More than a million applications for just 44 000 school job opportunities

As SA’s youth unemployment crisis rages on, the Department of Basic Education has received more than 1.1 million applications for 44 000 education assistant jobs.

Applications for the fifth phase of the Basic Education Employment Initiative under the Presidential Youth Employment Initiative opened on Tuesday.

In less than 24 hours, over 1.1 million applications had been recorded on the SAYouthmobi website used to sign up for the programme.

It is worth noting that applicants can apply for multiple positions, with many doing so. By 6pm on Tuesday, 223 000 individual work seekers had applied for the initiative. 44 000 job “opportunities” have been loaded, with each available position getting an average of 25 applications.

Departmental spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga shared the state of applications as they stood at that time.

What positions are available?

The Basic Education Employment Initiative aims to stimulate economic recovery and reduce youth unemployment by providing young people with meaningful job opportunities. It also focuses on alleviating poverty, supporting livelihoods, and creating pathways into other forms of work, among others.

Positions include education assistants and general school assistants.

Education assistants can work as Curriculum Assistants, ICT/eCadres, Reading Champions, Care and Support Assistants, Laboratory Assistants, and Workshop Assistants

General school assistants can work as an Infrastructure Maintenance (Handyman) or a Sport Enrichment Assistant (SEA)

The fifth phase of the program will start on 1 June 2025 and end in November. It will be a 6-month program.

ALSO READ: 50 000 fewer jobs and less money: Here’s how much you will now earn if you join the presidential youth employment programme

Where are the jobs based?

The programme is being funded by the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) and the National Treasury.

The application portal showed 202 000 vacancies, while a presentation by the department this week listed 204 676 job opportunities under the programme.

Of the jobs set to be created, the majority of those funded by the UIF were in KZN (35 336), followed by Gauteng (28 005). Northern Cape recorded the lowest number (3 744) of jobs.

KZN will also get the lion’s share of positions funded by National Treasury (10 322), again followed by Gauteng (8 181). The Northern Cape will get 1 094.

The biggest barrier to implementation thus far has been drawing up training plans, with only the Western Cape being ready.

Who qualifies for the program?

The minimum requirements include:

• Youth who were in previous phases, however, meeting the below criteria, qualify to apply
• Youth at age 18 – 34 years (18 or above when applying, or 34 turning 35 on or before 31 March 2026)
• Both EAs and GSAs at a school for LSEN between the ages 18 and 39, turning 40 on or before 31 March 2026,
• Youth residing 5km around the location of the school and 30 km from farm schools only
• One opportunity per household
• Meet requirements per category and sub-category applied for
• Youth, not in education, employment, or training (excluding distance or online student teachers). However, there is an exemption for youth studying teaching qualifications at distance and remote learning institutions. These should be prioritised, even if they are funded by the government (NSFAS or Funza Lushaka), to allow students to gain relevant teaching experience and minimise the need for induction when they complete their degree.
• Youth not receiving government grants for self (e.g. Grants such as R350 – candidates will be requested to cancel this in the month of confirmed appointment)
• Youth not receiving any other form of stipend, wage, or salary
• Youth not in a learnership
• Youth without a criminal record. Candidates will be expected to present their police clearance record when they come for an interview.
• Youth living with disability must provide a medical certificate confirming the nature of disability.
• Youth who have a valid South African Identity Book/Card

How to apply

Applications are still open. You can apply by registering and answering some questions on sayouth.mobi.

Data is not needed to access the site and once you have applied may be placed at a school close to where you live.