• Mastercard has announced it will continue its commitment regarding its partnership with the local Youth Employment Service (YES).
• It will be taking on 14 YES youth for the year, offering experience and exposure to the global payments industry.
• The company has also increased the number of youth it will be taking on this year.

With youth unemployment still an issue that plagues South Africa, Mastercard has announced that it will continue its partnership with YES, which is a local private-sector-led youth employment programme.

Last year, the company onboarded 12 YES youth in order to assist them to gain exposure and experience in the global payments industry, and for 2024, Mastercard is set to increase the intake to 14 youth.

“Mastercard is deeply committed to forging opportunities for African youth through various channels and partnerships. We are addressing the significant challenge of youth unemployment, especially in South Africa, by providing opportunities for cognate work experience and developing relevant in-demand skills. We plan to scale these initiatives and make them sustainable in the coming years,” emphasised Akinola Akinrin, director of People Business Partner at Mastercard SSA.

It is estimated that that by 2030, the number of youth in the African labour force will increase to 375 million. For the South African context, this means that by 2035, there will be more young people entering the workforce each year than ever before.

As such, one of the long-term objectives Mastercard has outlined for its partnership with YES is to provide young people with twelve months of meaningful, quality workplace experience, and sustainable jobs.

“The goal is to equip the youth with skills that will grant them access to the economy, also providing them with an opportunity to make a significant contribution towards the development of society,” the company continued.

“Our partnership with YES is in line with building collaborative and productive partnerships across the public and private sectors, with an emphasis on government priorities,” added Akinrin in a release shared with Hypertext.

“Continuing our partnership with Mastercard is a testament to our ongoing commitment to provide youth the opportunity to gain valuable skills and experience in the global payments industry, and to make an impact to the youth employment crisis in South Africa,” said Ravi Naidoo, CEO of YES.

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