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Deputy Minister of the Presidency Nonceba Mhlauli says South Africa's flagship youth employment program has facilitated access to almost 3 million earning opportunities since its launch in 2020.
Presenting the fourth quarter report of the Presidential Youth Employment Intervention (PYEI) for the 2025/26 financial year from 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 serves as a multi-sector action plan that aims to shift youth from 'learning to earning',” he said.
According to Mhlauli, the program has facilitated access to more than 2.5 million temporary earning opportunities through the SA Youth Platform, while 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, youth secured 155,161 new earning opportunities through the network, while 20,152 earning and learning opportunities were secured through ESSA.
He said the National Pathway Management Network (NPMN) has grown significantly, with more than 5.9 million young people registered on SA Youth and more than 5.36 million registered on ESSA.
The Deputy Minister highlighted several programs that contributed to the quarter's performance.
“The private sector-led Youth Employment Service (YES) placed 18,310 young people in workplace experience opportunities. Concurrently, the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) SETA placements provided 5,005 work-integrated learning opportunities for TVET learners and graduates; more than double the placements achieved in Q3,” he said.
Mhlauli said the youth employment program 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, down 0.5 percentage points from the previous quarter.
The number of employed people increased to 17.1 million while the number of unemployed people decreased to 7.8 million.
Mhlauli also highlighted the progress made through the revitalized National Youth Service (NYS).
“Phase 4 of the revitalized NYS recruited an additional 5,272 youth in its final cohort, bringing the total paid service opportunities since launch to 138,056. Looking ahead, Phase 5 is set to recruit an additional 100,000 youth in South Africa over the next quarter to serve their communities while gaining valuable skills.”
One of the major successes of the program was the completion of the Jobs Boost Outcomes Fund pilot.
“Quarter 4 marked the conclusion of the implementation of 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,” Mhlauli said.
He said the pilot exceeded expectations.
The report also highlighted innovative rural employment initiatives.
“Additionally, under our Local Ecosystems Enabling Pillar, the NPMN Innovation Fund, led by the Department of Employment and Labor and administered by IDC, is successfully unlocking rural pathways. Our partner Spotlight, HPSA Southern Africa, has enrolled 1,800 youth in KwaZulu-Natal to provide critical agricultural and animal health services.”
Mhlauli said 678 of those participants were already generating income, recording R1.4m in collective sales.
Looking ahead, he said the program will continue to focus on expanding opportunities for young people.
“Looking forward to the 2026/27 financial year, and as we enter Youth Month, our focus remains clear: scaling up quality work placements, advancing results-based public service delivery and continuing to center the aspirations of South Africa’s youth,” she said.
Times Live