Latest news with #PresidentialEmploymentStimulus
IOL News
25-06-2025
- Business
- IOL News
When short-term jobs aren't enough: Lessons from Komati's Just Transition
Since March, Seriti Institute has been implementing the Social Employment Fund (SEF) in Komati, a programme under the Presidential Employment Stimulus that enables work for the common good. Image: Supplied Komati, Mpumalanga - The silence left by the shutdown of the local power station in 2022 is more than just a drop in electricity output. It is the quiet of a community struggling to rebuild after losing its economic heartbeat. Since the shutdown, approximately R7 billion has been channelled into Komati through the Eskom Just Energy Transition Project, backed by the World Bank, Canadian concessional finance, and ESMAP. Yet, despite this significant investment, the town's 4600 residents have seen almost no tangible benefits in terms of sustainable employment or local economic revival. Good Intentions, Slow Delivery Over the past two years, dozens of consultants, researchers, and development partners have engaged with stakeholders, including Eskom, municipalities, civic groups, unions, and national agencies. Multiple committees and coordination bodies have been established, including Presidential Climate Commission task teams, district forums, and JET-specific working groups. While many of these structures were established with good intentions and have made valuable contributions, some have, over time, contributed to slower decision-making and delayed implementation. This is often due to limited coordination rather than a lack of effort. In several cases, well-meaning interventions, whether in agriculture, training, or psychosocial support, have operated independently, highlighting an opportunity to improve alignment around key areas such as land access, water provision, and community outreach. 'Komati deserves not only investment, but true integration. The time has come for aligned, community-led action that addresses the root causes of unemployment, disconnection, and disillusionment, beyond surface-level interventions.' The Social Employment Fund: A Different Kind of Work Since March, Seriti Institute has been implementing the Social Employment Fund (SEF) in Komati, a programme under the Presidential Employment Stimulus that enables work for the common good. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Funded by the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and delivered through civil society partners, SEF offers part-time employment (16 hours per week) at the national minimum wage. Participants contribute to community-based projects, such as food gardens, public infrastructure maintenance, and learning support, while gaining valuable skills and work experience. SEF is built on the belief that communities have value, even when the market overlooks them. It is more than a job; it is a pathway to purpose. 'SEF gives structure and dignity, but for transformation to take root, time and continuity are essential', said Juanita. The Promise - and the Pain When SEF opened recruitment in Komati, we received over 500 applications for just 300 placements, proof of the community's hunger for opportunity. But within a few months, many participants left. Some migrated to other cities for better opportunities, others took short-term high-paying jobs, and some absconded. This isn't laziness. It is the result of years of reliance on stable, well-paying jobs in the mining and energy sectors. The sudden shift to part-time, developmental work is not just economic; it is emotional. It impacts identity, structure, and purpose. Short-term contracts don't allow enough time for participants to adjust, develop new work habits, or see the long-term value of their work. Barriers on the Ground Our implementation team now travels weekly to Komati to manage resignations, replace personal protective equipment (PPE), and restart site operations, costs that weren't originally anticipated. Some participants exit the programme without returning PPE, adding pressure to already limited resources. Our vision for a local agricultural hub, producing high-value crops, creating sustainable job income opportunities, and offering hands-on training, remains on hold due to the lack of accessible arable land. Most land in the area is privately owned or managed by Eskom and surrounding mining companies. For meaningful agricultural livelihoods to take root, it is essential that landowners and strategic stakeholders actively support initiatives that create long-term value for the community. Unlocking land for development is not just a logistical step; it is a signal of shared commitment to inclusive, regenerative economic growth. Some of the currently established communal gardens rely on municipal supplies, which are often unreliable, while others are still awaiting approval to access nearby mine water sources. As a result, even the most basic needs remain out of reach. From Circuit Breaker to Catalyst The Social Employment Fund (SEF) has already positively impacted the lives of over 100 000 people nationwide. It has supported communities in growing gardens, nurturing small businesses, and opening new doors for young people, whether through digital tools, early childhood development, or financial literacy. For many, SEF has been more than a programme; it's been a lifeline, disrupting the cycles of unemployment and marginalisation. It holds the promise of lasting change. But real transformation takes more than short-term effort. It needs time, trust, and co-investment. As one participant put it, 'You can't heal, grow, or rebuild in just ten months. Real change takes time.' Komati's Lesson: Think Long-Term Public employment programmes must move beyond the logic of temporary relief. To be truly effective, they must walk with communities at their own pace, rooted in their realities, rather than ahead of them or imposed from above. Transformation is not only about jobs; it's about supporting transitions that are social, emotional, and economic. SEF's strength lies in its holistic design. It provides income, yes, but also a renewed sense of purpose, structure in daily life, and a vision for what's possible. It builds confidence, fosters community cohesion, and opens pathways that were previously closed. But this kind of impact doesn't happen overnight. If SEF is to fulfil its transformative potential. In that case, it must be given room to grow, sustained with long-term commitment, scaled to reach more communities, and strengthened through collaboration, trust, and investment in what works. A Call to Action Suppose we are genuinely committed to a Just Energy Transition, one that includes everyone and builds a society that works for all. In that case, we must invest in programmes like SEF with the long-term vision, patience, and support they deserve. Komati is not just calling for jobs. It is calling for healing, for stability, and for the space to reimagine its future. Communities in transition need more than a quick fix; they need partners who will walk the journey with them. We cannot offer a ladder of hope only to pull it away before people have found their footing. Instead, let us build bridges that last and walk them side by side with the communities we serve.
Mail & Guardian
18-06-2025
- Business
- Mail & Guardian
Ramaphosa touts youth jobs drive as StatsSA data paints grim unemployment picture
President Cyril Ramaphosa. (GCIS) President Cyril Ramaphosa has defended his administration's efforts to address the country's deepening youth unemployment crisis, saying it requires a broad approach, including investing in education and skills development and encouraging entrepreneurship among young people. In his The country's youth unemployment rate remains among the highest in the world, with more than 60% of people aged 15 to 24 unable to find work, according to Statistics South Africa. Official youth unemployment, for those aged between 15 and 34, increased by 9.2% from the last quarter of 2024 to 46.1% in the first quarter of 2025. 'To overcome this challenge we need an approach that includes investing in education and skills development, fostering youth entrepreneurship and implementing targeted employment programmes focusing on young people,' the president wrote. He said the Presidential Employment Stimulus and Presidential Youth Employment Intervention were 'providing opportunities to hundreds of thousands of young people at a time when not enough jobs are being created to absorb new entrants into the labour market'. Launched in 2020, the Presidential Employment Stimulus has supported more than two million work and livelihood opportunities. According to the presidency, 72% of the participants were young people and 66% were women. The president also praised the platform, a zero-rated data-free site that connects unemployed young people to training and job opportunities. Ramaphosa said 4.7 million young people have registered on and on the department of employment and labour's employment services database, collectively accessing more than 1.6 million earning opportunities. Beyond simply creating jobs, Ramaphosa said his government is working to remove systemic barriers that prevent young people from reaching the labour market. In 2019, the requirement for work experience in entry-level public service jobs was abolished, a move he said has opened the door for first-time jobseekers. 'Young people have often expressed frustration around the onerous experience requirements from employers that effectively serve as a barrier to entry for them,' Ramaphosa said. Public-private partnerships, such as the Youth Employment Service, have placed thousands of young people in workplaces across a range of economic sectors, offering much-needed experience, said Ramaphosa. But he conceded that formal employment opportunities alone were not enough, stressing the need to bolster skills development and nurture entrepreneurship among the youth. 'The extent and scale of the youth unemployment crisis means that we should not focus solely on placing more young people in formal, existing jobs,' he wrote. Capitec Bank chief executive Gerrie Fourie recently said South Africa's unemployment rate was closer to 10% Stats SA refuted claims that it overlooks informal sector workers, stating it follows International Labour Organisation standards to track unregistered, small-scale employment. It regularly publishes detailed reports, such as the Quarterly Labour Force Survey, to monitor this sector. Statistician general Risenga Maluleke emphasised that official data should inform policy, not be misrepresented, and urged critics to base their arguments on evidence. According to Stats SA, the rate of young people not in employment, education or training has increased from 38.3% to 43.2% over the past 10 years. This raises questions about the ability of the informal economy to create alternative employment. South Africa's youth are increasingly being left behind by the economy, with rising unemployment, hunger and crime dimming prospects for a generation that makes up a third of the population, according to Stats SA's latest Defined as those aged 15 to 34, the youth cohort accounts for about 21 million people, representing 33.1% of the population. Although youth unemployment remains high, the profile of those most affected has shifted, suggesting that access to basic education is becoming less of a barrier to employment. The share of jobless youth without a matric qualification declined by 10.3 percentage points, while unemployment among matriculants fell by 7.2 percentage points. But the report also shows that a matric certificate does little to shield young people from joblessness. From 2014 to 2024, the proportion of youth who were employed dropped from 30.5% to 27.7%, while youth unemployment rose sharply from 36.8% to 45.5% over the same period. This upward trend in joblessness was observed in most provinces except the Western Cape. At the same time, more youth are living in households without any employed adults. This figure rose from 21.8% to 23.8% for males and from 24.5% to 25.5% for females. At the household level, the situation remains precarious as income from salaries and wages declined in 2023. In rural areas, reliance on social grants remained high, despite a marginal decline in their overall share of household income. Food insecurity also worsened, with the share of young people living in hungry households rising from 13.5% in 2014 to 15.8% in 2023. 'Households with no employed adults are becoming more common, which makes the intergenerational transfer of poverty more likely,' said the report. Youth safety also deteriorated, particularly for young men. Fewer youths reported feeling safe walking alone during the day, while feelings of night-time safety remained unchanged at 34.9%. Young men aged 16 to 34 were more likely to be victims of assault, street robbery and theft than their female peers, according to the report. School attendance increased slightly, from 74.7% in 2014 to 75.2% in 2023, while enrolment in higher education climbed by 1.3 percentage points to 13.2%. Youth with tertiary qualifications were also the least likely to be unemployed. Statistics South Africa said this reinforces the importance of continued education in an exclusionary labour market. Enrolment in technical and vocational education and training colleges dropped slightly, while participation in adult education and training went down from 1% to just 0.04%. Stats SA noted a small uptick in home-schooling and other alternative education options, which signals growing demand for non-traditional learning opportunities. 'South Africa's youth are better educated, but not necessarily better off,' the report concludes. The youth data raises questions about the intersection between skills alignment, the quality of work and the cost of living. Ramaphosa said the government has ramped up funding for technical and vocational education and training colleges, including the establishment of new campuses. The presidential youth programme has also partnered with the National Youth Development Agency and the department of small business development to develop young entrepreneurs.
The South African
13-06-2025
- Business
- The South African
School calendar: When does term 2 end?
Learners across South Africa will close their books for the second term on Friday, 27 June. The June-July holidays will span 24 days, including weekends, with schools reopening for the third term on Tuesday, 22 July. As schools prepare to close, President Cyril Ramaphosa turned his focus to youth employment, especially in education. During a visit to Pretoria on Tuesday, he addressed the impact of the Presidential Youth Employment Intervention and the Presidential Employment Stimulus, both of which support work opportunities at schools. 'It is a phenomenal programme that has been able to bring in more than two million young people since COVID times,' Ramaphosa said. 'We have seen how successful it was. It is an overarching programme that covers almost all our 25 000 schools.' Many of these young people have been placed in schools as education assistants, supporting teachers and gaining valuable experience. Ramaphosa praised the initiative's benefits for unemployed youth: 'We bring them into formal job situations, and they learn, gain knowledge, discipline and people skills.' While acknowledging the limited resources available to sustain longer-term youth programmes, Ramaphosa emphasised their lasting value. 'With the EPWP, we became trailblazers in many ways because a number of countries started to look at public employment and how we execute it,' he added. Ramaphosa also stressed the integrity of these programmes: 'There have never been funny processes; it has been flawless.' Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
IOL News
02-06-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Cyril Ramaphosa's Basic Education Employment Initiative empowers 200,000 youth
President Ramaphosa celebrates 200,000 young South Africans starting work at schools through the Basic Education Employment Initiative, gaining vital skills and experience for future opportunities. President Cyril Ramaphosa has welcomed the return of the Basic Education Employment Initiative (BEEI), describing it as a vital pathway to work experience and skills development for South Africa's youth. In his weekly letter to the nation, Ramaphosa highlighted that around 200,000 young people are starting jobs at over 20,000 schools across the country. 'Today marks the 'first day at school' for about 200,000 young people; they are not arriving at school as learners, but as working adults,' he said. This marks the fifth phase of the BEEI, South Africa's largest youth employment programme, now funded by the UIF Labour Activation Programme and national government. The initiative, a key component of the Presidential Employment Stimulus launched in 2020, returns after a year's pause, aiming to bring 'hope, energy and incomes' to areas where job opportunities are often scarce. The programme provides participants with essential work skills, including time management, teamwork, IT, administration, and problem-solving.
The Citizen
02-06-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
Ramaphosa urges employers to give young people their 'next opportunity'
Monday marks the 'first day of school' for about 200 000 young people at more than 20 000 institutions across the country, where they'll be equipped with essential work skills. As the fifth phase of the Basic Education Employment Initiative (BEEI) gets underway, President Cyril Ramaphosa urged employers to give young people their 'next opportunity, mentor their enthusiasm and foster their potential'. Around 200 000 young people will experience their 'first day of school' on Monday — not as students, but as participants at more than 20 000 institutions across the country, where they'll be equipped with essential work skills. However, this time, they're not arriving as pupils — they're stepping into schools as working adults. These young participants are part of the fifth phase of the Basic Education Employment Initiative (BEEI), South Africa's largest youth employment programme to date. 'New dawn' Writing in his weekly newsletter, Ramaphosa said the BEEI brings 'hope, energy and incomes to places where opportunities are too often out of reach'. 'This programme is designed to develop the work skills that employers say they need, such as time management, task management, teamwork, problem-solving, IT, admin and much more'. ALSO READ: US visit came amid 'increasing strain' between two countries, Ramaphosa says Helping hand Ramaphosa said every participant has their own hopes and dreams for their future beyond this programme. 'As a society, we cannot leave young people to navigate the transition into work alone. Together, we need to step up to assist them. These young people will leave the school environment having shown up, contributed and made a difference. 'They will have worked in high-pressure environments with limited resources and will understand deadlines and responsibility. To employers, we say: give them their next opportunity, mentor their enthusiasm, help take their potential to the next level,' Ramaphosa said. Entrepreneurs Ramaphosa said the country also needs to reach those young people who want to be entrepreneurs. 'We need to find new ways to support those who want to create their own jobs and local value, to connect them to finance, training, markets and networks. 'Through the Presidential Employment Stimulus, we have demonstrated the government's capacity to address the youth unemployment problem. Through this programme, we have been able to give young people work experience and a pathway to formal employment or even further education,' Ramaphosa said. ALSO READ: 'Events beyond our shores should not divide us' — Ramaphosa
