South Africa and NYSP

When South Africa emerged from the apartheid regime in 1994, the country was confronted with a range of national challenges and diverse community needs. Fortunately, the post-apartheid government had the wisdom and foresight to recognize the importance of engaging young people in the process of rebuilding the nation. 

In its first term in office, the Government of National Unity created a number of institutions and agencies designed to promote the interest of youth and involve them in national development. The National Youth Commission Act of 1996 created the National Youth Commission (NYC), which was charged with managing, promoting, and monitoring the coordination of youth development programs and services.[1]

According to the NYC, “placing young people in the broader context of reconstruction and development highlights the importance of youth development to nation building and the creation of a democratic, productive, and equitable society.”[2] At the broadest level, NYS was envisioned as a way of engaging young people and utilizing them as a resource in a country-wide program of reconstruction and development. According to the NYC (1997), youth service in South Africa combines four themes: development, skills training, national unity, and service. 

The goals of the programs are to:

1. Inculcate a culture of service by supporting youth to participate constructively in nation-building
2. Inculcate in young people an understanding of their role in the promotion of civic awareness and national reconstruction
3. Develop the skills, knowledge and abilities of young people to enable them to make the transition to adulthood
4. Improve youth employability through opportunities for work experience, skills development and support to gain access to economic and further learning opportunities; and
5. Harness the nation’s untapped human resources and to provide a vehicle for enhancing the delivery of the country’s development objectives, especially to disadvantaged and underserved communities.[3]

Initial Program: Health Sector Improvment

One of the first major national service initiatives undertaken by the South African government was a mandatory service requirement for medical graduates. In 1998 the Department of Health introduced a one year compulsory activity for junior doctors as a prerequisite for registration with the Health Professionals Council of South Africa (a statutory body that registers health professionals and establishes professional standards).[4] Under the program junior doctors serve for one year at the discretion of the department of health. Participants are typically placed in vacant funded posts for medical officers throughout the country. The aim of the program is twofold: first, to ensure that doctors acquire a greater understanding of the application of their skills in a developing context; second, that they work for a period in underserved communities, thereby providing medical services more equitably across the country.[5]

Participants earn a salary of approximately R120,000 per year plus housing allowance and medical aid. Of the 1005 junior doctors in 1999, 45 percent were female, 55 percent were male, 26 percent were black, 52 percent were white, and 18 percent were Asian. About 80 percent of the participants were between the ages of 25-29. Based on the apparent success of the program for doctors, the Health Department has now expanded the program to include other health care professionals such as pharmacists, radiographers, physiotherapists, dentists etc. Still the majority (1128 out of 2776, Y2005) of participants are doctors.[6]

The impact of the program on participants has been generally positive. According to one study, “despite difficulties and frustrations,” a majority of doctors, dentists, and pharmacists “felt that they had made a difference and had undergone some professional development.”[7] In a 2001 survey, 76 percent of doctors participating said they had made a difference. The most important factor affecting participant’s attitudes towards their service was the degree of supervision they received and whether they were placed in their region of choice.[8] More research needs to be done on the impact of the services provided under this program; however, it is clear that is has had an impact on the participants and addressed an unmet need by increasing the number of doctors providing public health services in underserved communities.

Scaling Up National Youth Service in South Africa

The health program was one of the first pilot programs for national youth service in South Africa and was limited in its reach. It was not until October 2003 that the government of South Africa adopted the National Youth Service Implementation Framework, which went much further in rolling out a true national youth service program. The Framework defined the concept of national youth service, focused on the best ways to mobilize resources to support service programs and began to establish institutional mechanisms for the implementation of the NYSP.

The Partnership Project Team (PPT), chaired by the South African Youth Ministry, is responsible for policy implementation at the national level. The National Youth Service Unit (NYSU), which reports to the PPT, has been established to implement NYS programs. While the NYSU leads the effort, provincial youth commissions play a significant role in the implementation of the NYS and provide an important link between the three tiers of government.[9]The Umsobomvu Youth Fund (UYF) provided the majority of the administrative and operational funding during this roll-out period. Funding for the training components was provided by the National Skills Fund.

According to the policy framework, the initial stage of the roll-out, from November 2003 to March 2006, was meant to focus on mobilizing existing resources and aligning existing government programs, such as Expanded Public Works Programme, Working for Water, leaderships, and the South African Defence Force programs, with the goals of NYS. Also important in this phase was the training of technical assistants to ensure that programs were designed effectively. With the supervision of the National Youth Service Unit (NYSU) program manager, technical assistants’ supported government departments at the national, provincial, and local levels to map out the service area, include key stakeholders in planning and consultations, develop an implementation plan and budget, and document the progress of the project.[10]

Initial pilot and demonstration projects were launched in the areas of home-based care, agriculture, infrastructure provision, conservation, tourism, youth development, and community development. Following these pilot initiatives, the National Youth Service was launched on 28 August 2004.[11] Although the NYS program targeted higher education students, further education and training students, unemployed youth, and youth in conflict with the law, early pilot programs focused on  unemployed youth.

Results

According to Volunteer and Service Enquiry South Africa (VOSESA), by the end of March 2005, there were twenty-four registered NYS projects involving 11,892 participants. The main sectors these projects covered were health, construction, environment, education, agriculture, and social development. At the national level there were two projects in the health sector involving 5,250 participants; four projects in the environment sector involving 2,170 participants; one project in the education sector involving 500 participants; one project in the social development sector involving 450 participants; and one project in the agriculture sector involving 20 participants. At the provincial level there were: six health sector projects involving a total of 1,568 participants; seven construction projects involving 1,510 participants; and one project in the education sector and the social development sector each involving just over 100 participants.[12] On the whole, about 60 percent of the participants in NYS projects were in the health sector, while just under 20 percent are in the environmental sector.

According to Sello More, Research Manager at the National Youth Commission, NYS projects have produced tangible benefits for both the participating youths and communities served. In one instance unemployed but qualified youth took part in a literacy program in Qwaqwa, one of the areas with the lowest literacy rate in the Free State Province. The program focused on adult basic education and training for disadvantaged sectors. The community benefited from higher literacy rates, while the youth engaged in service acquired skills through the training they received from the Sector Education and Training Authorities. As a result, all of the participants were employed after the program.[13]

In another example, a NYS program worked to substantially improve the quality of government subsidized low income housing in the North West Province. Under the program about 800 houses were built by young people participating in an NYS project. Money that would have been paid to the contractor was used to improve the size and quality of houses for single families.[14]

These examples illustrate the impact of NYS in South Africa on both participants and the communities they serve. Much of the programs strength derives from its design: grassroots participation in program design and implementation has meant that the programs are better able to meet community concerns while also addressing national needs. In South Africa, NYS has proven to be an effective strategy for engaging young people in community work and improving their prospects for future employment while simultaneously helping communities address critical social issues.