President Cyril Ramaphosa has emphasized that the Presidential Employment Stimulus (PES) and the Presidential Youth Employment Intervention (PYEI) has had beneficial outcomes, which have collectively offered jobs to over 1.7 million individuals since their inception in October 2020.
While acknowledging the success of the programme, Ramaphosa stressed the importance of making sure participants have better experiences and create more value in their communities. This means helping them improve their "soft skills" from work experience and providing more formal training.
The Presidential Youth Employment Interventions approach to skills development focuses on demand-led skilling, which is about increasing the relevance and delivery of interventions that address current skills gaps and emerging needs.
The president clarified that various government departments and organizations are working together to reach the goals of the PYEI.
The Department of Higher Education has set up "demand-led skilling workstreams" in important growing sectors.
The PYEI also collaborated with the National Skills Fund to start a R300 million "Jobs Boost" programme. This programme aims to train and find quality, long-lasting jobs for 4,500 young people from marginalized communities.
The Presidential Youth Employment Intervention, in partnership with the National Skills Fund, has also launched [the] Jobs Boost, a R300 million outcomes fund that will fund implementing organisations to skill 4 500 marginalised young people and place them in sustainable, quality job.
Ramaphosa thinks that these initiatives' efforts will greatly help lessen poverty, unemployment, and inequality in South Africa.
PYEI Budget Increased
Deputy President Paul Mashatile announced that R7.4 billion has been allocated to sustain the PYEI. He shared this information while responding to questions at the National Council of Provinces in Cape Town last week.
The presidential employment initiative has assisted 1.7 million people through a combination of job creation job retention and income and skills support interventions.
Mashatile also highlighted the significance of the SAYouth platform. SAYouth is a national platform that's free to use and doesn't incur any data charges.
SAYouth.mobi links skilled and motivated job seekers to different opportunities. The platform helps youth access the YES programme, full-time and part-time jobs, apprenticeships, volunteer work, and learning opportunities.
Unisa Partners With PYEI
The University of South Africa (Unisa) has announced its collaboration with the Department of Higher Education and Training to take part in the Presidential Youth Employment Initiative.
Unisa's Eastern Cape Region is providing graduates with important work opportunities to help them connect academic learning with real-world skills.
The six-month PYEI graduate workplace internship programme aims to offer Unisa graduates practical work experience in their chosen fields. The university thinks this will improve their chances of getting hired.
Acknowledging the program's advantages, Unisa's Eastern Cape region plans to prolong it by another six months. They say this will give interns a full year to gain valuable experience.
