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The YES Top 35 Under 35 Awards — proudly supported by Daily Maverick

The YES Top 35 Under 35 Awards — proudly supported by Daily Maverick
Daily Maverick
By Daily Maverick
18 Sep 2024
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The Youth Employment Service is proud to present the inaugural YES Top 35 Under 35 Awards, in partnership with Daily Maverick. Having empowered over 156,000 young individuals in their careers, meet 35 of the most brilliant under 35.

Explore the complete "35 Under 35" hub on Daily Maverick


About


The initiative aims to recognise the excellence and successes of young South Africans who have been through the Youth Employment Service (YES) youth employment programme, and showcase their stories in the hope that you will be as inspired as we are by their determination, courage and creativity.

YES is the largest 12-month, full-time youth employment programme in the South African economy, with a post-programme employment rate of about 45%. It has already injected R8.4-billion into the economy through youth salaries alone, by partnering with some of South Africa’s top corporates.

The awards


Applications were opened to YES Alumni who had completed the full 12 months of the YES programme on or before 31 December this year, were either employed or running their own business, and were 34 years or younger, or turning 35 after the application date.

Out of the 3,500 applications, 150 top alumni were chosen from the initial applicants, based on some basic criteria, after which they were asked to film a short video telling their stories.

The YES management committee chose the top 70 based on these videos and their written applications. There­after, the YES exco team, along with the Daily Maverick team, selected the top 35 based on an extensive rubric and judging criteria.

The awards programme seeks not only to highlight excellent and successful YES Alumni, but will also provide career development and mentoring opportunities to the successful candidates for one year.

The Top 35


The Top 35 are a testament to the talent, potential and drive of young South Africans, all of which they have in spades. With a variety of skills and educational qualifications, they have taken the opportunity the YES programme presented and run with it, some upskilling themselves into jobs of the future, and others starting their own businesses.

These are their stories – stories of hope, of dreams fulfilled, of what South Africa’s future could look like if we give our young people a chance.

The YES Top 35 Under 35 proudly ­feature in this special Daily Maverick DM168 printed supplement.

DM168 is available at selected Exclusive Books, Pick n Pay, Woolworths, Spar, Checkers and airport stores countrywide. – Saskia Falken, head of marketing at Daily Maverick.

Explore the complete "35 Under 35" hub on Daily Maverick


Change-makers show what South Africa’s future could look like if we give young people a chance


A letter from Ravi Naidoo, YES CEO.

As South Africa’s largest 12-month, full-time employment programme spanning both the public and private sectors, the Youth Employment Service (YES) is in the business of unlocking the economic potential of excluded youth. We propel talented young people who, due to no fault of their own, would not have had the opportunity to break into the market, and ensure they contribute to the vibrancy of South Africa’s economy.

Having collaborated with more than 1,770 leading businesses to create more than 156,000 youth jobs to date, with a further 3,000 to 4,000 every month, we are beginning to see our vision take shape. Our efforts have resulted in a significant multiplier effect, where one job can create 10 more.

Fifteen percent of YES Youth are engaged in entrepreneurial activities, which is double the national average of 7%.

And because many YES jobs are in sunrise industries, our young people are becoming skilled professionals after the programme and helping to position South Africa as a leader in digital, technology and other key sectors. We’re not just providing jobs, we’re creating opportunities for young people to become skilled professionals, entrepreneurs and change-makers who will take our nation forward.

This is why we decided to run the YES Top 35 Under 35 competition: we saw our YES Youth were going on to make waves in their fields, and because, behind the numbers, there are real people with incredible stories that could reinforce just how crucial youth employment programmes like YES are for families, communities, companies and the country.

When we announced the competition, however, we could not have expected the response we got. We received more than 3,500 applications in two weeks from YES Alumni. Having to select just 1% of these as the final Top 35 was a task the YES team took seriously.

After a stringent selection process, which involved all aspects of the team, we are honoured to share the Top 35 Under 35 with you. These 35 young people, who span roles from entrepreneurs and content creators, to business analysts, founders of nonprofit organisations and more, are a testament to the talent, potential and drive of South African youth. With a variety of skills and educational qualifications, they have taken the opportunity and run with it, gaining work experience in jobs of the future and many starting their own businesses.

These are their stories – stories of hope, of dreams pursued – and they are the stories of the 156,000 YES Youth and counting. These 35 game-changers symbolise what our future could look like if we give our young people (seven million of whom are unemployed) a chance.

We hope you will be as inspired as we are by their grit, courage and creativity. They are the future of change.

Explore the complete "35 Under 35" hub on Daily Maverick


Investing in the youth today paves the way for a new generation of leaders who’ll shine tomorrow


By Leanne Emery-Hunter, COO of the Youth Employment Service (YES)

Every morning, a symphony of success stories drives me to my desk – narratives of hope, resilience and the transformative power of opportunity. Given the youth unemployment figures in South Africa, you might find that hard to believe, but I have the privilege of witnessing first-hand how our work at YES is helping to close this gap.

In a country grappling with millions unable to find work, countless young people face a future marked by uncertainty. But we’re witnessing a different story unfold. Every day, we see inspiring examples of young individuals who, with the right opportunities, are transforming their lives and contributing meaningfully to society and their communities.

A very personal story for me – one I tell often – is about Asanda Nqoko, a Top 35 alumnus who started at YES as an IT intern in our tech department. He came to me, saying he had an interest in marketing, and started helping with some work on our website. Later he told me he had a passion for photography and asked if he could take some pictures for our Spring Day event.

When we saw the pictures, we were blown away – we knew he was going to be a star. Three years later he has worked for the likes of Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar, and he’s travelling the world. When we hire him for gigs, he often sends one of his team members, because he’s just so busy.

But his is more than just a success story – because it really changed the way we operate. We levelled up the way we looked at our photography opportunities, for instance, because he came in with more talent than we knew what to do with – and it showed us in a very practical way how fresh talent in a business can really make a difference and an impact.

And what’s truly amazing to me is that he’s not some sort of outlier. We encounter these stories every day. There’s Gcina Twala, another Top 35 alumna, who made her start as part of the Youth Content Collective (YCC) and is now a junior brand manager for one of the top B2B advertising agencies in the country. She also feeds 500 people per week in Alexandra through her own nonprofit organisation.

Beyond the current Top 35 group there are more inspiring youth still coming out of the programme. There’s Moshe Matabologa, who joined the YES programme with a big car brand on the tech side of the business. He came to the team and said: “There’s an HR problem I think I can solve.”

He was sent to the UK for some training, and he’s now implementing a new workflow system globally.

There’s Kgomotso Seku at Nedbank, who was the first person in her family to get a degree (in maths). Today, having been through the YES programme, she’s a data analyst and has bought her mother a house.

Many companies are reluctant to hire young people, because they don’t have any experience. But another big car brand and YES client, for instance, has told us that using YES changed its entire hiring policy. The company realised that young people are great at selling cars, because they’re prepared to find ways to do it differently – including after church on a Sunday.

We all started somewhere, and it took time before the value we brought to the organisation exceeded the time and energy it took to upskill us. It pays to bear that in mind.

But it’s also about taking the long view. Our government of national unity has the potential to start creating an uptick in economic activity and growth, but we will be wholly unprepared to take advantage of the opportunities that it presents if we don’t find and nurture young people now who can lead us on this journey.

These young people are our future leaders, and we need to start finding them and empowering them now.

We live in an age of immediate information, where everything’s at your fingertips, and sometimes it can be difficult to envision the long game. Investing in young people today is not going to mean the change happens tomorrow. Like compound interest, it’s a long game – we’re likely only going to reap the real benefits in 10 to 15 years.

Explore the complete "35 Under 35" hub on Daily Maverick


But the time to turn the wheel is now so that the ship takes a new course over the long term. By investing in and empowering our youth today, we can create a brighter future for South Africa, where young people are not only gainfully employed, but also become the leaders and innovators who drive the country’s economic and social progress in the years to come. DM

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