THE YOUTH EMPLOYMENT SERVICE
EDITORIAL
By Elske Joubert T h e Yo u t h E m p l oy m e nt S e r v i c e ( Y ES) i s a n o n - p ro f i t c o m p a ny l a u n c h e d i n 2 018 a s p a r t o f t h e C E O I n i t i a t i ve. D r i ve n by D r Ta s h m i a I s m a i l - S a v i l l e, t h i s i n i t i a t i ve p a r t n e r s w i t h b u s i n e s s e s to c re a te 12 - m o nt h p a i d w o r k e x p e r i e n c e s fo r p re v i o u s l y u n e m p l oy e d yo u t h b et w e e n t h e a g e s o f 18 a n d 3 5. Youth are able to gather valuable work experience
week. “One of the keys to its success has been the
either by being absorbed into sponsoring businesses or
positive relationships bet ween the various stakeholders.
being sponsored into placements like NGOs and SMEs,
YES is not a government institution and receives no
says Dr. Tashmia Ismail - Saville. “Businesses are able to
financial aid from the government.”
enjoy the t win benefits of providing work experience to youth and in the process secure B - BBEE benefits for
Commenting on some of the groundbreaking ways in
their business.”
which YES aims to create jobs for South Africa’s youth, she shares the following: “A good example of where
The youth make up nearly 36% of the South African
YES of fers a unique value proposition is that placed
population and, according to Dr Ismail - Saville, one out
youth are equipped with mobile phones with zero - rated
of three youths is unable to find work or has become
data and a YES app. This app provides the youth with
discouraged from looking.
access to valuable content, including professional development, health and safet y, and financial wellness.
“This is a significant par t of our population who are idle and demotivated. Can you imagine the economic
“ We also enjoy a par tnership with LinkedIn where we
power we could harness if we could find a way to
assist youth to build up their work experience and
create employment for these youths and ensure skills
professional references. On top of this, we use the
transfer to them?”
KNACK app to at tempt to match workplace skills with placements.”
South Africa has a ver y centralised economy with t wo core economic hubs: Gauteng and the Western Cape.
Dr Ismail - Saville relays the impor tance of investing
“Youth come from emerging areas looking to find work
inclusively. “Research shows that South Africa is one of
in these hubs but are unable to cope with the skilled
the most unequal societies in the world. This manifests
work force they find in these hubs.
in a couple of dif ferent forms, including access to capital, skills and social capital/net works.”
“If we can create 1 0 0 0 jobs in an emerging region, we can inject up to R45 - million of new incomes into
While financial capital is one element, longer term
these economies. Suddenly, youth who were previously
benefits are built up through building up net works
unemployed now become a power ful economic force.”
and skills. “If businesses and societ y on the whole are prepared to invest with an inclusive mindset, we can
Dr Ismail - Saville says the organisation can proudly say
create a more sustainable and diverse economy,”
that it is creating more than 850 work experiences per
she concludes.
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