YES implementation partners (IPs) play a critical role in driving change in our country through their contribution to fighting youth unemployment. These IPs are generally non-profit organisations (NPOs), social enterprises, or for-profit businesses who host youth on behalf of YES’s corporate partners, providing training and expertise in specific fields. YES IPs operate in high-impact sectors where youth live, which means they do not have to travel far for work and can play an important part in building their own communities.
The YES programme, a portion of which is implemented by our IPs through our turnkey solution, is playing an important role in addressing youth unemployment and is an effective vehicle to drive skills training and achieve transformation outcomes.
Since the implementation of YES turnkey solution, YES IPs have created effective impact across growing sectors in SA, communities and youth lives.
The Youth Employment Service (YES) is a private sector led national movement of over 2,200 businesses tackling the country’s biggest crisis by creating or sponsoring jobs for unemployed youth. These 12-month work experiences help equip youth to become future leaders, professionals and entrepreneurs - 40% of YES Alumni are currently employed. In return for putting youth into jobs, businesses gain up to two levels on their B-BBEE scorecard, while integrating job creation into their ESG strategies, and developing a talent pipeline.
Business not able to host youth inside their organisations have the option to place youth with one of our vetted host partners. Host partners are generally NPOs working in high-impact sectors in communities, meaning youth work directly in industries and roles that build their own communities.
For example, Anglo American has helped build communities beyond mining through the use of host partners. As part of the platinum giant's innovative social investment programme, they've placed 720 youth in high-impact jobs through the YES turnkey solution, including community healthcare workers and teacher assistants which are some of the key sectors to eradicating poverty in the country.[1]
The effects of these YES Youth salaries have much larger effects on communities than just in the youth lives. 88% of YES Youth come from grant-recipient households, and 91% have dependents, translating to a salary that ripples through families and communities.
One of the most significant ways that YES IPs positively impact youth is through their placement in communities across the country, which helps address spatial inequality. The turnkey solution was specifically designed so that YES Youth, particularly women, do not have to commute far or move away from their families – which would incur exorbitant travel and/or rental costs – to access work opportunities.
Vetted YES IPs are equipped to provide youth, in various parts of the country, with 12-month quality work experiences on behalf of YES corporate partners, in specified sectors. These IPs have experience and work in selected sectors that train, educate and empower youth on all that’s needed to know to build their careers and contribute to the growth of these industries. Future industry leaders and professionals are created from these experiences, changing the social and economic landscape of their communities with one youth at a time. Together, over 92,726 work experiences for young South Africans have been created, equating to more than R4.9 billion being injected back into the economy directly through youth salaries.
The work experiences provided for by these IPs, especially in these growing sectors, are bringing massive impact to not only their YES Youth, but the larger communities.
IPs play a great role as a solution that helps facilitate the collaboration between youth job creation and businesses’ overall strategies. It is becoming increasingly important for our corporate partners to align their YES programmes with their overarching environmental, social and governmental (ESG) strategies and reporting, as well as their Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This pressure is being placed by both investors and consumers, who are beginning to decide where to put their money based on these ESG/SDG strategies.
Essentially, the turnkey solution is about more than just creating work opportunities. Corporates are beginning to use the turnkey solution to create impact and other sustainability initiatives that are important to them.
For example, one corporate partner is passionate about the environment and green. Through the turnkey solution, they created thousands of work experiences for youth in the conservation sector, through host partners such as Africa Foundation and Conservation South Africa, who work to nurture and protect our country’s flora, fauna, and oceans all over SA (read more about YES and its partners’ work in conservation here).
Another corporate partner’s strategy is focused on improving digital literacy and education in the country, so they created work opportunities with host partners like Edunova - which provides youth work opportunities in and to enable the use of technology to enhance and improve learning for the learner, educator, and youth - and IT Varsity - an accredited online training institute specialising in preparing youth for careers in app, web and software development.
The same is being done with our host partners in early childhood development, education, health care, agriculture, manufacturing and SMME development.
Every year, YES recruits new IPs in selected sectors, meaning only organisations that are working in these sectors can apply. These are:
There are many YES corporate partners who want to help tackle the youth unemployment crisis and get their B-BBEE level(s) up, but simply cannot host youth inside their own businesses. That’s where the IP comes in.
YES IPs are equipped to provide, at any given time, thousands of youth with 12-month quality work experiences on behalf of YES corporate partners, in specified industries and sectors.
YES IPs can be non-profit organisations, social enterprises, or for-profit businesses.
Pro tip: If you want to be a YES IP, be sure to thoroughly read and understand the YES gazette, and the YES practice note.
Be a part of a national movement that is bringing meaningful impact to South African lives, the economy and communities. Become a YES IP partner today and help empower youth for a lifetime.
[1] https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/2431