By OBAKENG MAJE

More than 850 000 job opportunities have been created through the Presidential Youth Employment Initiative (PYEI). The Minister for Department Basic Education (DBE), Angie Motshekga said this initiative has done more than providing a chance for young people to gain meaningful work experience.

Many Teaching and General Assistants across the country bid farewell after the PYEI concluded on 31 August 2022.

“The initiative was designed to assist young people’s livelihoods and acts as a means of addressing South Africa’s high rates of youth unemployment. The youth had numerous opportunities to gain more skills through training opportunities offered by partners such as the 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,” she said.

Motshekga further said the end of Phase III of the PYEI-BEEI does not mark the end of the road for the youth. She added that the initiative has created a platform for many to chart a path towards better prospects 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,” said Motshekga.

She added: “The youth can also access scholarship and bursary opportunities that are made available through the eCubed WhatsApp Bot. The youth and their employers have made contributions to the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) throughout their tenure as School Assistants in the PYEE-BEEI.

“The UIF is an essential safety net to which employees and employers contribute, and from which employees who become unemployed are entitled to benefits, and in so doing, alleviate the harmful economic and social effects of unemployment.”

Motshekga said applications for unemployment benefits must be made in the prescribed form at an employment office. She said the application must be made within six months of the termination of the contract of employment.

“The UIF payment can only be claimed if a person was previously employed but is currently unemployed. The department thanked all the youth that participated in the PYEI-BEEI for availing their services to schools.

“The department further wishes everyone who was part of PYEI success with their future endeavours. 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,” said Motshekga.

She said 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.

Motshekga said 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,” she said.

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