The Presidential Youth Employment Intervention (PYEI) is South Africa’s flagship strategy for tackling chronic youth unemployment, launched in 2020 by President Cyril Ramaphosa as a multi-sector plan built around a single goal: moving young people from learning into earning.
The intervention specifically targets youth because they remain disproportionately affected by unemployment, a gap that persists years after the initial shock that prompted PYEI’s launch.
PYEI is a multi-sector action plan working to address South Africa’s chronic youth unemployment challenge, coordinating a wide range of priority actions to boost the number of earning opportunities available to young people. It forms part of the Presidential Employment Stimulus (PES), the country’s largest public employment programme.
Programme focus
PYEI’s primary focus is coordinating, enhancing and scaling up existing programmes across government, in close partnership with the private sector, to move young people into the labour market. Its core interventions include helping young people gain work experience, linking them to available jobs, and connecting them to entrepreneurship and skills development opportunities.
The scale of the programme has grown substantially since launch. Over 5.9 million young people are now registered on the SA Youth platform, and more than 5.36 million are registered on the Employment Services of South Africa (ESSA). Since PYEI’s inception, it has facilitated access to more than 2.5 million temporary earning opportunities, with a single recent quarter alone generating over 155,000 new earning opportunities for youth.
Priority actions
PYEI’s five priority actions to accelerate youth pathways into the economy remain:
- National Pathway Management Network: Where work-seekers can view and access available learning and work opportunities, and receive a range of support services.
- Agile Workforce Development: Helping young people build the capabilities needed to take up new opportunities in growth sectors.
- Township and Rural Economy support: Enabling self-employment and enterprise, with direct enterprise support and financing provided by the Department of Small Business Development (DSBD) and its agencies.
- Workplace Experience: Delivered through the Youth Employment Service, letting students enrolled in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges access work-integrated learning to complete their qualifications and enter the workplace.
- National Youth Service: Creating opportunities for young people to contribute meaningfully to their communities while developing critical economic skills, confidence and networks.
One recent milestone worth noting: the Jobs Boost Outcomes Fund Pilot, one of the largest government-funded formal-sector employment outcomes funds globally, concluded its implementation phase having enrolled over 9,000 young people, well above its original enrolment target, and secured more than 7,000 job placements, also comfortably ahead of target.
Partners and stakeholders
Various government partners are responsible for implementing different components of PYEI, including the National Department of Employment and Labour (DEL), which runs the National Pathway Management Network, and the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA), which is responsible for the National Youth Service programme, with the Government Technical Advisory Centre (GTAC) / Jobs Fund acting as PYEI’s fund manager.
PYEI is also supported by the Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator, the Department of Higher Education and Training, and the Development Bank of South Africa, alongside a range of additional public and private partners.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Presidential Youth Employment Intervention?
A multi-sector government programme launched in 2020 to tackle chronic youth unemployment in South Africa, coordinating existing initiatives across government and the private sector to move young people from learning into earning opportunities.
How many young people has PYEI reached?
Over 5.9 million are registered on the SA Youth platform and more than 5.36 million on ESSA, with more than 2.5 million temporary earning opportunities facilitated since the programme’s inception.
How do I register for PYEI opportunities?
Register through the SA Youth platform or the Employment Services of South Africa (ESSA), both serving as entry points into PYEI’s various programmes and the National Pathway Management Network.
Does PYEI support entrepreneurship, or only formal employment?
Both. Its Township and Rural Economy component specifically supports self-employment and enterprise, with direct financing and support channelled through the Department of Small Business Development and its agencies.
Who funds and manages PYEI?
The Government Technical Advisory Centre (GTAC) / Jobs Fund manages the intervention’s funding, with implementation partners including the Department of Employment and Labour, the NYDA, Harambee, the Department of Higher Education and Training, and the Development Bank of South Africa.
Getting involved
Whether you are a young jobseeker or a small business owner exploring the Township and Rural Economy component, registering on SA Youth or ESSA is the practical starting point for accessing PYEI’s range of programmes.
Originally published in June 2022. Updated September 2026 to reflect current PYEI registration figures and programme milestones. Programme details change, confirm current figures directly on the SA Youth or ESSA platforms.
