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Tourism and Job Creation

A Thriving Tourism Sector Can Bolster Job Creation

2 October 2024

Youth4Tourism (Y4T), a transformative private-sector initiative by the Youth Employment Service (YES) and Sanlam as co-founder, is already on track to be a R100 million catalyst for the tourism sector, through youth jobs and salaries in its 13-month history. The programme is based on a crowding-in concept with like-minded corporates in South Africa.

“We saw at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic just how vital tourism is to South Africa's economy,” says Ravi Naidoo, CEO of YES. “Y4T has a two-pronged effect – it supports the tourism industry with a pipeline of young people who have the skills the industry needs.”

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.

“Our high youth unemployment rates remain of huge concern,” says Paul Hanratty, CEO of Sanlam. “Y4T aims to contribute by giving young people the opportunity to learn the skills they need for employment in the tourism industry.

Paul Hanratty Paul Hanratty

Paul Hanratty, CEO of Sanlam

“The initiative also aims to grow our youth into micro-entrepreneurs with sought-after, future-fit skill sets, to help bolster our SMME sector’s resilience. Our content creators can generate content that showcases South Africa's beauty, and draw more tourists to our shores, boosting the industry, and creating more jobs for youth to take up in future – it’s a virtuous cycle.”

Importantly, these jobs extend beyond traditional tourist hubs, encompassing diverse locations like Namaqualand, the Kruger National Park, Canyons, and Khayelitsha. In Khayelitsha, for instance, young South Africans are learning valuable digital skills at the RLabs Digital Tourism Hub.

The story of Lebogang Raboshakga exemplifies the programme’s impact. In 2023, she stepped into the spotlight with Pizza Hut’s LeadHERship YES programme (through the Youth Content Collective) and is already making waves in photography and art.

Her passion for storytelling shines through her brand, Lee’Rabs Photography, where she captures powerful stories through her lens. She also had the opportunity to showcase her work at the recent ‘Roots Unveiled’ exhibition, powered by Sanlam and YES.

With dreams of running her own fine art gallery and curating online exhibitions, Lebogang is on a mission to share her unique artistry with the world.

Hanratty calls on other businesses to join the Y4T movement and join Sanlam and YES’s efforts to bolster this vital sector. “There are two ways businesses can participate – by funding youth jobs in the tourism sector, and by identifying events, conferences, and landmarks where young creatives can showcase their skills and support tourism businesses.”

“The tourism sector can play a major role in helping to solve the youth unemployment crisis,” concludes Naidoo. “The more corporates throw their weight behind Y4T, the more we can expand our reach and offer hope for a brighter future in tourism for South Africa’s young people – and the country’s future.”