A year in review: YES 2022

2022 was one for the books – for YES, its partners and our youth. As we close the year off, we extend our gratitude to our valued corporate and implementation partners who share our vision and change youth lives. Together, YES is creating 2,000 - 3,000 youth jobs per month, culminating over R5 billion injected into the economy through YES Youth salaries alone. Your unwavering commitment to co-create a future that works for all has made a valuable difference to country, community, company and youth. In this blog, we look back on 2022’s successes and look forward to achieving new goals in 2023.

2022 in summary

The year has presented a number of highs and lows as we navigated around meeting labour demands and changes post Covid-19, and the critical unemployment challenge in the country. The latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey for quarter three reported a decrease by 0.7 of percentage points to 56.1% according to the overall expanded definition for youth aged 15 - 34.

Despite the decrease, there are still seven million young South Africans unemployed and discouraged. As we face this enormous youth unemployment challenge in South Africa, we take pride in the impact the YES salary has on families and communities. Our latest figures show that 88% of youth have dependents and 60% of YES Youth come from grant recipient households. The average YES Youth comes from a household where 60% of those living with them are unemployed. These YES jobs have real, meaningful impact across families and communities. We are so grateful for your contribution and remember that every job matters.

YES is also proud of the value of jobs that youth have been placed in throughout this year. From baristas, drone pilots, bankers, to programme managers, and many more, YES Youth have been given opportunities that have earned them skills and knowledge to catapult their careers. 

Impact to date: 

95,048+ work experiences created
2,200+ corporate signups
R5.2bn+ deployed into the economy
1,250 B-BBEE level up targets achieved
58% of YES Youth are young women 

YES webinars

Over the year we held six webinars that covered topics from sustainable solutions to youth unemployment to the power unleashed by female creativity, and covered topics that spoke to different sectors. We’ve compiled the recordings below, in case you missed them:

1. YES Webinar: Sustainable solutions to youth unemployment.

The key focus of this webinar was youth employability. The webinar covered the importance of networking, accessibilities to opportunities, and the journey to employment. 
For playback: Watch here

2. August webinar round-up: The power unleashed by female creativity.

In honour of Women’s Month, YES held a special webinar focused on the critical impact investments in female creativity can have on business. Led and driven by some of South Africa’s best industry movers, the webinar covered how corporate South Africa has a responsibility to not only drive gender-neutral business practices but also support and capacitate women within the workforce.
For blog: Read here
For playback: Watch here

3. June Webinar Round-up: Drone Sector

Our June webinar round-up was on the drones’ sector which highlighted to this fast-growing industry and how YES can help your business create critical work opportunities for youth, while integrating into your environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) strategies, and/or receiving levels up on your B-BBEE scorecard. 
For blog: Read here
For playback: Watch here

4. African Mining Indaba: All you need to know

Globally, the demand for modern mining practices that are designed for and ensure the protection of human rights, minimal disturbance to land, natural resources, and communities has increased. Investors and consumers alike have also increased pressure on mining companies to drive greener operations and broader compliance. The recent African Mining Indaba delved into these and other topics. 
For blog: Read here
For playback: Watch here

5. April webinar round-up: Automotive sector

YES recently hosted a webinar presenting a case study on how our youth employment partner, Lulaway, contributes to fighting the youth unemployment crisis through the automotive sector. The webinar hosted industry leaders, B-BBEE partners and aggregators, as well as some of SA’s business influencers. Here’s a roundup of what was discussed.
For blog: Read here
For playback: Watch here

6. March webinar round-up: Pizza Hut SA as a case study beyond B-BBEE

The case study on Pizza Hut SA’s LeadHERship initiative covers the impact of the YES programme beyond B-BBEE. We’ve spoken a lot about the “beyond B-BBEE” concept but at its core, this idea looks at how YES can make an integrated impact on company, country and youth using other policy tools, such as environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategies and reporting, as well as the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
For blog: Read here
For playback: Watch here

Blogs

Our YES blog page has become the go-to informational site on all things YES, B-BBEE, ESG, transformation and youth unemployment, transformation and unemployment. This page seeks to help our clients make sense of the B-BBEE process, the latest unemployment stats, and transformation strategies. Catch up below:

• Benefits of YES for Companies
• The YES turnkey solution: Place youth at a host partner for maximum impact
• 6 Reasons why you should consider the YES model as part of your B-BBEE strategy
• Planning your B-BBEE strategy for 2022 and beyond
• Alternative ways to co-create a future that works with YES Hubs: Where community meets potential
• How YES IPs are creating social impact across sector, communities and country
• Becoming a YES implementation partner: All you need to know
• 5 reasons why over 2,200 businesses have signed onto YES
• Mental Health Awareness Month: Cultivating mental wellbeing one job at a time
• YES & partners: Creating future-facing jobs, with a multiplier effect.
• Benefits of YES for Companies
• Heritage Day – Building a sustainable legacy
• Case study: YES and Pizza Hut changing youth lives for a better future
• Case study: Betting big on empowering South Africa’s youth
• Mining Charter compliance, SLPs and YES
• How Nestlé said YES: A case study beyond B-BBEE
• Co-create an inclusive future for all this Women’s Month.
• This Youth Month, harness the power of young people and define the future
• African Mining Indaba: All you need to know
• Leading sustainability: Mining and effective ESG
• Why SA urgently needs to upskill youth in media, information, communication and technology sector (MICT)
• The YES turnkey solution: Place youth at a host partner for maximum impact
• 6 Reasons why you should consider the YES model as part of your B-BBEE strategy
• Planning your B-BBEE strategy for 2022 and beyond

YES host partners

In the second half of the year, we put out a call to expand our host partner network, aligned to our corporate partner strategies. We searched for host partners in the following sectors:

ICT and digital
Agri and agri-processing
Green energy
Artisanal

We are currently reviewing and shortlisting applications. Expanding our host partner network is an exciting development, as it links to our main goals above: giving youth interesting quality work experiences that are future-fit, and giving corporate clients the options to use YES jobs as a vehicle for furthering their transformation, ESG and SDG strategies. The sectors mentioned above are also prioritised as they are high-impact and have the capacity for greater absorption, which is key to creating sustainable youth jobs.

Read more about our YES host partner here.

YES Hubs

The Hubs programmes have evolved and are also aligned to the goals of providing added value to youth and our corporate clients. Hub programmes include:

• The YES Green Engine Module (The Genesis Hub, Saldanha)
• The Youth Content Collective (YCC, national programme with headquarter in Ulusha Hub, Alexandra)
• The Drones Academy (The Genesis Hub, Saldanha & the Ulusha Hub, Alexandra)
• The Culinary Academy (The Genesis Hub, Saldanha & the Ulusha Hub, Alexandra)
• Textile manufacturing
• The Green Engine (urban farming)
• Small business centre (The Genesis Hub, Saldanha & the Ulusha Hub, Alexandra)
• Nyathi Arts Creation  
• Hair and nail academy
• Automotive academy
• Small business support centre

You can contribute to YES Hubs by sponsoring youth salaries while training, or you can donate / use your socio-economic development spend to build infrastructure and programmes.

Because YES is a registered PBO, businesses (or individuals) can opt to allocate up to 10% of their taxable income to YES, as opposed to SARS. In return, we’ll issue you with a Section 18A certificate, allowing you to qualify this for tax deductions for the year. In-kind donations are also accepted. 

Read more about our Hubs here.

#SayingYES to a brighter future

We look forward to a more prosperous and impactful new year. Through our collaborative efforts, 2023 has the potential to see us create tens of thousands more youth jobs..

Thank you for your investment in our country’s youth. Your contribution plays a critical role in transforming lives, communities and co-creating a future that works for all.  

We wish you a safe and joyous festive season as we prepare to create greater impact in the coming year.