NPO tackles youth unemployment

With the curtain coming down on Youth Day yesterday (16 June) youth unemployment remains a crisis in the country. However, a local youth-based organisation is on a mission to address this by providing young people with skills to prepare them for the work environment.

- KAYLYNNE BANTOM

Initiated in the Western Cape, YearBeyond is a national programme that provides unemployed youth between 18 and 25 years with meaningful work experience and a pathway to further studies or work, while encouraging a culture of community service.

YearBeyond is a Youth Service partnership between national government, the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA), donors, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

Wayde Groep, manager: Knowledge Management, Communications and Training at YearBeyond, said the organisation operates as a social franchise with over 50 partners, most of them NGOs, who provide the mentorship and support in communities for the youth, leveraging the YearBeyond Programme resources and curriculum.

Groep says the biggest challenge young people face is unemployment, limited access to education and networks, as well as the lack of guidance and support.