Penreach Says Yes To Youth Empowerment

Aimed at giving young people an opportunity to gain work experience, YES is a collaboration between government, labour and the private sector. It is aimed at unemployed black South Africans aged 18 to 35 and gives them an entry point into a market which often demands experience as a prerequisite for a career.

Under the programme, businesses create one-year paid positions, and commit to provide a quality work experience to candidates, with a monthly stipend. Companies unable to provide direct employment, can still invest in youth jobs outside their own infrastructure through an innovative Implementation Partner model.

This year, in collaboration with WILDTRUST and Nedbank, Penreach recruited and trained 100 candidates, allocating them into different Early Childhood Development Centres across Ehlanzeni District. The training received included practical office skills, personal and social development, and hands-on basic training on early childhood development.

YES youth spends time at the centres to learn about early childhood development and to gain experience in managing a small business. It adds great value to the Penreach ECD programme, which has 130 centres where practitioner training and management development takes place.