Youth employment initiative nears 3-million earning opportunities since 2020

Deputy minister in the presidency Nonceba Mhlauli says South Africa’s flagship youth employment programme has facilitated access to nearly 3-million earning opportunities since its launch in 2020.

Presenting the Presidential Youth Employment Intervention (PYEI) fourth-quarter report for the 2025/26 financial year covering January to March 2026 Mhlauli said the intervention continued to make significant progress in addressing the country’s youth unemployment crisis.

“The PYEI is South Africa’s most comprehensive flagship strategy designed to address the chronic youth unemployment crisis. Launched in 2020 by President Cyril Ramaphosa, the PYEI acts as a multi-sector action plan aimed at transitioning young people from ‘learning to earning’,” she said.

According to Mhlauli, the programme has facilitated access to more than 2.5-million temporary earning opportunities through the SA Youth platform while a further 422,667 opportunities have been accessed through the Employment Services of South Africa (ESSA).

The latest quarterly report showed continued growth in employment opportunities for young people.

Mhlauli said that in the fourth quarter alone, young people secured 155,161 new earning opportunities through the network while 20,152 earning and learning opportunities were secured through ESSA.

She added that the National Pathway Management Network (NPMN) had grown substantially, with more than 5.9-million young people registered on SA Youth and over 5.36-million registered on ESSA.

The deputy minister highlighted several programmes that contributed to the quarter’s performance.

“The private-sector-led Youth Employment Service (YES) placed 18,310 young people into workplace experience opportunities. Concurrently, the department of higher education and training (DHET) SETA placements delivered 5,005 work-integrated learning opportunities for TVET learners and graduates; more than doubling the placements secured in Q3,” she said.

Mhlauli said the youth employment programme has helped more than 2.9-million young South Africans access earning opportunities since 2020.

South Africa’s unemployment rate stood at 31.4% in the fourth quarter of 2025, a decrease of 0.5 percentage points from the previous quarter.

The number of employed people increased to 17.1-million while the number of unemployed people declined to 7.8-million.

Mhlauli also highlighted the progress made through the Revitalised National Youth Service (NYS).

“Phase 4 of the Revitalised NYS recruited an additional 5,272 young people into its final cohort, bringing total paid service opportunities to 138,056 since inception. Looking forward, Phase 5 is set to recruit an additional 100,000 young people across South Africa next quarter to serve their communities while gaining valuable skills,” she said.

One of the programme’s major successes was the completion of the Jobs Boost Outcomes Fund Pilot.

“Quarter 4 marked the conclusion of implementation for the Jobs Boost Outcomes Fund Pilot, one of the largest government-funded formal-sector employment outcomes funds globally. This R300m pay-for-performance mechanism requires implementing partners to achieve verified, sustained employment before receiving 80% of their funding,” said Mhlauli.

She said the pilot had exceeded expectations.

The report also highlighted innovative rural employment initiatives.

“Additionally, under our Local Ecosystem Enablement pillar, the NPMN Innovation Fund, led by the department of employment and labour and administered by the IDC, is successfully unlocking rural pathways. Our partner spotlight, HPSA Southern Africa, has enrolled 1,800 young people in KwaZulu-Natal to deliver critical agricultural and animal health services.”

Mhlauli said 678 of those participants were already generating income, recording R1.4m in collective sales.

Looking ahead, she said the programme would continue focusing on expanding opportunities for young people.

“Heading into the 2026/27 financial year, and as we enter Youth Month, our focus remains clear: scaling quality work placements, advancing outcomes-based public service delivery and continuing to centre the ambitions of South Africa’s young people,” she said.

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