Deputy Minister Nonceba Mhlauli: Presidential Youth Employment Initiative 3rd Quarter Report

Distinguished guests;
Members of the fourth estate, the media;
And fellow community members;

It is with great pleasure that we welcome you all to this media briefing on the Presidential Youth Employment Intervention (PYEI) and the progress made during the third quarter of the 2024 financial year.

The PYEI remains a cornerstone of our national efforts to address the persistent challenge of youth unemployment, ensuring that young South Africans have access to meaningful economic opportunities.

Launched in 2020 by President Ramaphosa, the PYEI is a direct response to the challenge that too many young people are not transitioning from learning to earning.

The intervention sets out priority actions which together seek to stimulate and aggregate demand and provide a seamless mechanism for young people to be linked to the opportunities generated and receive support appropriate to their context and pathway.

The PYEI coordinates, accelerates, and enhances existing programmes while driving innovation and creating pathways to earning for young people at scale.

The PYEI is focused on Four Pillars:

- Implementation of the Pathway Management Network,
- Implementation of demand-led training through a ‘pay for performance’ model
- Rollout of the revitalised National Youth Service, 
- And Implementation of interventions to stimulate local economies through the establishment of Local Ecosystem Enablement Fund.

As we enter the fifth year of the PYEI, we are pleased to report that we continue to make significant strides in unlocking earning opportunities and equipping young people with the skills and resources necessary to succeed in the labour market.

Key Achievements in Quarter 3 (October – December 2024):

• Over 53,379 earning opportunities were secured through the National Pathway Management Network (NPMN), bringing the total to 1.57 million opportunities since the inception of the PYEI.

• More than 38,864 young people accessed earning opportunities via the SA Youth platform, and an additional 14,515 opportunities were secured through the Employment Services of South Africa (ESSA).

• The Youth Employment Service (YES) initiative placed 10,337 youth in various workplace experiences across sectors.

• The National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) and the Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) supported over 14,600 young entrepreneurs with financial and non-financial enterprise opportunities.

• The Revitalised National Youth Service (NYS) Phase 3 was successfully launched, with 13,568 new recruits, adding to a total of 82,378 youth placed in service opportunities.

Beyond these numbers, I want to highlight the innovative funding mechanisms that have enhanced the effectiveness of the PYEI.

The Jobs Boost Outcomes Fund, a R300 million initiative continues to create pathways for employment in digital inclusion, enterprise development, and work-integrated learning.

The Jobs Boost Outcomes Fund, launched in November 2023, is an outcome-based instrument launched as a strategic response to unlock jobs for excluded young people by linking contracted payments with desired outcomes.

Unlike traditional approaches to job creation, which focus on inputs and activities like training and mentorship, the Jobs Boost Outcomes Fund ensures that funds are allocated to implementing organisations upon the successful placement and sustained employment of excluded young people in quality jobs.

To date, 3,347 young people have been enrolled in training programmes, 1,603 young people have been placed in jobs, and 1,247 young people have sustained employment for three-months.

As President Cyril Ramaphosa said in his State of the Nation Address last week, “We are calling on business to use the SA Youth.mobi platform, which has some 4.5 million young people registered, for their hiring. We are calling on business to support the Youth Employment Service and to scale-up workplace experience opportunities over the coming year.”

These interventions align with our broader goal of transitioning young people from learning to earning in a way that is sustainable and impactful.

While we celebrate these achievements, we remain acutely aware of the work that still lies ahead. Our focus remains on scaling impactful programs, securing sustainable funding, and deepening strategic partnerships.

The road to eradicating youth unemployment is not a short one, but through continued collaboration and commitment, we will continue to break barriers and create real, lasting change.

In closing, I extend my gratitude to all stakeholders involved in making the PYEI a success.

To our young people, I reaffirm that this initiative exists for you—your ambitions, your growth, and your future. Let us continue working together to ensure that every young person in South Africa has access to the opportunities they need to thrive.

For more information on this programme and other youth focused initiatives, please visit SAYouth.Mobi which is a zero rated site.

I now invite my colleagues to provide further details on the progress we have made in this quarter.

I thank you.

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