Pretoria: Deputy Minister in the Presidency Nonceba Mhlauli has called for stronger collaboration between government and the private sector to expand employment opportunities for young South Africans. Addressing the Youth Employment Service (YES) Strategy Session, held virtually on Friday, Mhlauli described youth unemployment as one of the country's most pressing challenges.
According to South African Government News Agency, Mhlauli noted that South Africa's young people possess the talent, resilience, and creativity needed to drive economic growth but continue to face limited access to opportunities. She emphasized that the government must focus on creating pathways that enable young people to realize their full potential.
Mhlauli stated, "South Africans want a government that works for all, especially for young people, who make up almost 60% of our population. The challenge before us is therefore not whether our young people have potential; [it] is whether we are creating enough pathways for them to realize that potential."
Overseeing the Presidential Youth Employment Initiative (PYEI), Mhlauli commended the YES programme for its contribution to youth employment and urged the government to draw lessons from its success as it seeks to scale up interventions nationwide. She highlighted that YES has become the world's largest corporate-funded 12-month youth jobs programme, having created more than 228,000 employment opportunities for young people with support from over 2,000 sponsoring companies.
YES, according to Mhlauli, now accounts for the majority of demand-led opportunities within the broader Presidential Youth Employment Initiative ecosystem. Beyond job creation, the programme has also played a role in fostering entrepreneurship, as many participants have gone on to establish their own businesses.
Mhlauli noted the programme's technology-driven approach and robust monitoring systems, which have enabled YES to operate at scale while maintaining accountability and cost efficiency. She also praised the programme's commitment to independent verification of outcomes, enhancing credibility and providing assurance to government, business, and the public.
Despite the programme's achievements, Mhlauli warned that South Africa's youth unemployment crisis remains severe and requires urgent intervention. To strengthen the country's response, she outlined five priority areas for action.
The first priority is making it easier for businesses to participate in youth employment programmes. Mhlauli reiterated the government's commitment to implementing measures announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa in the 2026 State of the Nation Address to facilitate company participation in YES.
Secondly, Mhlauli emphasized that YES should play a more central role within the broader PYEI ecosystem, leveraging its relationships with the private sector. Thirdly, she called for better alignment between private-sector investment commitments and youth employment outcomes to ensure business pledges translate into concrete opportunities for young people.
The fourth priority is strengthening pathways from education to employment, particularly for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) college students, graduates, and first-time job seekers. She stressed the importance of workplace experience in improving employability and called for deeper partnerships between employers and educational institutions.
Finally, Mhlauli highlighted the importance of evidence-based policymaking, urging stakeholders to prioritize monitoring, evaluation, and learning to ensure resources are directed toward programmes that deliver measurable results. She concluded, "The future of youth employment in South Africa will not be secured by government alone. Nor will it be secured by business alone. It will require a genuine partnership between government, the private sector, organized labour, civil society, and young people themselves."