Nearly 140,000 earning opportunities were secured by young South Africans in the first three months of the 2026/27 financial year through the Presidential Youth Employment Intervention (PYEI), as government continues efforts to tackle the country’s persistent youth unemployment crisis.

Deputy Minister in the Presidency Nonceba Mhlauli said on Wednesday that 139,693 earning opportunities were secured between April and June through the National Pathway Management Network.

Of these, 106,093 were secured through SA Youth, while a further 33,600 earning and learning opportunities were recorded through the Employment Services of South Africa (ESSA).

Government stresses opportunities are not permanent jobs

Mhlauli, speaking at the release of the PYEI first-quarter progress report, stressed that the programme's figures should not be interpreted as the number of permanent jobs created.

“When we report that more than 2.6 million temporary earning opportunities have been accessed since the inception of the PYEI, we are not claiming that 2.6 million permanent jobs have been created,” she said.

“We are reporting opportunities through which young people have been supported to participate economically, gain experience and move along a pathway towards sustainable earning.”

Government defines “earning opportunities” broadly to include work-based placements, work-integrated learning and paid-service opportunities.

Mhlauli acknowledged that such interventions were not enough on their own to solve the unemployment crisis.

SA Youth registrations pass six million

The report shows that more than six million young people have now registered on the SA Youth platform.

Since the PYEI was launched in 2020, more than 2.6 million earning opportunities have been secured through SA Youth, with young women accounting for close to 70% of opportunities accessed.

Meanwhile, close to 5.7 million young people were registered on ESSA by the end of June. The system has recorded 386,733 opportunities since the intervention began.

More than 5,200 placed in workplace experience

The Youth Employment Service (YES) placed another 5,244 young people in workplace experience opportunities during the first quarter.

Since the PYEI's inception, 233,393 workplace experience opportunities have been delivered, with 72% provided through YES and 28% through the Department of Higher Education and Training's Sector Education and Training Authorities.

“Workplace experience is important because qualifications alone do not always provide young people with the practical experience required to enter the labour market,” Mhlauli said.

100,000 targeted in National Youth Service phase

Government is also recruiting 100,000 young people in the fifth phase of the Revitalised National Youth Service, described as the programme's largest phase to date.

A further 2,866 young people were recruited during the quarter.

Since its inception, the National Youth Service has provided 140,922 paid service opportunities across five phases, with young women accounting for 68% of them.

The National Youth Development Agency also provided 5,214 enterprise support opportunities during the quarter, comprising 4,795 non-financial and 419 financial opportunities. Enterprise support across the PYEI ecosystem has reached 277,349 opportunities since inception.

R95 million committed to youth employment innovation

Government has committed R95 million to the fourth call for proposals under the National Pathway Management Network Innovation Fund.

The funding is aimed at strengthening economic opportunities in rural and marginalised communities, supporting sustainable earning and expanding economic participation for young people living with disabilities.

As of June 30, the fund's portfolio had facilitated access to more than 32,000 earning opportunities and registered more than 52,000 unemployed young people.

Focus shifts to whether opportunities lead to sustainable income

While the PYEI has exceeded its targets of engaging five million young people in the National Pathway Management Network and providing 1.5 million temporary earning opportunities, government has yet to determine whether it has met its target of moving 500,000 young people into sustainable earning opportunities.

Mhlauli said evaluations and tracing studies were underway to determine what happens to participants after they leave programmes.

“The impact of the PYEI cannot be assessed only by the number of young people who access an opportunity,” she said.

“We must also understand what happens afterwards: whether young people move into further opportunities, secure sustainable income, progress into employment or enterprise, and whether the pathways we are creating are helping young people build livelihoods.”

Mhlauli said government would spend the remainder of the financial year scaling initiatives that were showing progress while focusing more heavily on the quality and sustainability of opportunities available to young people.

“The PYEI cannot address youth unemployment alone,” she said.

“The scale and complexity of the challenge requires continued co-operation between Government, business, civil society, educational institutions, and other partners.”