Jobs for youths? Let’s hope it works

It’s going to take more than eye-catching logos and slogans to create jobs. We hope that is something that President Cyril Ramaphosa had at the top of mind when he launched the Youth Employment Services (YES) initiative this week. If we had a rand for every time a government functionary has promised to create thousands of jobs, we could have employed thousands of jobless young people. We hope that this time it will be different. It is encouraging that Ramaphosa, the master of bringing together people in the national interest, has included business in this attempt to provide work for that volatile demographic, the youth. The private sector, we would suggest, brings much-needed energy and entrepreneurial spirit to this enterprise.

However, we would warn companies involved that they should see this as a genuine way to help grow the country, rather than a form of cheap labour (because young people are to be paid a minimum wage of only R3 500 a month).

Even if the money is not great, we would urge young people to take advantage of the opportunity and learn as much as they can to make themselves more valuable in the job market in the future.