YES and Employment of Women and Youth in South Africa Collaborate to Boost Employment in Alexandra and Soweto

The career training component of the program was executed by YES. This consisted of upskilling 180 youth in the culinary, renewable energy, and IT sectors. 
 
Emphasising gender inclusivity, the program features a culinary stream with 87% female participants, a solar PV stream with 53% female participants, and an IT stream with 67% female participants. The goal is to ensure that at least 50% of the beneficiaries across all streams are women.

The first cohort has already completed 65% of their training, which includes practical and theoretical sessions delivered by both local and European trainers. These 90 youth will complete their technical training on the 27th of September and proceed with entrepreneurship training until the 11th of October 2024. The youth will then be placed in host sites for practical work experience for the remainder of the 9 months of the program. cohort 2 will embark on the same journey.

The recruitment and selection process for cohort 2 has commenced, YES has received more than 25 000 youth applications to fill 90 opportunities. There are great needs for these opportunities within these communities. Cohort 2 will be implemented in Soweto, where the youth will be trained in Culinary, IT, and Solar PV skills. Cohort two will start on 7th October 2024.

Besides the career l training, YES and the other EYWA partners hosted  a few workshops to empower locals:

• March 7, 2024 - Addressed Civil Society Organisation (CSO)capacity building, gender-based violence, and youth employment,
• September 3, 2024 – Had a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) workshop which explored strategies to ensure the alignment between the Dual TVET youth offering to relevant skills needed by Industry.

Youth Employment Service (YES) in partnership with the EYWA team, has the intention to continuously strive to deliver quality programs, empower the community of Alexandra and Soweto, commit to empowering youth, particularly young women, and equipping them with essential skills for employment in key sectors. This initiative represents a major advancement in enhancing employability and fostering economic empowerment within the Gauteng region.