By German More, Director of New Business Development and Communications, Save the Children South Africa
June 2026
Youth Month reminds us of a pressing reality: South Africa cannot afford to treat youth employment as just an outcome of community development projects. With youth unemployment at 45.8%. and more than 4.7 million young people out of work, every project funded in our communities should be judged not only by its social outcomes, but also by how many jobs it created for young people in the project delivery.
The Community and Social Services sector already employs 19.9% of youth with formal, salaried jobs. That translates to roughly 1.11 million young South Africans currently employed in real, formal payroll positions. Within this, civil society organisations and social enterprises may be contributing between 250,000 and 280,000 jobs, proof that the sector is already contributing significantly. The question is whether we can do more?
Investment in community development in South Africa is substantial. According to the Trialogue CSI report, total CSI expenditure in 2025 was estimated at R13.1 billion, with education remaining the largest area of support at 44% of total spend. The report is based only on surveyed companies. When international and institutional funders are also considered, the level of investment in community development is even greater. The challenge is ensuring these community development projects are intentionally designed not only to improve social outcomes, but also to address youth unemployment by creating work opportunities for young people through in the delivery of projects.
Too often, funding proposals are judged harshly when staff costs appear too high. This is understandable as funders want money to reach beneficiaries, not disappear into excessive overheads. However, projects need people to be executed. So, we need to strike a balance, as community projects require people to coordinate, mobilise, support, monitor, and sustain the work. Here could lie an opportunity for the sector to expand its impact on job creation especially for youth.
This would require funders to consider implementation models where a clearly defined portion of project funding creates temporary, structured work opportunities for young people linked directly to delivery of projects. With strong monitoring and evaluation, every rand can still be accounted for, while the investment generates an additional layer of impact for the young people and intentionally contributes to addressing our national unemployment crisis among youth.
Save the Children South Africa offers a useful example of what this can look like in practice. Its model includes employing young people as community change agents ( CCA) who support delivery at local level while earning an income and building experience. That kind of approach matters, in the last financial year alone, 58 youth were employed at minimum wage to implement projects across Early Child Development (ECD), health and youth skills development programmes. It treats youth employment not as a separate programme running alongside development work, but as something embedded in every project delivery cycle. The impact of these temporary sometime long-term job opportunities depended on funding partners, also extends beyond the individual young person, helping many to support their families and households.
“Before I joined as a Community Change Agent, I had been unemployed for two years,” says Tshwarelo, 23. “Now I not only earn an income, but I’ve gained skills that make me believe I can build a future. It’s more than a job, its hope for a successful life.”
This approach treats youth employment not as a separate programme, but as something embedded in every project delivery cycle. The impact extends beyond the individual, helping young people support their families and households.
Importantly, this vision aligns with South Africa’s National Development Plan (NDP), which identifies youth employment as a cornerstone of inclusive growth. It also resonates with the Presidential Youth Employment Initiative, which calls for innovative models to absorb young people into meaningful work. By embedding jobs into community projects, funders and corporates can demonstrate alignment with national priorities while delivering measurable impact.
For corporates, the incentive is clear. Embedding youth employment strengthens B-BBEE performance, improves corporate reputation, deepens trust with communities, and shows that investment is not only philanthropic but strategic.
Looking ahead, imagine a South Africa where every community project, from early childhood centres to health initiatives, includes structured youth jobs as part of its design. Instead of 4.7 million unemployed young people, we would see thousands gaining experience, earning income, and building pathways into permanent employment.
As Youth Month continues, funders and corporates must ask one simple, but important question of every project proposals and project partnerships, how many young people will it employ over and above sustain existing jobs? Embedding youth jobs into community development is not just good for society, it strengthens B-BBEE performance, help build a stronger future talent pipeline, improve a company’s reputation, deepen trust with communities, and demonstrate that corporate investment can go the extra mile to address South Africa’s development priorities. In this way, youth employment becomes a standard feature of community project design.
