A Reflection on Our 2025 Industry Report
We’ve just published the youth@WORK 2025 Industry Report and I’ve found myself sitting with one thought more than anything else:
We’ve been looking at youth unemployment the wrong way.
For a long time, the response has been to build programmes. And to be clear, those programmes matter. They’ve created access, opened doors and changed individual lives. But when you step back and look at the scale of the youth unemployment challenge and the data in our report, it becomes clear that programmes alone are not enough. South Africa does not have a youth aspiration problem.
At some point, the question shifts from “What can we do?” to “Developing a dual-sided model that addresses both youth unemployment and adds targeted youth capacity to small businesses to unlock growth”.
Where employment really comes from
There’s a key insight in the report that I think deserves more attention and that’s the role of small businesses. We often talk about employment as if it will be solved at the level of large corporates. But the data tells a different story.
Our network of small businesses has grown from 284 to 977 over the reporting period.
That growth says it clearly:
“Small businesses want to grow. They need people – aspiring youth who are keen to learn.”
But hiring comes with risk – compliance, cost, uncertainty. When you reduce that friction, something shifts. They participate. And when they participate, employment starts to move.
Youth resources as a catalyst for small business growth
One of the things that stood out most to me in this year’s report is how the conversation changes when you move from isolated activity to a deliberate focus on placing youth resources in small businesses.
Between 2019 and 2025, we’ve facilitated over 14,000 youth placements, with 3,812 young people actively working in 2025.
On the surface, that looks like growth. But what it really represents is something more important: consistency and repeatability. A model that is starting to hold its shape.
“This is no longer about placing youth. It is about building a way for youth resources to be the catalyst in the growth of small businesses – again and again, at scale.”
That distinction has reshaped how we think about our role.
The impact of a first payslip
There’s a section in the report on wages that doesn’t feel like just data, but rather like the real story sitting underneath everything else.
Since 2019, youth@WORK has facilitated over R773 million in earnings flowing directly to young people. Now, during 2026 we are on track to reach 1 billion rands. When you read that in a report, it’s easy to move past it as just another number. But when you pause on it, it lands differently.
That’s R773 million going into households – into transport, groceries and school fees.
And often, into families where that income didn’t exist before.
“The first payslip for a previously unemployed youth does more than pay. It changes how someone sees their place in the economy.”
That shift, from outside the system to inside it, is where the real impact begins.
From jobs to economic relevance
The report also shows how the nature of work itself is changing.
In 2019, almost all placements were in education. Today, that has shifted significantly, with strong growth in sectors such as ICT, automotive, manufacturing and services.
It reflects a conscious effort to align with where the economy is going, not just where it has been. We’re creating access to relevant work.
What comes next is not a leap
Looking ahead, the report forecasts approximately 4,500 active youth in 2026.
It’s an ambitious number, but what gives me confidence is what sits behind it. The systems are stronger, the partnerships are deeper and the model has already been tested at scale. When you look at it this way, it doesn’t feel like a leap into the unknown, but rather a natural continuation of something that is already working.
Youth employment at scale will not be solved by isolated interventions. It will be solved by building employment infrastructure that the economy can repeatedly absorb, trust and grow through.
Read the full youth@WORK 2025 Industry Report here.
