Volunteering may be the key to creating opportunities for young South Africans

In a country with a shortage of pathways for young South Africans to find employment, corporate volunteerism could provide the necessary skills development, mentorship and networks needed.

Andronica Mabuya is head of corporate social investment at Discovery Limited.

Forty-five percent. That is nearly one in every two young South Africans between the ages of 15 and 34 who want to work but cannot find a job. According to Statistics South Africa’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey, young people not in employment, education or training in this age group increased by half a percentage point between Q1 2025 and Q1 2026, reaching 45.6% in Q1 2026.

I know what numbers can do. While they help us understand the scale of the challenge, they can also distance us from the human realities they represent. Behind these statistics are young people in our communities and neighbourhoods, each with aspirations, talent and potential, yet without access to meaningful economic opportunities.

South Africa has a remarkably young population. People between the ages of 15 and 34 make up just over a third of our population, with an average age of 28 to 29. In almost any other context, this would be celebrated as a powerful economic advantage, a signal of energy, innovation and future productive capacity. Instead, we face a growing risk of a generation being left behind. Today, close to two million young South Africans are classified as discouraged work seekers.

They have not given up because they lack ambition to contribute. They have stopped actively looking because the labour market has repeatedly told them that there is no room. That is not a personal failure – it’s a response to the environment in which they feel discouraged before they even reach their first real chance at work. This should concern all of us, because when young people lose hope, the consequences extend far beyond the labour market.

South Africa does not have a shortage of young talent or of organisations investing in youth development. What we have is a shortage of pathways that connect their potential to real opportunity. Too many promising initiatives exist in isolation from one another, while too many young people remain disconnected from the skills, networks and experiences that could help them enter the workforce.

With youth unemployment being one of South Africa’s greatest challenges, we need to be deliberate about identifying and scaling what is already working. One of the most overlooked pathways to opportunities, I believe, is volunteering. When designed with intention and linked to skills development, mentorship and networks, volunteering can become far more than an act of service. It can become a bridge to economic opportunity.

Mentorship is a particularly powerful mechanism that leaders with specialised skills can use to share their expertise, build resilience and guide young people to navigate their path into the workforce. Through mentorship, beneficiaries gain valuable capabilities in problem-solving and creative thinking, preparing them for the workplace and improving their readiness for employment.