The Youth Employment Service, launched by President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2018, has grown into South Africa’s largest privately funded youth employment initiative, creating over 227,000 twelve-month work opportunities and investing more than R13.6 billion in youth salaries to date.
How the YES programme actually works
Businesses create paid twelve-month positions for unemployed youth aged 18 to 34, currently at a minimum stipend of R5,241 a month for a standard 40-hour week. In return, participating businesses can climb up to two levels on their B-BBEE scorecard, a genuinely significant incentive for accessing bigger tenders and corporate contracts.
Where implementation gets difficult for SMEs
Many businesses understand the concept but struggle with practical implementation, calculating the correct headcount for B-BBEE recognition, and managing youth placements on an ongoing monthly basis. Businesses that cannot host youth internally also face the challenge of finding a suitable SME partner to place them with instead.
Intermediary partnerships fill that gap
Partnerships between business incubators and youth job-placement agencies exist specifically to help corporates navigate YES from calculating target headcount through to monthly reporting and payroll management, letting a company benefit without the internal resourcing burden of running it all themselves.
The real benefits for a participating business
Beyond the B-BBEE uplift, YES lets a business assess a young person’s suitability for a permanent role over twelve months with no long-term commitment upfront, while genuinely contributing to reducing youth unemployment and growing the tax base.
How an SME can get involved
Register on the YES platform and register employed youth and their status monthly. YES functions as an additive programme, meaning a business must maintain a minimum B-BBEE level to actually benefit from participating.
Frequently asked questions
How much does the YES programme require businesses to pay youth placements?
A minimum monthly stipend, currently R5,241 for a standard 40-hour week, with the exact figure reviewed periodically.
Can hosting a YES placement lead to permanent employment?
Yes. Businesses can assess a young person’s fit over the twelve-month placement and choose to offer permanent employment afterward, with no obligation to do so.
What is the biggest practical challenge businesses face implementing YES?
Managing the monthly administrative and reporting requirements, and finding a suitable SME partner to host youth the business cannot absorb internally, both of which intermediary partnerships are designed to solve.
A B-BBEE incentive that also builds real skills
YES gives SMEs a genuine, low-risk way to build both their B-BBEE standing and a pipeline of tested, trained young talent, provided the implementation details are managed properly.
Further reading: Social Entrepreneurship in South Africa | Department of Trade, Industry and Competition for official B-BBEE codes of good practice
Originally published in March 2019. Updated September 2026 to reflect the YES programme’s current stipend and its growth to 227,000+ placements. The underlying process for businesses remains the same.
