Deputy Speaker, the Young Communist League, YCL, of South Africa convened the National Jobs for Youth Summit from 20 to 21 May 2010, in Johannesburg. It was attended by more than 84 youth formations from religious, political, economic and civil society represented by more than 250 delegates.
The need for this summit stemmed from the high rate of unemployment amongst young people. According to Statistics SA, more than 3,1 million young people are either unemployed or not in formal education or skills development institutions. The summit agreed to launch a national jobs for youth coalition whose mandate is to formulate and advance a youth employment charter to be launched in June 2010.
The summit also strongly felt that education, skills development, entrepreneurial development and a strong focus on local manufacturing should be placed at the centre of employment creation for our youth.
The National Jobs for Youth Summit will be an annual summit with a mandate to access progress made by the youth of our country in their support for or their initiatives related to youth employment.
The summit welcomed the commitment made by Cabinet in dealing with youth unemployment as a priority for the current administration. Further, it felt that it would pave the way for interaction and engagement with Cabinet and the ANC-led government in endeavours aimed at assisting our unemployed youth. Thank you. [Applause.]