Inside Parliament

Questions we have asked

Adv S Salie (Al Jamah-ah) to the Minister of Employment & Labour

Considering that according to the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey conducted by Statistics South Africa, 2025 shows the eighth consecutive increase in employment since 2021, although the unemployment of youth remains one of the biggest concerns, what (a) interventions are needed for youth to enter the job market and (b) measures has she implemented to remove barriers such as no work experience and/or certain acquired skills to assist youth and/or unemployed graduates in finding work?

REPLY FROM THE MINISTER OF EMPLYMENT & LABOUR

Economic growth is one of the main drivers of employment, and as a result of the low growth cycle that is currently being experienced the absorption of the unemployed into employment is been quite low. It is for this reason that Government has implemented a number of interventions in the form of public employment programs that can assist the youth to enter the job market.
These include the work that is done by the National Youth Development Agency and under the Ministry for Women, Youth, and People with Disability which is responsible for the Youth Development Strategy that guides government and private sector interventions.
The Department of Employment and Labour has 126 Labour Centres, 14 mobile Units, 8 Youth Centres, 450 visiting points and an online system that supports young people in various job seeking and placement measures.
There are interventions from the Department of Social Development that support work seekers through a R370.00 youth grant and Community Development Workers, the DHET support those young people in institutions of higher learning through NASFAS and employers through the skills development grants for learnerships and apprenticeships.
The National Treasury provides the Employment Tax Incentive to employers taking on young people, the DTIC offers BBBE points on those participating in the Youth Employment Service (YES) into employment.
The Department of Employment and Labour also provides free services through its Public Employment Services branch, to assist job seekers overcome barriers to finding suitable employment. As at the end of 31 December 2024, the Department registered more than 1,021,333 work seekers, provided employment counselling to more than 255,386 work seekers, and has placed about 70,000 work seekers into employment.

As part of its new mandate the Department, is undertaking a number of initiatives together with its entities to create employment opportunities to assist with the unemployment problem.
This includes undertaking Labour Activation programs through the Unemployment Insurance Fund, Productivity improvement programs through Productivity SA, job saving programs through the CCMA, and re-integration of injured workers back to employment through the COIDA, and the Supported Employment Enterprise (SEE).
The Department also co-ordinates the Pathway management Network, in partnership with the Government Technical Advisory Centre (GTAC) and the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC). Through the National Pathway Management network, further efforts are made to stimulate demand and supply side interventions that can assist particularly youth, to access employment opportunities.
The Department is also engaged in discussions with Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) together with the Presidential Youth Employment Initiative (PYEI) and other Government Departments, to come up with a joint program of collaboration to stimulate employment particularly for youth.
The Department as part of the new MTDP commitment will also strengthen its employment mandate by co-ordinating employment activities that contribute to employment.
Even though employers determine the job profiles of the those that they wish to employ, all employers are encouraged to provide opportunities to you and allow them to gain the necessary experience needed. Within the Public Service, the requirement for experience for entry level jobs have already been removed.