Mashatile launches SANDF-led youth initiative to create jobs, entrepreneurship
Deputy President Paul Mashatile and the Department of Defence and the Department of Women, Youth, and Persons with Disabilities (DWYPD), unveiled the South African National Service Institution (SANSI) in Pretoria on Tuesday.
He said despite interventions like the Presidential Employment Stimulus, which has generated 1.7 million job opportunities there’s still a high rate of youth unemployment.
He cited the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey, which shows that the official unemployment rate stands at 32.9%.
According to the survey, about 3.6 million (35.5%) out of 10.3 million young people aged between 15 and 24 were not in employment, education or training (NEET).
“I am pleased that the DWYPD, in collaboration with the Department of Defence, adopted a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach to the skills revolution for the unskilled. This will have a significant impact on restoring livelihoods, creating wealth, and alleviating poverty and hunger among the marginalised,” said Mashatile
Mashatile lauded the collaborative efforts of DWYPD and the Department of Defence in adopting a comprehensive approach to skill development for the unskilled, aiming to alleviate poverty and hunger among marginalized youth.
“We envisaged inviting and encouraging young people to voluntarily join the National Youth Service, beginning with a character-building programme and progressing to industry demand-based education and training, ultimately leading to gainful employment or entrepreneurship.”
Minister of Defence Thandi Modise described SANSI as a necessary and important initiative.
“It tallied with the call from all society that asked the Defence Force to do something and cries of mothers who had their hands on their heads and those who were trying to fight the nyaope. We see SANSI as that instrument in the hands of the Defence Force that will enable our children to come into their own,” said Modise.