The following statement was distributed today at a press conference held at Winchester Mansions Hotel in Cape Town by MEC for Economic Development and Tourism, Alan Winde and Western Cape Premier, Helen Zille.
Youth unemployment in South Africa is at crisis level.In the Western Cape, of those unemployed, 70% are between the ages 15 and 34. The time has come to stop paying lip-service and implementing policies that will help turn this tide.
One such policy that will help in ensuring that more of our youth are actively participating in the workforce is the Youth Wage Subsidy. We are here today to prove that the Youth Wage Subsidy works.
Established in 2009, our work & skills programme for 100 000 establishes learning and work placement opportunities for unemployed in the Western Cape’s economic sectors so as to improve the future employment prospects of participants.
The programme is aimed at providing unemployed youth, aged 18 to 35 years, with a Matric or equivalent qualification, the opportunity to engage in a 6-month work experience programme.
Under the programme the Department of Economic Development and Tourism provides with a stipend of R1 200 over a period of six months. Companies where learners are placed are encouraged to top up the stipend.
In line with Western Cape Government’s ‘Better Together’ approach, government and business are collaborating to create job opportunities for our youth.
We invest about R9 million in this programme every year. More than 2 000 people have come through the programme, about 70 per cent of whom have since been offered full-time employment.
We want to make this project bigger and give even more unemployed youth in our Province the opportunity to work.
We will now begin a process of ensuring the National Treasury releases the Western Cape’s share of the R5 billion set aside for the youth wage subsidy.
Media enquiries:
Phumzile Van Damme
Spokesperson MEC Alan Winde
Cell: 082 378 2235
