Madam House Chair, I would like them to listen to this following data: Currently there are 330 000 people under the age of 30 without jobs in the Western Cape. That is high. In 2009, there were 289 000 people. In other words, 41 000 young people joined the ranks of the unemployed under DA rule. [Interjections.] But that is not all. In the past 12 months, notwithstanding the launch of a youth wage subsidy by the Western Cape, the situation deteriorated sharply. Listen to the facts: Youth unemployment in Gauteng dropped during that period by 100 000 persons. [Applause.] In the Eastern Cape, it fell by 34 000; in KwaZulu- Natal by 28 000. [Interjections.] In contrast, in the Western Cape, youth unemployment actually went up by 45 000 people over the past 12 months according to the Statistics SA data. [Interjections.]
That is not to say there is no place for subsidies for work seekers or work creators aimed at bringing young people into jobs. However, in contrast to the DA, government is working on an inclusive multi-pronged strategy suited to the scale of the challenge we face. Our approach is inclusive.
In June this year, 185 governments assembled with the world's major business and trade union representatives to discuss youth unemployment. Their call for action says young people's voices should be heard, their creativity engaged and their rights respected in dealing with the youth employment crisis. Youth organisations have rightly said, "No solutions for us without us."
We need to forge a consensus on how to address youth unemployment, instead of a "kragdadige" [heavy-handed] approach to push through a single measure in the face of opposition from youth organisations and trade unions. We have now ramped up social dialogue on youth employment. I understand hon members are very uncomfortable with the figures that I have given, but the facts speak loudly. [Interjections.]
From June this year, we have elevated the discussions to leadership level, called in the leaders of Business Leadership SA, the Black Business Council and Business Unity SA, Busa, the representatives of women, disabled persons, civic organisations and, above all, youth representatives drawn from the SA Youth Council, as well as leaders of the Congress of South African Trade Unions, Cosatu, the Federation of Unions of South Africa, Fedusa, and the National Council of Trade Unions, Nactu. [Interjections.]
The parties have agreed on the importance of a compact on youth employment and identified core principles and programmes. They include current and potential private sector initiatives on skills, internships, work readiness programmes and on bridging measures to draw young people into employment on scale. They recognise the value of a public sector programme on youth brigades and public and community works programmes. Again, no single mechanism can address the challenge of youth unemployment.
As the ILO says, we require "an integrated approach that combines macroeconomic policies and targeted measures which address labour demand and supply, as well as the quantity and quality of employment". This is particularly true in South Africa, where we face both a demographic bulge and extraordinary levels of joblessness and exclusion that we inherited. That is why we argued for a new growth path and why Cabinet adopted a the New Growth Path, but structural change takes time. For that reason, we are looking to short- and long-term measures and a package that is proportionate to the scale of the problem.
Hon members, we are taking action as government. [Interjections.] We have set targets for youth employment that have a real effect on youth joblessness. The Expanded Public Works Programme currently has about 800 000 participants. Moreover, Cabinet has decided on substantially growing the Community Works Programme tenfold to a million participants by 2015.
Youth brigades let young people serve their communities and work together. We are talking to our social partners and our youth organisations about setting up health, education, rural and green brigades, amongst others. The howling is not going to change the fact that you have failed in the Western Cape, that your youth unemployment has risen under DA rule. In the past 12 months, it has actually dropped nationally by 105 000. [Interjections.]
The National Skills Accord lays the basis for expanding apprenticeships and internships. The Public Service is committed to 60 000 new internships, about seven times as many as there are today. The private sector and state- owned enterprises, also set themselves stretched targets.
Finally, we are exploring work seeker and work creator subsidies with stakeholders. For the longer run, the New Growth Path identifies key job drivers in the economy, with the National Infrastructure Plan and the Industrial Policy Action Plan as key levers to support them. Where job drivers benefit from government support, we will set targets for new entrants, for instance, in the green economy and in infrastructure, in business process services and in digital migration in broadcasting. We have tabled a proposal for a youth employment committee under the National Economic Development and Labour Council, Nedlac, to consider specific proposals to boost employment for young workers. By building in collaboration, it would avoid unnecessary conflict as well as exploitative programmes. In addition, where young people want to start their own businesses, government will help them. Government is establishing specific programmes for youth entrepreneurs and co-operations, including a role in installing solar water heaters. [Interjections.]
Hon members, education counts. Today, under 10% of young people with tertiary degrees are unemployed, compared to 35% of those with matric and 40% of those who never went to secondary school. The skills and education accords capture strong commitments by the social partners. We will also accelerate work on the Second Chance project for matric. Moreover, the Green Paper on post-secondary education and training foresees a tenfold expansion in Further Education and Training, FET, to about 4 million by 2030, while higher education doubles to 1,5 million. We are working with social partners to improve the transition from school to work, including through expanded counselling and support for job searchers.
Hon members, we cannot address joblessness on the scale left by apartheid through tax incentives alone, but they can play an important role, nor can we help young people through measures that displace older workers. Such an approach will deepen social divisions and poverty. [Interjections.] It has also failed the youth of the Western Cape. Ultimately, we need collective action and solidarity to bring about systemic changes so that the economy can provide opportunities for all. That is the path foreseen in the Freedom Charter; that is the aim of the New Growth Path, the National Infrastructure Plan and the National Development Plan. That is why we need a multipronged strategy to deal with youth unemployment. That is why we say we cannot go the route that has been tried in the Western Cape and that has failed in the Western Cape. Thank you very much. [Applause.]