Every June, South Africa reflects on the courage and sacrifice of the young people who helped shape our country’s history.
Youth Month is an opportunity to remember the past, but it is also an opportunity to consider the future.
Today, one of the greatest challenges facing South Africa’s youth is economic participation.
According to Statistics South Africa’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey for Q1 2026, youth unemployment remains among the highest in the country, with many young people struggling to gain the work experience needed to enter the job market. For thousands of school leavers and graduates, the gap between education and employment remains significant.
For businesses, this presents both a challenge and an opportunity.
The Challenge
Many organisations are experiencing skills shortages, succession planning concerns and increasing pressure to attract and retain talent. At the same time, young people are looking for opportunities to develop practical skills, gain workplace experience and build sustainable careers.
These realities are closely connected.
Without structured pathways into employment, young people remain excluded from meaningful economic participation. Without a pipeline of skilled talent, businesses may struggle to meet future workforce needs.
The Opportunity
This is where meaningful transformation can make a difference.
Through initiatives such as skills development, learnerships, internships, bursaries and workplace exposure programmes, businesses have the ability to create opportunities that extend far beyond compliance requirements.
A learnership can become a career.
An internship can become a permanent position.
A mentorship relationship can help a young person navigate opportunities that may otherwise feel out of reach.
The impact often reaches much further than the individual. Families, communities and future generations benefit when young people are given access to meaningful opportunities.
The Role of B-BBEE
One of the most practical ways businesses can contribute is through the Skills Development element of the B-BBEE scorecard.
When approached strategically, Skills Development allows organisations to invest in their future workforce while contributing to transformation objectives. It encourages businesses to develop talent, create workplace exposure opportunities and support long-term employability.
Importantly, the value extends beyond scorecard points.
Businesses that invest in people are investing in capability, productivity and sustainability.
A Shared Responsibility
Youth development is not the responsibility of government alone.
It requires collaboration between the public and private sectors, educational institutions and employers.
Every business has an opportunity to play a role, whether through formal programmes, mentorship initiatives, bursaries, internships or workplace training.
Transformation is most effective when it creates genuine pathways into the economy.
This Youth Month, we encourage businesses to consider not only what is required for compliance, but also what is possible through intentional investment in South Africa’s young people.
The future workforce is already here.
The decisions we make today will help determine the opportunities available to them tomorrow.