President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday that government will continue to champion programmes and initiatives that limit the impact of unemployment on young people until the private sector starts creating more jobs at scale. 

One of these initiatives is the Social Employment Fund, launched through the Presidential Employment Stimulus, which will create 50 000 new work opportunities in its first phase.

Eighty-four per cent of participants in the programmes are youth and 62% are women.

Ramaphosa said while government had made progress in creating opportunities for young people in basic and higher education, millions of young people remained unemployed.

Youth unemployment in South Africa is currently at 66.5%.

“While the latest employment figures give some cause for optimism – some 370 000 jobs were created in the first quarter of this year – we still have a huge mountain to climb in our quest to create more jobs, especially for young people. No society can expect to grow or thrive when the vast majority of its young people are out of work,” said Ramaphosa.

The Social Employment Fund will partner with non-governmental organisations to kickstart a new approach to public employment in areas that include community safety, food kitchens, urban agriculture, early childhood development and gender-based violence.

Ramaphosa said social employment sees people in communities as valuable resources for development.

“We have many real problems to address – from improving waste collection to creating safe and beautiful public spaces – that require work, and many people who are eager to do it. Not only does social employment provide an income for participants by supporting locally-driven initiatives to fulfil local needs; social employment can also unlock creativity and agency, build local participation and strengthen mutual support systems in communities,” he said.

Meanwhile, the National Youth Service programme will create another 50 000 jobs for unemployed youth.

The President called on business to help in the effort to combat unemployment by hiring young workers, using the Employee Tax Incentive and by supporting small businesses owned by young people.