FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CAPE TOWN, 13 October 2026
As the Minister of Finance prepares to deliver the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) on the 21st of October, Youth Capital has submitted a memorandum to National Treasury calling for predictable, protected, multi-year funding for public employment programmes (PEPs) which can guarantee a minimum of 1 million opportunities for young people annually. The submission is backed by over 7000 people who have signed on to the PEPs4Youth petition.
South Africa’s economy is not creating enough jobs for the millions of young people who want and need to work. Almost five in ten young people aged 15 to 34 are unemployed, according to Stats SA’s latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey. While stronger economic growth and private-sector job creation remain essential, public employment has become an important part of the country’s response to this gap. Through the Presidential Employment Stimulus and Presidential Youth Employment Intervention, the government has already shown that employment and livelihood interventions can reach young people at scale.
“Government has already proven that public employment can work at scale. The question is whether we are willing to provide the certainty needed to sustain what works, improve it and ensure that young people can build on these opportunities,” says Buhlebethu Magwaza, Project Lead at Youth Capital.
The value of public employment extends beyond the number of opportunities created. Public employment programmes provide young people with an income and meaningful work experience needed for the world of work. They also strengthen prospects for further employment, enterprise development and other livelihood opportunities. That value is felt in classrooms, homes and communities. The Basic Education Employment Initiative alone has reached more than one million young people across its different phases.
“When a young person is supporting learners in a classroom or caring for children in their community, everyone around them benefits. That is the value we don’t count, and it is about time the budget did,” says Magwaza. Short and uncertain funding cycles limit what these programmes can achieve. As we get closer to the MTBPS, Youth Capital is calling on government to move public employment away from recurring funding uncertainty and towards a longer-term commitment that reflects the scale of the youth unemployment crisis and the value these programmes create for communities.
The submission is accompanied by Youth Capital’s documentary, The Value We Don’t Count, which captures the value of public employment through the experiences of young people, teachers, learners and communities who have benefited through them. Youth Capital stresses that public employment works alongside long-term job creation.
“South Africa needs both public employment and economic growth. However, we cannot ask young people to wait indefinitely for an economy that is not yet creating enough opportunities. Public employment must be treated as a predictable and strategic part of the wider employment and livelihoods response,” Magwaza says.
“Public employment cannot be treated as essential when unemployment rises and optional when budgets tighten,” Magwaza concludes.
ENDS
Media enquiries:
Luvo Mnyobe
Youth Capital Communications Lead
0614208111