The Youth Employment Service (YES) programme, which provides an avenue to quality jobs in the private sector, has made considerable strides since its launch in 2018.

In 2021, it created over 25 000 youth jobs, making it the largest jobs programme in South Africa that is fully funded by the private sector.

YES is now enhancing and diversifying its offering as part of its efforts to offer one potential solution to the mass youth unemployment problem facing the country.

YES CEO Ravi Naidoo, who is also a member of the National Planning Commission (chairing the Economy Working Group), says a core problem facing South Africa in terms of youth unemployment is a “very poor quality” education system.

There has been no per capita economic growth in South Africa since 2013, and without this companies struggle to hire more people.

Also, excessive red tape has made it very difficult to run small, medium-sized and microenterprises (SMMEs), which does not align with the National Development Plan’s aspiration for 90% of all jobs to come from SMMEs, he says.

The combination of these three problems is the root cause of youth unemployment, which is exacerbated by the 600 000 young people who enter the labour market every year, Naidoo points out.

“The country simply has to turn this around,” he emphasises.

Naidoo notes that, firstly, youth are the future workforce and will need to be as skilled and integrated as possible if the country is to be competitive internationally.

Secondly, they are the future consumers and will need to have the income to buy the goods and services local businesses need to make.

Finally, youth are also the future leaders, and as politicians and senior leaders, they will need to have worked in the private sector to understand how the economy actually works, Naidoo emphasises.

YES’s mission is to create work opportunities for South African youth at scale by connecting with companies. It is 100% funded by the private sector; taxpayer money is not used.

Naidoo clarifies that YES is not a mass employment programme; instead, it is a programme to create high-quality jobs for the private sector: “We are the best pipeline for South Africa’s best young talent to get into the private sector.”

YES is focused on getting youth into their first private-sector job, rather than “general- labourer” posts or jobs in the public sector, which is characteristic of many government programmes.

Naidoo explains that providing this high-quality first work experience is critical because the participant will, in future, become a senior professional in the private sector, or start his or her own business and, therefore, a job multiplier effect will occur. “This is about jobs that create jobs,” he says.

How It Works

YES is a year-long programme, where a corporate sponsors a youth job, either employing that youth within their company (this is the case 75% of the time) or placing that youth within a YES implementation partner. Companies that sponsor YES youth and are verified as having absorbed a minimum of 5% of the youth can go up two broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) levels.

Implementation partners handle about 25% of youth in the programme. They enable the creation of work experiences to scale for businesses that cannot afford or do not have capacity to host young people. The partners can also be used to provide extra training or for additional support programmes.

Further, every participant is given a smartphone and data to “go digital” and be prepared for the future of work.

Participants are drawn from the SAYouth.mobi database – a free and zero- rated national platform with millions of registered users – that connects jobseekers to various opportunities, including YES.

YES was lauded by President Cyril Ramaphosa in his newsletter of August 22: “The quality work experience and training provided by this programme addresses the concerns of many businesses that young applicants lack skills and experience.”

Companies working with YES pay participants a salary, which cannot be below the minimum wage, during their 12-month stint.

Participants complete all the requisite modules and surveys, and receive a comprehensive CV and certificate of completion after finishing the year.

Thereafter, the participant can be absorbed into the company through a permanent job if one is available. There are also opportunities to be placed in supporting high-skilled jobs.

Companies pay a minimal admin fee to YES, about 5% of the total programme, which includes the cost of the smartphone and the supervisor application, as well as the yearly YES monitoring and evaluation fee.

YES does raise third-party funding, which it channels to its partners so they can offer more support to the youth.

Naidoo explains that there is a Government Gazette which defines YES, and clearly outlines that points claimed by companies for participating are separate from other programmes (such as skills development).

“YES was set up to not be a threat or rival to other programmes; it is simply giving South Africa’s most talented youth real work experience so that they can go on to build this country,” he reiterates.

Companies can benefit by moving up one or two levels on their BBBEE scorecard, depending on how many youth they support and the absorption target – given that the youth is a fundamental part of transformation.

Companies that already boast a Level 1 BBBEE score can benefit in terms of environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria, with South Africa especially cognisant of the social component, Naidoo points out.

He indicates that YES provides companies with ease of mind in terms of verification, as jobs in the programme are by law required to be quality work experiences. The programme ensures that this criterion is being met, with monthly follow-up calls from its call centre.

YES is verified by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition. “That is a critical difference as any company can claim to have created youth jobs but only YES companies are actually verified as having actually done so,” says Naidoo.

Successful Journey

“YES is the largest social-impact jobs programme funded by the private sector in South Africa, with 2 000 to 3 000 new quality jobs created monthly. This year, it is on track for 30 000 participants, which showcases consistent growth on last year’s strong 25 000,” Naidoo enthuses.

This year, about R2-billion in stipends will be provided for the youth, of whom 90% come from social-grant-recipient households. This confirms that YES is assisting the best young talent from the poorest households.

Naidoo says 46% of participants get a permanent job within the first month of leaving YES, while 14% start their own businesses – both of these statistics are double the national average rate.

Among its “future-facing” flagships, YES is gearing up to have 1 000 people trained at a YES Hub to become commercial drone pilots.

This is aligned to YES’s skilled-jobs pathway, as these skills can be applied in, for example, conservation, asset management or mining. The skills can also be used to launch their own drone management companies. So far, 100% of the youth that completed their drone pilot training have found jobs immediately.

YES Hubs are located in communities to connect young people to global best practice in training and technology.

Naidoo highlights that another “exciting project” in progress at a YES Hub relates to 840 black women coders working with a global information technology corporate for one year.

However, he notes that YES’s reach extends beyond technology, across the spectrum of industries, as it is also, for example, running a programme with branded food services company Famous Brands to train highly skilled baristas.

YES is working with about 1 000 companies and, since its launch, has worked with about 2 200 companies.

YES works across all sectors, and includes key social-impact performers such as Nedbank, Shoprite, Anglo American Platinum, The Foschini Group and Volkswagen SA.

Naidoo points out that many of the companies remain with the programme for years (some have been with YES since its launch), which showcases YES’s value proposition to companies that are deeply committed to having a social impact.

Enhancing Its Offering

YES faced early headwinds during Covid-19, with widespread retrenchments in the economy and its own teething operational issues. However, Naidoo says “things are now back on track and numbers are increasing”.

The programme is targeting more industries, such as green and digital jobs, to align with the future world of work. It is also furthering its reach into agriculture, as well as YES Hubs focused on creative jobs such a photography, filming and marketing.

Moreover, Naidoo says YES is pursuing working with the more forward-thinking sector education and training authorities such as the Chemical Industries Education and Training Authority to explore partnership opportunities.

YES is also engaging with government “to cut the red tape” to make it easier for SMMEs to join the programme.

Companies that want to join have to go through a certification process, which can be onerous and costly for SMMEs. YES is, therefore, proposing that SMMEs should provide an affidavit instead, as this still adheres to quality-control measures, but reduces the cost for them.

While YES is pleased with its BBBEE impact, it is expanding its ESG work (with many companies now joining for that reason rather than BBBEE compliance), especially as investors require companies to improve their ESG scores.

Naidoo points out that, with the YES extensive verification and measurable outcomes, it is positioned to support companies with their ESG reporting.

It is important that the country continues its push to improve the economy and resolve problems to assist those not involved in YES.

“YES is making its own notable contribution, but this is a case study rather than the sole solution,” he adds.

Therefore, he calls for fixing basic education, leapfrogging in technology and innovation, structural reforms to boost economic growth, and creating a sovereign wealth fund to be deployed to grow strategic industries.