By Andrea Naicker
Skills development is important for our country’s growth, and ensuring that young people are empowered to contribute meaningfully in cultivating a flourishing economy that benefits everyone. Each year, the importance of equipping the youth with skills is underscored as we commemorate World Youth Skills Day on July 15th, a day declared by the United Nations General Assembly in 2014.
This global commemoration serves as a reminder of the central role of education and training in achieving the 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goal 4, which aims to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”. World Youth Skills Day inspires the youth to seize every opportunity and rise above their circumstances to create the future they envision.
Unemployment remains the main challenge faced by young people globally, often due to a shortage of skills. South Africa, like many other countries, grapples with high youth unemployment. Addressing this issue requires a concerted effort to equip our youth with the skills needed to meet the demands of the marketplace and workforce.
One of the root causes of unemployment is the skills mismatch, particularly lack of skills in the digital sector, including Artificial Intelligence. Recognising this gap, the government has allocated R800 million to the National Skills Fund this year to develop skills in the digital and technology sector through an innovative model that links payment for training to employment outcomes.
The National Skills Fund, through the Presidential Youth Employment Intervention (PYEI) is currently testing a pay-for-performance model to support youth with relevant skills training that, upon completion, enables access to numerous employment opportunities. The PYEI contributes to creating a more upskilled workforce through demand-led skilling approaches and the skills strategy which focuses on addressing various imbalances in the labour market. This strategy provides young people with on-the-job experience to enhance their skill sets and has from April 2020- December 2024 enabled 156 587 young people with workplace experience opportunities.
Young people can transition from learning to earning through PYEI’s National Pathway Management Network which involves various sectors and components, including a revitalised national youth service. Further efforts to uplift and develop our youth are evident through the recent initiative launched by Higher Health, an arm of the Department of Higher Education and Training, which collaborates with public universities and TVET colleges.
This groundbreaking skills development programme equips the youth with essential soft skills, such as decision making, emotional intelligence, social entrepreneurship, mental health and time management, among others. These skills are important to success in the workplace and help increase the employability rate of youth. The Higher Health Civic and Soft Skills programme (NQF Level 5 accredited by QCTO) is the first of its kind in Africa and the only programme aligned with all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Over 5000 young people have already graduated from this programme, which is open to anyone in grade 9 and above, and over 250 000 young people are expected to be reached in the next two years
Moreover, Technical and Vocational Education and Training Colleges have proven successful in sharpening the skills of our youth, providing practical training and industry-specific expertise to enable the youth to enter the workforce.
As government continues to implement strategies and initiatives to develop the skills of our youth, we encourage the private sector, businesses and civil society to partner with us to uplift the youth. Together, we can create opportunities for a better world and a brighter future for generations to come.
Andrea Naicker is Assistant Director at the Communication Resource Centre at GCIS
