa) |
| Founded | 2018 |
| Founder | Cyril Ramaphosa; Banele Nokuzola |
| Location | Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa |
| Focus | Youth employment; skills development |
Youth Employment Service (South Africa)
The Youth Employment Service (YES) is a South African initiative launched in 2018 to create work experience and job pathways for young people across South Africa. Conceived during the administration of Cyril Ramaphosa and linked to the Presidency of South Africa, YES operates through partnerships with private-sector employers, municipal offices, and civil-society actors such as National Youth Development Agency and Business Unity South Africa. The initiative aims to address high youth unemployment and to connect beneficiaries with employers including Sasol, Shoprite, Nedbank and other signatories to national pacts such as the Code of Good Practice on Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment.
YES was announced as part of post-2017 economic and social reform measures promoted by Cyril Ramaphosa and allies within the African National Congress leadership. Early pilots drew on models from previous public-employment and internship schemes such as the Expanded Public Works Programme and municipal youth development projects in City of Johannesburg and City of Tshwane. The formal launch occurred with a national campaign supported by the Presidency of South Africa and business groupings such as Business Leadership South Africa and Business Unity South Africa, and it attracted commitments from corporate entities like Standard Bank, Sanlam, Discovery Limited and MTN Group. YES’s design referenced international examples including National Youth Service (United States)-style placements and European traineeship schemes such as those coordinated by the European Union.
Implementation expanded rapidly through 2019 and 2020, with thousands of young people placed in roles spanning administration, retail, health support, and technical services. The programme adapted during the COVID-19 pandemic to include remote and digital placements and to align with relief measures overseen by the Department of Employment and Labour and South African Social Security Agency interventions.
YES is administered through a governance framework combining public oversight and private-sector delivery. Strategic direction involves offices within the Presidency of South Africa and coordinating partners including the National Youth Development Agency and chambers such as the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry. A central secretariat based in Johannesburg manages accreditation, compliance, and monitoring protocols, while participating firms register through platforms operated in partnership with technology companies such as MTN Group and Naspers subsidiaries.
Governance arrangements include performance reporting to entities like the Parliament of South Africa and alignment with national labour instruments such as the Basic Conditions of Employment Act and the Labour Relations Act insofar as placements intersect with workplace rights. Advisory inputs have come from university research centres at institutions including University of Cape Town, University of the Witwatersrand and Stellenbosch University.
YES administers multiple streams: workplace experience placements, digital internships, and sector-specific traineeships. Workplace experience placements target entry-level roles in companies such as Sasol and Shoprite, while digital internships were scaled with partners like Vodacom and Microsoft South Africa to provide coding and ICT skills. Sector-specific initiatives have been developed with stakeholders in mining and resources like Anglo American and South32, as well as in tourism with entities linked to South African Tourism.
Complementary initiatives include entrepreneurship support and mentorship networks involving incubators associated with Small Enterprise Development Agency and accelerator programmes run in collaboration with organisations such as Nedbank Private Wealth and Old Mutual. YES also launched campaigns to increase youth engagement in public service opportunities with municipal partners including City of Cape Town.
Funding for YES is a hybrid of corporate contributions, philanthropic grants, and programme administration support from state-linked entities. Major corporate funders and partners have included Standard Bank, Sanlam, Discovery Limited, Nedbank and telecommunications firms such as MTN Group. Philanthropic foundations active in South Africa, including the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust and international partners such as the Mastercard Foundation, have provided project-specific support.
Strategic partnerships extend to sector bodies like Business Leadership South Africa and labour organisations including Federation of Unions of South Africa and Congress of South African Trade Unions for stakeholder alignment. Intergovernmental coordination connects YES to provincial offices in Gauteng, Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal to mobilise local employers and public placements.
YES reports placement of tens of thousands of young people into paid work experience and claims improved employability outcomes tracked via follow-up surveys with partners including Statistics South Africa and academic evaluations from University of Cape Town researchers. Advocates point to case studies involving placements at Woolworths Holdings Limited and ABSA Group Limited as evidence of pathways into long-term employment.
Critics from civil-society organisations such as Treatment Action Campaign-aligned networks and think tanks like Institute for Security Studies and Centre for Development and Enterprise have questioned the sustainability of placements, the adequacy of wages relative to living costs, and the transparency of reporting. Labour federations such as Congress of South African Trade Unions raised concerns about the potential for displacement of permanent jobs and compliance with the Basic Conditions of Employment Act obligations. Independent audits commissioned by entities including provincial departments and university centres have called for clearer metrics, longitudinal tracking, and stronger protections for participants.
Regional rollout reflects partnerships in major economic hubs: corporate-led placements concentrated in Gauteng and Western Cape, public-sector placements coordinated with municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape, and resource-sector traineeships negotiated with mining houses in Mpumalanga and North West. Sectoral emphasis has shifted over time, with early retail and financial-services placements expanding into information and communication technology, health services aligned with provincial health departments, and green-economy roles in renewable-energy projects partnered with companies like Sungrow through local developers.
Implementation challenges vary regionally: urban centres can scale corporate partnerships via multinationals such as Naspers and Standard Bank, while rural provinces rely more heavily on public-sector and small-enterprise placements facilitated by agencies such as the Small Enterprise Development Agency.
Category:Employment in South Africa