SA youth group lauds government’s commitment to youth employment

JOHANNESBURG. South Africa’s National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) on Thursday lauded the Department of Economic Development (EDD) for allocating 334 million U.S. dollars over the next five years, as part of the Youth Employment Accord.NYDA Executive Chairperson, Yershen Pillay said the financial commitment that was made through the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and Small Enterprise Finance Agency (SEFA) will go a long way in facilitating the growth and development of young entrepreneurs in South Africa.Youth Employment Accord is a viable and meaningful approach to address the challenge of youth unemployment. EDD is committed to supporting the growth of young entrepreneurs in the country to ensure economic emancipation and development of young South Africans. “It remains a better response than a silver bullet policy response such as a youth wage subsidy. We may be able to achieve more if all social partners commit to work together and have a single, coordinated approach to youth employment creation with a deliberate focus on skills development,” Pillay said in a statement.Youth unemployment is a crisis in South Africa. According to reports, nearly five million youth are unemployed in South Africa where young people in constitute 63 percent of the working population, yet they make up 72 percent of the unemployed.NYDA said the financial commitment shows that South Africa government is serious about job creation for young people.