The CEO of South African Graduates Development Association (SAGDA),
The CEO of Education, Training and Development Practices Sector Education and Training Authority (ETDPSeta),
The CEO of Manufacturing, Engineering and Related services Sector Education and Training Authority (MERSETA),
Senior and Executive Management of NYDA and all our partners
All our Esteemed Guests

Government Officials

Ladies and gentlemen of the media

We are excited as the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) to have initiated a partnership with SAGDA and today are seeing the first fruits of such a partnership. NYDA started talks of collaboration with SAGDA on issues of commonality related to youth which included research as early as 2011. In 2012 we officially became partners and started the process of conducting this study which culminates today with the Launch of the Internship Baseline Study.

The NYDA is a state institution which has as its Executive Authority, the President of the Republic of South Africa who has tasked the Honourable Minister Chabane to assume his responsibility over the agency. The NNYDA as it is popularly known is a schedule 3A public entity in the national sphere of government and is thus bound by the legislative requirements of the PFMA like any other public institution. We are mainly responsible for integration and mainstreaming of youth development and this is explicitly stated in our Strategy. Our mission is two pronged,

1. To mainstream youth issues into society and;
2. To facilitate youth development with all sectors of society.

So as we entered into a partnership with SAGDA, we were fully awake and aware of our intention. We intend to work smartly for youth development to happen and this means that we will endeavour to work with and through other institutions like state organs, the private sector and civil society. It is in fact our legislated mandate that we do so. As the agency we do implement a limited range of programmes geared towards

1. Economic development including support for entrepreneurship in all its forms and job creation;
2. Education, training and skills development as well as National Youth Service (NYS).

Our goal as NYDA, working with all willing partners in South Africa is to fast track meaningful youth development which is relevant to our context as the country and our youth. We do hope and we know for sure that a major contribution to dealing with youth challenges will not solely come from NYDA especially in the realm of the most pressing areas such as economic participation (entrepreneurship, mass SMME development and mass job creation). It is for this particular reason that we are excited by this partnership with SAGDA and many other state institutions that came on board. The study speaks to that which we hold dear as NYDA, excellence and informed strategic decision on key interventions that will improve lives of youth and in this case it will be through the implementation of efficient, effective and life-changing internships for our youth.

High on the agenda of the ANC led government of South Africa is a youth unemployment agenda which as the NYDA we completely agree with and support fully. In South Africa it is well documented that unemployment is rife but it helps no one to just talk about it, more drastic measures need to be taken. Government has done enough and I will not dwell on that success over the 20 years of democracy since 1994 save to say that indeed a great deal more still needs to happen. Our government has tangibly invested and committed to advancing youth and ensure they lead sustainable livelihoods but a lot more still needs to be done by private and civic sector society.

I think, minimal as it would seem, collaboration of the kind that we are celebrating here today, between a government institution (NYDA and others) and a privately run public institution such as SAGDA demonstrates that, its only through the support of private sector and civic society that our government will be able to successfully meet the needs of youth development in this country. So as we celebrate 20 years of freedom, as private sector and civic society, united around the goal our government has set, let’s forge as many partnerships as we can and help our youth lead meaningful and productive lives.

There is a multiplicity of factors ladies and gentlemen that contribute to high youth unemployment in this country. According to research, in addition to structural factors, one of the key factors contributing to youth unemployment is lack of work exposure and experience by young people. It has also been shown that formal education does not necessarily equip young people with practical competencies that could be used in the labour market. This is precisely the reason that government and social partners in April last year formed a pact and they called it Youth Employment Accord. In this accord it is re-emphasised that internships and other related interventions will make a huge difference in introducing youth to labour market.

It is precisely for this reason that SAGDA and NYDA in 2011, as part of the partnership agreed to investigate this sector and provide some recommendations on how internships can be improved such that they are meaningful to youth and the economy. Various studies (including Knemeyer and Murphy (2002); Taylor (1988) have demonstrated a positive correlation between successfully implemented internship and employability prospects. Whilst unemployment statistics show that unemployment is significantly lower amongst those who have higher education qualifications, graduates unemployment is also on the increase. Ladies and gentlemen, even though there are no official statistics on graduates unemployment, estimates indicate that it is high (estimated between 300 000 and 600 000). Amongst interventions proposed to deal with graduates unemployment is work exposure and thus internships become an area of interest for those interested in finding sustainable solutions for increasing employment like the NYDA.

Work exposure is one of the key areas that our government and social partners agreed through the Youth Employment Accord will encourage youth participation in the economy through employment. Amongst the many interventions proposed by the accord, a commitment that state departments should all have an internship programme which are equivalent to 5% of their total work force was made. In order to ensure effective work exposure of young people, it is also important that appropriate research is conducted so that these interventions are informed by evidence and implemented with best intelligence available.

This internship baseline study, is one of the many studies that the NYDA has conducted to ensure that its interventions and those of its partners in youth development are evidence-based. Whilst the scope of the internship baseline study is not national (it covers three organisation, namely NYDA, ETDPSeta and Merseta, it does succinctly provide important insights into the issues that affect young people who participate in work exposure programmes via internships. The issues that the study highlights include amongst others:

• Interns not being provided with adequate opportunities to learn – this happens because some interns mainly do general administrative work as opposed to work that will enhance their skills and future employability prospects. However, it is encouraging that 69.5 % of those who participated in the study felt more than 50% of their work activities were aligned with their qualifications.
• Whilst 64% of interns who participated in the study reported that they were provided with job descriptions, the job descriptions were not always implemented as envisaged. This could interfere with a structured and systematic way of participating in the internship programmes which is desirable.
• Discrimination of interns by permanent employees – the study indicates that in some cases permanent employees were not supportive to interns as they felt threated by the interns.
• Not much is done in internship programmes to expose interns to entrepreneurial opportunities (only about 31% of those who participated in the study indicated that they were exposed to some form of entrepreneurship training or opportunities. Entrepreneurship has a great potential to increase youth economic participation and therefore the NYDA believes that entrepreneurship should be factored into internship programmes so that interns also have a choice of self-employment upon completion of the internship. However, it is acknowledged that factoring entrepreneurship will not be easy given that internships are mainly work experience programmes and this is how employers view them.
• The absorption rate into the labour market of those who have undergone internship was low (42% of those who completed internship programmes were still unemployed). This is worrisome and as South Africans we need to interrogate the reasons for low absorption rates further.
• The internship provided the interns with an opportunity to decide what sort of work fields and types of work they really were interested in pursuing. It provides interns with an opportunity to know their strengths, weaknesses and their interests. This is important in that people are likely to be more productive when they do what they want to do. This is also important in the light of limited career guidance programmes in South Africa
• The duration of internship was found to be short in most cases – in general internships last for twelve months though there are a few exceptions. Most of the respondents in the study found twelve months to be inadequate. The study therefore recommends that the internship duration be increased to twenty four months – as the NYDA we support this recommendation
• Trained and passionate mentors are important for the success of an internship programme. The implication of this finding in the study is that assigning mentors for interns should not be arbitrary but a well thought through decision and a systematic process.
• Low stipends – there is a potential for exploitation where there is no framework to guide the offering of stipends.

For the NYDA the study signifies the importance of research in youth development or any other area of development for that matter. Spending time and investing resources to understand a developmental challenge is a good investment in the long-run. It helps to tailor appropriate solutions rather than to go on a wild goose chase. The current study sets a base from which a more comprehensive study could be conducted. In this regard, we appeal and invite public, private and civic sector to partner with NYDA and SAGDA in conducting another study. The issues that emerged in this study will inform the conceptualisation and design of a national study on this issue. The current study has confirmed that very little research work has been done in this area.

However, it should be acknowledged that internships is one component of a broader intervention to deal with youth unemployment. The NYDA together with others are working on a long term Youth Employment Strategy which will span 40 years starting in 2015 till 2055. There are indications that a more comprehensive and holistic approach to youth unemployment is required and this will be in line with other development policies and plans of our government but have a special focus on youth. Also geared towards excellence and targeting efforts of research and development towards youth issues in South Africa, the NYDA at an appropriate time this year will divulge a University partner and announce the South African Youth Development Institute.

We are also excited about this development, planning and partnership is at an advanced stage but for now we cannot divulge who our partner is and when our Board and Executive Authority (President) will announce the institute. It is also important to emphasise that it is important that the study is used as a resource rather than as document that will be forgotten as soon as we walk out of here. It should also spark debates that will enrich conversation on youth participation in the labour market. We often forget the value-adding contribution of a multiplicity of views and insights in our pursuit of youth development and development in general.

In conclusion, the NYDA would like to thank SAGDA, ETDPSeta and Merseta for making this study possible. This is a great example of NYDA working in partnership to achieve youth development, this is our intention indeed.

We also want to thank the research team at NYDA and the SAGDA team led by Dr Koyana.

Thanks you!!!!