Is the YES programme worth it for your company?

The Youth Employment Service (YES) is one of the few routes in B-BBEE that can add a level on top of your scorecard result. Whether it is worth it for your company comes down to a sum: what 12 months of new, paid positions cost you, against what it would cost to reach the same level through the scorecard alone.

What YES is

Youth unemployment in South Africa is very high. It affects the economy as a whole as well as the young people looking for jobs, which is why President Cyril Ramaphosa launched a national response.

YES was launched in March 2018 as a private sector-led initiative, working with government and labour. The idea is simple: businesses hire unemployed young Black South Africans aged 18 to 35 for 12 months of full-time work experience. These are not internships or learnerships. They are new, paid positions, and they give young people real skills and experience. The positions are subject to South African employment law, so pay must at least meet the national minimum wage.

How the level is earned

Hiring YES youth can lift your B-BBEE level by up to two levels, depending on how many you employ relative to your target and how many you absorb into employment. Meeting your YES target with 2.5% absorption earns one level. One and a half times the target with 5% absorption earns one level plus 3 points. Double the target with 5% absorption earns two levels. A business that meets the entry conditions, doubles its YES target and achieves 5% absorption could move, for example, from Level 4 to Level 2. That can matter a great deal when you are competing for tenders or for clients who value transformation.

The entry conditions are where companies should look first. A generic entity needs 40% on each priority element, or a 50% average across them. A QSE needs 40% in two priority elements, one of which must be ownership, or a 40% average. EMEs have no entry condition. Your level must also be maintained or improved. And YES does not remove a sub-minimum discount, although the levels it adds can win the lost level back.

Taking part without adding headcount

If you are a large company with a headcount freeze, you can still take part by sponsoring new positions at EMEs or QSEs. These count towards your YES target without adding to your own headcount.

The first step either way is to register with YES, which helps you work out your targets and matches you with suitable candidates: young people who are unemployed and want to work. You pay them for the 12 months and provide meaningful work experience, in your own operations or, if you cannot create enough positions yourself, through sponsored placements at EMEs or QSEs.

What else you get

The level is not the only gain. The programme brings new people into your business who are keen to learn, comfortable with technology and ready to contribute ideas suited to the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). Because absorption counts towards the result, it can also become a pipeline of talent you shape to your needs. And you help young people break the cycle of unemployment, which strengthens the economy we all depend on.

Is it worth it?

For many companies, yes. The programme can reduce the cost of reaching a better B-BBEE level and help you win contracts. But reaching the top levels takes sustained effort across every element, and YES works on top of that effort rather than replacing it. If you have not yet looked at it, cost it against your current scorecard: the positions and their salaries on one side, and on the other, what the same level would cost through skills, procurement or enterprise and supplier development.

To find out whether YES fits your business and what it could do for your level, write to us at sales@bsvision.co.za.