Youth in Housing Launch in Knysna

We are aware of the challenges that young people of this country face. There is an acute shortage of skills and unemployment is rife. It is a fact that 70% of unemployed people are young people. It is a fact that numeracy and literacy levels are falling.

Our approach to this crisis is clear: we must empower the young people of this province to take responsibility for their lives. This theme of personal responsibility will inform every programme and policy initiated by this government.

We don't believe in creating a culture of dependency. We believe in giving people a hand-up, not a hand-out. This is what this program intends to do. It aims to give young people the opportunities to make a success of their lives and to be the best they can be.

The purpose of the youth in housing programme is to capacitate youth in the Western Cape to effectively participate in the Housing delivery chain as a strategy for poverty alleviation and job creation. In this financial year, 100 young people will participate in the programme.

This program offers unemployed youth skills and home building experience while they serve their communities to simultaneously enhance social inclusion and employment. Youth who participate in this program will be provided with building and construction training on various NQF level.

The Youth in Housing project is targeted at the following youth groups:

Municipalities and other strategic partnerships are crucial to the success of this program. The respective municipalities in their roles as developers recruit the youth candidates in its area of jurisdiction to participate in the National Youth Service (NYS) orientation programme and learning experience. They also ensure that they enter into discussions with the building contractor to provide extended on site practical experiential learning component for the youth learners. The Department of Housing enters into partnerships with all stakeholders and entities across the three spheres of government, private sector and non governmental organizations to establish promote and enhance the Youth Build Learning Program.

On this program, we are working hand in hand with strategic stakeholder such as: National Department of Human Settlement, National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC) National Youth Service as well as Municipalities. These partners are playing a very important role in this program.

I hope that this programme will achieve a number of things. It should deepen and foster intergovernmental co-operation. It should help us strengthen our relationships with private sector partners. Above all, it must begin to change the culture of dependency that is prevalent in some sectors of our society.

The youth who benefit from this project must go forward and take responsibility for their lives by seizing this opportunity with both hands. I wish them the very best of luck in their future endeavours.