In its first phase, which kicked off in June 2023 to July 2024, Y4T successfully placed YES Youth across South Africa to promote and support tourist attractions. Building on this success, Sanlam will be extending this partnership into 2025, with an expanded focus on SMME development.
The intention of the 2024-2025 programme is to provide access to a further 1,000 youth and to establish 60 youth micro businesses who participated in the first phase of Y4T. These micro businesses will receive grant funding to support their growth and development, and the programme will specifically target youth-owned businesses that contribute to the tourism ecosystem across six provinces.
The tourism industry contributes significantly to GDP, but it faces its share of challenges, says Naidoo, one of which is a skills gap, in combination with a basic mismatch between the abundance of talented youth who are unemployed, and the skills required to work in the sector. “Many young people lack access to the right training and educational opportunities to give them the requisite skills,” he says.
The Y4T initiative, therefore, upskills young people and creates a talent pipeline for the industry. Young people in the programme are employed in diverse roles, including tour guides, event coordinators, concierges, chefs, guest managers, travel agents, and content creators.