Bidding farewell to the youth that were placed in schools for the presidential youth employment initiative in the basic education sector

Phase III of the Presidential Youth Employment Initiative (PYEI) implemented in the Basic Education Sector as the Basic Education Employment Initiative (BEEI) concluded on 31 August 2022.

At the end of Phase III, more than 850 000 job opportunities have been created through this initiative.

The initiative has done more than providing a chance for the young people to gain meaningful work experience. The youth had numerous opportunities to gain more skills through training opportunities offered by partners such as University of Johannesburg (UJ), NEMISA, Digify Africa and 2Enable.

Schools across the country have enjoyed hosting a group of enthusiastic and dedicated young South Africans, whose contribution to teaching and learning have been immense.

In the main all provinces have paid stipends for August 2022, however there are a few cases of outstanding stipends, which Provincial Education Departments (PEDs) are working tirelessly to resolve. Where the unpaid stipends are identified, the delays are due to the finalization of the validation and verification (V&V) processes to ensure that there is no under or over allocation of funds to schools. Through the V&V process, the PEDs are working with districts to verify the funds previously sent to schools against the reported number of stipends.

Schools are required to provide certain documents to provide assurance to the PEDs that all funds transferred to schools for the payment of stipends are in line with the number of youth appointed.

The end of Phase III of the PYEI-BEEI does not mark the end of the road for the youth. The initiative has created a platform for many to chart a path towards better prospect in the labour market. The skills and experiences gained will impact positively on future career prospects of the youth.

The Department wants to encourage all youth to take advantage of the many opportunities that are available on the SAYouth.mobi platform. Through this platform, youth can access earning, learning and entrepreneurial opportunities that are provided by private partners.

The youth can also access other beneficial information such as CV writing and interview tips on the eCubed WhatsApp called Teacher Connect, through this number; 060 060 3333

Source: Government of South Africa