The Presidential Youth Employment Intervention (PYEI) secured 155 161 new earning opportunities for young South Africans during the fourth quarter of the 2025/26 financial year.
Speaking in Pretoria, Deputy Minister in The Presidency Nonceba Mhlauli said the PYEI remains government’s flagship strategy for tackling youth unemployment by helping young people transition from learning to earning.
Launched in 2020 by Cyril Ramaphosa, the intervention coordinates efforts across government, business and civil society to create pathways into employment, entrepreneurship and skills development.
The Deputy Minister noted that the release of the fourth-quarter report coincides with the 50th anniversary of the 1976 youth uprising, urging young people to honour that legacy through active participation in democracy, including registering to vote during the upcoming voter registration weekend.
According to the report, more than 5.9 million young people are now registered on the SA Youth platform, while over 5.36 million are registered on the Employment Services of South Africa (ESSA) system.
Since its launch, the PYEI has facilitated access to more than 2.5 million temporary earning opportunities through SA Youth and a further 422 667 opportunities through ESSA.
The intervention continues to advance gender inclusion, with more than 70% of opportunities accessed through SA Youth benefiting young women.
Among the quarter’s achievements, the private-sector-led Youth Employment Service (YES) placed 18 310 young people into workplace experience opportunities.
The Department of Higher Education and Training’s SETA placements programme created 5 005 work-integrated learning opportunities for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) learners and graduates.
Meanwhile, the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) provided 6 085 financial and non-financial enterprise opportunities to young entrepreneurs, while Phase 4 of the National Youth Service recruited an additional 5 272 participants.
This increased the total number of paid service opportunities created through the programme to 138 056 since inception.
Looking ahead, government plans to recruit a further 100 000 young people through Phase 5 of the National Youth Service.
A major milestone was the completion of the R300 million Jobs Boost Outcomes Fund Pilot, which enrolled 9 174 young people and secured 7 044 job placements, surpassing its original targets.
The pilot verified 5 211 jobs sustained for at least three months and 3 795 jobs sustained for six months, demonstrating the effectiveness of outcomes-based financing in supporting disadvantaged youth.
Government is now preparing to scale the initiative into a R1 billion programme aimed at creating 20 000 high-quality job placements through public-private partnerships.
The NPMN Innovation Fund also delivered positive results in rural communities. HPSA Southern Africa enrolled 1 800 young people in KwaZulu-Natal to provide agricultural and animal health services, with 678 already generating income and collectively recording R1.4 million in sales.
Mhlauli said the results demonstrate how targeted innovation can create sustainable self-employment opportunities in areas where formal jobs remain limited.
