The DA’s priority is to build a better tomorrow for South Africa’s youth because too many of our sons, daughters, brothers and sisters live a life of hopelessness, despair and desperation.
They are the Lost Generation.
A generation of young South Africans who are not in employment, education or training, and who have been left behind by an ANC government that refuses to rescue them. Together, they make up almost two thirds of South Africa’s 9 million people without work. Rescuing this lost generation is our greatest challenge. And it is the DA’s biggest mission.
The DA’s mission is to help the Lost Generation
We will free young South Africans to take their destiny into their own hands, to be owners of wealth and capital, to climb the ladder of opportunity, and to succeed. The DA’s rescue mission is twofold and will build:
Skills for Jobs
- Free training Offering a year of free technical training to all matrics.
- Opportunity Vouchers Introducing Opportunity Vouchers for young people. They will be used to subsidise university or TVET college fees, provide seed capital for a micro-enterprise, or to act as a state guarantee on a bank loan to establish a micro-enterprise.
- Teacher training colleges Re-introducing teacher training colleges to ensure teaching excellence. We will hold principals and teachers accountable through regular performance testing and we will hold schools accountable for high drop-out rates.
- Bridging the gap Creating better education, training and internship options. This will be done by investing heavily in government internship programmes and introducing a comprehensive Youth Wage Subsidy which will incentivise the hiring of young, low-skill jobseekers, for example.
- Financial support Expanding the National Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) so that it offers proper support. The poorest students will be comprehensively supported. The missing middle, who cannot secure funding or bank loans, will receive support proportional to their family income.
- Work experience Up-scaling the existing Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) to offer temporary employment and skills training to more young people.
Economic Growth That Creates Jobs
- Speeding up investment Because if you lead a well-run, honest government that consistently delivers services and maintains infrastructure, businesses will want to invest in your city and employ residents.
- Support for small businesses Starting a jobs and justice fund – together with sound advice, training and financial support – to give entrepreneurs access to the capital they need to start and grow businesses and create jobs.
Our rescue mission will build a better future for all.