As we enter Youth Month, there is nothing to celebrate by the young people of this land. SA’s economy may be slowly resuscitating from the Covid-19 pandemic but the story of the high levels of people who are not in education, employment or training (Neet) is just the opposite.

While there are contentions in defining the Neet group, there is no specific policy framework or intervention funded by the government that focuses on addressing challenges faced by the Neets, particularly those with little access to information and resources. In recent years different stakeholders (government, higher education and civil society, etc.) offered different sets of strategies and policies, which is leading to a growing diversification in policymaking and practice in SA.

The outcome of the recent pandemic may have led to some families becoming child-headed households in cases where adults succumbed to Covid-19 complications. The mental health of some of the youth may be negatively affected by the Neet status and also from being affected by the results of the pandemic in their families.

Some may have lost their jobs either formally or undeclared work before the pandemic, and to date they are still Neet. It is essential to emphasise that the needs of the Neets are not the same. For example, young mothers with Neet status require specific needs that may not be similar to those who are generally Neet.

However, government interventions such as community education and training programmes have essentially changed provided interventions to cater to some of the Neets who could not complete mainstream education with some skills programmes and formal education. The national skills fund should be dedicated to skilling some of the Neets, yet corrupt activities rob the rightful beneficiaries.

SA should strengthen funding and programmes dedicated to dealing with the Neets. SA has embraced a wider classification of the Neet group by capturing two groups of the Neet group (15 to 24 years and 15 to 34 years). However, the reality remains that we continue to fail to report on the cohort of people who are over 34 years and are Neet coherently despite evidence which suggests that the population post-34 years who are Neet face more struggles to detach from Neet status. Conceivably, some have carried the Neet status from their youth to adulthood.

The post-34 years with Neet status feel excluded as some of the placement opportunities have age restrictions. The pattern shows that the number of Neets continues to grow in recent times, with about 10,2m young people aged 15–24 years in Q2: 2022 as reported by Statistics SA.

The argument may be the government has not driven and established dedicated sustainable funding for the Neets programmes because similar provisions already existed, such as NYDA, dedicated interventions for youth unemployment such as Tshepo one Million, and Yes for Youth, with the recently established Crime Prevention Wardens by the premier of Gauteng. Most of the initiatives are not sustainable because of their funding model and are affected by political factors and the availability of donors.

As a result, some of the funding grants are projects timed for limited years. On the other end, this also raises concerns about sustainability and return on investment if there is no long-term strategy for such interventions. The government has not yet differentiated funds and programmes for youth unemployment and the needs of the Neets.

There are several policy interventions that are acknowledged but clear evidence regarding what could work for a country like SA, given the complexity, remains rare. Some of the Neets have acquired a number of attendance certificates. Some of the skills training is not aligned with market needs. So, there is a necessity for coherence in planning programmes for the Neets.

Our focus should be on where, what and when to support and provide the much-needed resources to enable the Neets. Perhaps the government needs to revisit how the public works department executes its mandate so that much of the work can be directed to the youth rather than individuals through tenders.

Professors Ngoepe and Matli are academics at Unisa.