The Department of Basic Education has bid farewell to the youth who took part in the presidential youth employment initiative that ended on Wednesday.
In a statement on Thursday, the department encouraged the youth to apply for more opportunities on its website.
“The end of Phase III of the PYEI-BEEI does not mark the end of the road for the youth. The initiative has created a platform for many to chart a path towards better prospect in the labour market. The skills and experiences gained will impact positively on future career prospects of the youth,” said the department.
“The department wants to encourage all youth to take advantage of the many opportunities that are available on the SAYouth.mobi platform. Through this platform, youth can access earning, learning and entrepreneurial opportunities that are provided by private partners.”
It added that there were 850 000 jobs created through the programme, and noted that the group had done well.
“The initiative has done more than providing a chance for the young people to gain meaningful work experience. The youth had numerous opportunities to gain more skills through training opportunities offered by partners such as the University of Johannesburg, NEMISA, Digify Africa and 2Enable.
“Schools across the country have enjoyed hosting a group of enthusiastic and dedicated young South Africans whose contribution to teaching and learning have been immense.”
Addressing the issue of payment, the department said stipends for August have already been paid, however, there are a few still outstanding stipends “which provincial education departments are working tirelessly to resolve”.
“Where the unpaid stipends are identified, the delays are due to the finalisation of the validation and verification processes to ensure that there is no under or over-allocation of funds to schools,” the department said.
Also read: Sadtu accuses department of failure to pay teacher assistants
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