Deputy President Paul Mashatile wants government and the private sector to adopt a proactive stance to address the disparity between labour supply and demand, while he also announced government’s commitment to expand youth access to land.

Mashatile was speaking during the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) Youth Investment Indaba, where he said the youth voice – inside workplaces, in civic engagements and in the public and private sectors – needed to be elevated by policies, programmes and interventions that were impactful.

According to Statistics South Africa’s first-quarter release of 2025, 34% of all youth aged 15 to 24 – more than 3.5-million young people – are disconnected from the labour market and the education system.

On Thursday, NYDA deputy chairperson Bonga Makhanya said South Africa would, from Friday, roll out loans from a R2.5-billion Youth Fund to support small businesses, as part of government’s plan to tackle unemployment.

“We must create a labour market that will effectively create employment opportunities for young people, including those with no skills,” Mashatile said.

A national compact, he said, should be a deliberate and collaborative process intended to unite various sectors of society.

“…we should all work towards shared objectives, particularly to address significant social, political, or economic challenges that our nation is currently facing.

“We should develop practical solutions to the challenges that young people face, such as high unemployment, unequal educational access, and high rates of substance abuse and criminal activity,” he stated.

He said government was also committed to expanding youth access to land.

“We want to see young people leading in agriculture, agro-processing, and rural enterprise. I am excited to hear of the NYDA’s Rapid Land Release Programme which complements this effort by being a purchaser of land holdings and making land accessible to young people,” he stated.

He said working with the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Land Reform and Agriculture, which he chaired, could unlock practical opportunities for young people to build viable commercial enterprises.

Mashatile said government should also concern itself with school violence, the technological access disparity and the skills mismatch between education and employment.

He said the Human Resource Development Council could play a role in addressing the disparity between labour supply and demand by improving workforce skills, creating jobs and fostering economic growth.

“This is an entrenched challenge that directly calls for innovation and leadership. We assert that equipping the youth with entrepreneurial skills is essential for societal success, particularly considering our efforts to amend post-apartheid legislation that excluded the majority from economic participation,” he said.

He added that private companies must be encouraged to invest in township and rural regions to establish hubs to create employment and boost local economies.

“I must underline that economic development requires young people, especially those unemployed and not in education or in training, to explore entrepreneurship as a means of self-reliance and employment,” he said.

POLICY SUPPORT

Meanwhile, he said government must implement policy support and access to capital and markets for goods and services.

He stated that legislation and regulation must not be a burden but rather an enabler.

“When crafted and implemented with purpose, they provide powerful frameworks that ensure fairness, protection, and opportunity for growth,” he said.

Mashatile said transformation laws must be implemented and could not be changed because some disagree.

The Democratic Alliance wants the broad-based black economic empowerment policy rolled back through implementation of its own suggested Economic Inclusion for All Bill, and is urging the African National Congress to support it.

“Our transformative policies remain central to our economic transformation agenda and form part of South Africa’s long-term strategy to redress historic injustices, broaden economic participation, and build a truly inclusive economy,” Mashatile countered.