Corporate leaders and youth development organisations met in Sandton to discuss how volunteering could be structured into pathways to employment for young South Africans.
With an estimated two million young people unemployed in South Africa, business leaders, volunteer organisations and youth development practitioners say skills training alone is not enough, arguing that young people need clear pathways into jobs through internships, mentorship and workplace experience.
The issue took centre stage during a strategic dialogue hosted by Discovery in partnership with the International Association for Volunteer Effort (IAVE) at the organisation's Sandton head office, where delegates discussed how corporate volunteering could be used to improve youth employability.
Speaking at the event, Andronica Mabuya, head of corporate social investment at the financial services organisation, said many young people remained excluded from employment despite having the talent to succeed.
"The purpose of this platform is to co-create and ideate solutions for young people. We believe that many young people are sitting at home without employment not because they lack talent, but because clear pathways have not been created for them," she said.
