Ramaphosa urges employers to hire youth for potential, not experience

Appeal to business at Soweto ’76 commemoration

Speaking at the 50th anniversary commemoration of the Soweto ’76 uprising in Johannesburg, Ramaphosa addressed business owners, managers and others with hiring power, saying:

“I say to you: ‘Government will not ask you to carry that risk alone.’”

Why the push for youth hiring

Ramaphosa highlighted the scale of youth unemployment and the human stories behind the numbers, saying:

“Behind every statistic is a young person who wants to work, contribute, and build a future”.

He described specific challenges facing young people:

“It is the graduates who send out dozens of applications but receive no response, the young entrepreneurs who have ideas but have no access to capital, and the skilled artisans who cannot find an opportunity to demonstrate their talents,”

and warned that the situation could not be accepted as normal:

“We cannot accept this as normal. Young people are among the most affected by violent crime and theft. These are some of the greatest threats to our country’s prosperity and social stability.”

How government plans to help

The president said government would use the Employment Tax Incentive (ETI) a programme that allows eligible employers to deduct specified amounts from payroll taxes to reduce the cost of hiring and training workers to help provide first jobs to young people.

He also outlined government initiatives aimed at expanding opportunities for youth, saying the state was expanding public employment, youth service and workplace experience. The government has registered more than 5.7 million young people on the SA Youth.mobi platform, and of these more than two million have gained access to earning opportunities.

Ramaphosa noted that the Presidential Employment Stimulus has created work and livelihood opportunities for more than 2.5 million unemployed South Africans, and that 82% of beneficiaries are young people while 66% are women.

Skills, training and the productive economy

On skills development, Ramaphosa said government was strengthening technical and vocational education and training (TVET) colleges and linking colleges, employers and Sector Education and Training Authorities to local economic needs. He emphasised practical learning, stating:

“Skills are not formed in classrooms alone. They are formed in workplaces, industries, communities and enterprises.”

He added:

“Third, we are opening the productive economy to young people.”

Infrastructure investment and targeted sectors

Ramaphosa repeated the commitment from his State of the Nation Address that the state will invest R1 trillion over the next three years in infrastructure. He said that this investment could create apprenticeships, artisan development, skills transfer and enterprise development for young people.

The president named sectors being deliberately targeted as part of a growth strategy to create jobs: manufacturing, mining beneficiation, digital infrastructure, agriculture, green industrialisation, energy, logistics, critical minerals, tourism and the creative economy. He said:

“Young people must be an integral part of these industries. They must be trained for these industries, work in them, build businesses in them and own a part of them.”

Employment Tax Incentive explained

The article described the ETI as a government programme designed to reduce the cost of hiring and training workers by allowing eligible employers to deduct specific amounts from their monthly payroll taxes. The tax concession is aimed at easing the employment burden on businesses and primarily targets inexperienced or young job seekers to stimulate job creation.

Ramaphosa also linked the broader challenges facing young people to structural issues, noting inequality, slow economic growth and weaknesses in service delivery as root causes of frustration, and saying practical solutions were required rather than scapegoating vulnerable people.