By Johnathan Paoli
South Africa has marked a milestone in its battle against youth unemployment as over 200,000 young people begin work at more than 20,000 schools nationwide under Phase V of the Basic Education Employment Initiative (BEEI).
It is the country’s largest youth employment programme to date.
President Cyril Ramaphosa, in his weekly letter on Monday, celebrated this effort as a beacon of hope in addressing the country’s problem of mass youth unemployment.
He described the day as a “first day of school” for these young adults, not as learners, but as contributors to the nation’s education system.
“These young people will leave the school environment having shown up, contributed and made a difference. They will have worked in high-pressure environments with limited resources and will understand deadlines and responsibility. These young people are showing us what they are capable of. It is up to all of us in society to give them the opportunities they need to thrive,” Ramaphosa said.
Launched as part of the Presidential Employment Stimulus, this phase represents a renewed commitment to uplifting communities and supporting basic education through job creation.
Following a one-year pause, the initiative has returned with vigour, targeting unemployed youth aged 18–34 and offering them meaningful roles in schools as education and general assistants.
The programme is implemented by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) in collaboration with provincial education departments and the Employment and Labour Department. It receives funding through the Unemployment Insurance Fund’s Labour Activation Programme and National Treasury.
The first four phases created over 1.1 million job opportunities between 2020 and 2023.
With over 204,000 job opportunities created across all nine provinces, the BEEI not only addresses youth unemployment but strengthens the education sector by easing the administrative and academic burden on teachers.
Participants will receive monthly stipends of R4000 plus a R30 data allowance for the six-month contract, which ends in November 2025.
The programme focuses on equipping participants with both soft and technical skills relevant to the world of work. These include time and task management, communication, ICT, administration, teamwork and professionalism.
Participants also receive structured training and orientation to prepare them for inclusive education environments, particularly in supporting learners with disabilities.
Youth employed under BEEI Phase V are placed into two main categories.
Education assistants, which include curriculum assistants, will support classroom activities and help teachers prepare lessons, especially in maths, science and technology.
“Reading champions” will promote literacy and reading culture, ICT or “e-Cadres” will facilitate the integration of digital tools in teaching, lab and workshop assistants to help with technical subjects, and care and support assistants will provide basic psychosocial support to vulnerable learners.
Secondly, general school assistants, including handypersons, will carry out essential maintenance such as repairs and gardening, and sports and enrichment assistants will help with arts, culture and physical education programmes to energise school communities.
All roles are designed to offer valuable work experience while directly enhancing learning environments for pupils.
The initiative is guided by principles of equity and local inclusion, with schools encouraged to hire youth from their immediate communities to reduce transport costs and increase local participation.
Special attention was given to young people with disabilities and had to be a gender balance in the recruitment.
The popularity of the initiative remains overwhelming.
By 23 April, more than 1.1 million applications were submitted through the SAYouth.mobi platform.
Applicants could apply for multiple roles, resulting in approximately 25 applications per post on average.
Shortlisting and interviews took place between 19 and 31 May, with candidates who were not contacted by 1 June advised to consider their applications unsuccessful.
KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng lead with the highest number of placements, receiving 45,658 and 36,186 posts respectively.
Eastern Cape and Limpopo followed with 28,709 and 27,366 each.
Western Cape was allocated 19,329 posts, Mpumalanga 17,495, North West 13,687, and Free State 11,408.
The Northern Cape has the smallest allocation with just under 5000 posts.
The department is working with the Industrial Development Corporation to manage stipends and coordinate exit pathways that include further education, employment placement and entrepreneurship.
Participants will be supported through targeted training, mentorship and partnerships with NGOs and skills development organisations.
While this milestone is a cause for celebration, Ramaphosa acknowledged that much work remains and that youth unemployment in South Africa was a structural crisis.
According to Stats SA, the unemployment rate between people aged between 15 to 34 is 45.5%.
Initiatives like BEEI are part of a broader response to address systemic inequalities and build a more inclusive economy.
The Congress of SATrade Unions (Cosatu) welcomed the return of the programme, hailing it as a significant step in tackling the country’s high unemployment rates, particularly among youth.
Parliamentary coordinator Matthew Parks praised the initiative for linking wages to the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and offering participants valuable skills, training and experience that could lead to permanent employment.
“This has been a welcome shift from other public employment programmes which have paid far below the NMW, provided little if any skills development or training, and often served merely as a source of cheap labour for what should be permanent work,” Parks said.
Cosatu criticised previous budget cuts that saw the programme’s funding slashed from R35 billion to R3.5 billion in 2024.
The current allocation of R31 billion from the fiscus and the UIF is seen as a positive reversal.
The DBE has vowed to ensure that these job opportunities translate into long-term benefits for South Africa’s youth and for its education system as a whole.
INSIDE EDUCATION
