Johannesburg, 02 February 2023: The Presidential Youth Employment Intervention (PYEI), a collaborative effort of the Presidency, the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) and the National Treasury’s Jobs Fund working together with the private sector, public sector and civil society, has announced that it successfully afforded 45,167 young people the opportunity to participate in the National Youth Service Programme (NYSP) in 2022 / 2023 as committed in the State of the Nation 2022.
The revitalised NYS is designed to ensure that the most vulnerable and marginalised young people in South Africa can offer meaningful, quality service to their communities and receive income at the National Minimum Wage while growing their skills and employability.
The four main sectors targeted for the NYSP are Sports and Recreation, Arts and Culture, Support Services in the Social Economy, and Community Revitalisation. In its role as the host and overseer of the implementation of the NYSP, the NYDA has made every effort to create an enabling environment to support its implementation.
“The NYS programme hopes to instil in the youth: a culture of service by supporting them to participate constructively in nation-building, reinforcing their understanding of the role they play in the promotion of civic awareness and national reconstruction while helping them to develop the necessary skills, knowledge and ability, to make the transition into adulthood,” said NYDA Executive Chairperson, Ms Asanda Luwaca.
According to research, volunteerism is a key trait that enables young people to meaningfully build social capital, leadership skills and the relevant soft skills necessary for their employability and active participation in civic matters, which is why it is such an integral component of NYSP. By collaborating with civil society organisations with a proven track record of working with vulnerable and marginalised young people, the NYSP hopes to produce a pool of tens of thousands of work-ready youths with an in-depth understanding of the value of active citizenship, patriotism and social cohesion.
Harrowing accounts of the challenges facing young people in this country are abundant; as such, the strategic role of the NYSP in the current political and socio-economic context facing young people today cannot be overstated. “The scope and reach of the programme provide hope for youth development in our country, and the strength of the programme lies in its ability to target multiple areas of youth development. Through community work, the programme’s benefits accrue to the broader society,” Luwaca continued.
Working with communities is an essential aspect of the NYSP because through communities they can identify local needs to prioritise and address them effectively.
“Building strong relationships with communities has been a critical aspect of the success of the NYSP. It is vital that communities feel a sense of ownership of these programmes to ensure success in their implementation. Moreover, the mobilisation of young people becomes easier when their communities are involved,” Luwaca continued.
As a key outcome, the NYS programme aims to empower South Africa’s youth by linking programme participants to a slew of life-changing opportunities from formal employment, to further education and training opportunities, as well as entrepreneurial opportunities upon completion of the programme.
“By the end of the 2022/2023 financial year-end, the NYSP’s target is to have at least 30 000 young people who have completed planned service activities and a significant number of these young people will be supported to transition out of the NYSP into other opportunities,” Luwaca concluded.
In re-establishing service as the core component of the programme, there is a clear view of impacting not only the youth participants in the programme but rather catalysing change across communities in South Africa, ensuring social cohesion and nation-building.