CAPE TOWN - South Africa’s president Cyril Ramaphosa has welcomed the commitment of the private sector to work with government under the guidance of the soon-to-be-launched youth employment service (YES) to empower one million young people over the next three years to become economically active.
Ramaphosa and deputy President David Mabuza led a government delegation to a meeting on Friday with business leaders in Sandton, Johannesburg.
The meeting brought together chief executives and other senior leadership from a broad range of leading corporations, state-owned enterprises and employment and skills development initiatives.
The meeting was a preparatory session for the launch later this month of the YES. The Cabinet meeting of Wednesday agreed that Ramaphosa would launch the pilot of the youth employment service initiative at the Riversands Incubation Hub in Diepsloot on March 27.
Addressing YES partners, Ramaphosa thanked Stephen Koseff of Investec Bank and Colin Coleman of Goldman Sachs for leading the business community in opening the doors of opportunity for young South Africans.