ETHEKWINI NEWSFLASH
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ETHEKWINI TAKES STRATEGIC LEAD IN TACKLING YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT
EThekwini Municipality is redefining the role of local government in addressing youth employment.
To bridge this gap, the eThekwini Economic Development Directorate recently hosted a high-level strategic design session.
The eThekwini Municipality Design Session on Youth Employment, held this week, focused on integrating the Presidential Youth Employment Intervention, the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA), and the Youth Employment Service (YES) into municipal systems, moving beyond strategy to operational impact.
Despite a modest projected GDP growth of 1.4 percent for 2026, experts warn that economic growth alone cannot absorb the one million young people entering the labour market annually.
Against this backdrop, the central theme of the session was the urgent need for government and the private sector to align recruitment systems and update the national youth employment strategy to reflect current economic realities.
By eliminating departmental silos, the initiative aims to establish eThekwini as a “Municipality of Excellence”, a local economy where hiring is intentionally inclusive and self-employment is enabled by reducing administrative red tape.
“We are wrapping up phase four of the National Youth Service,” said Mokete Mokone of the NYDA.
He added: “Recruitment for phase five will begin next month. We encourage implementing partners and smaller NGOs to visit www.nyda.gov.za to participate.”
Complementing this, Tsholo Mogotsi from the YES programme highlighted the bridge to the private sector.
“We place youth in 12-month and permanent positions. Unemployed youth are encouraged to log in to the data-free SAYouth.mobi platform, which currently hosts over 2 000 companies.”
The session concluded with a unified commitment from the Presidential Employment Stimulus and other stakeholders to ensure public employment programmes lead to meaningful career transitions.
By integrating these sectoral interventions, eThekwini is moving from isolated efforts to a collaborative ecosystem, ensuring that no young person is left behind in the evolving economic landscape.
ENDS
Issued by eThekwini Municipality’s Marketing and Communications Directorate
