Organisation launches e-hub to tackle youth unemployment
The organisation offers to equip unemployed youth with digital skills, mentorship, and practical work experience as part of efforts to combat rising NEET and youth unemployment rates in Gauteng.
A non-profit skills and enterprise development organisation has launched its first e-hub in Pretoria at Esselen Towers in Sunnyside on May 27.
Nwali Hubs offers more than 130 online training modules at a nominal fee, with students enrolling in a structured 20-hour online learning journey.
The hub’s COO Marius Garbers said the facility is positioned as a practical response to the city’s high youth unemployment and the growing number of young people not in employment, education, or training (NEET).
“For many young people, the barrier is no longer motivation, it is the missing bridge between learning and earning. Nwali Hubs’ e-hub model is designed to be that bridge, combining skills, experience, and mentorship in one place,” he said.
Garbers said across South Africa, youth unemployment and NEET rates remain one of the most urgent challenges facing communities, employers, and policymakers.
He mentioned that in the latest Quarterly labour Force Survey (Q1 2026), Stats SA reported an official unemployment rate of 60% for 15–24-year-olds.
“The hub’s model is built on a three-pronged approach designed to move beyond ‘training’ and into real work-readiness. Digital, self-paced skills development via an online platform with assessments, practical experience that turns learning into demonstrated capability and ongoing mentorship that supports progression and long-term outcomes in local communities,” he said.
Garbers said Nwali Hubs envisages rolling out a further nine hubs across Gauteng to expand access to skills, mentorship, and work pathways for NEET youth, strengthening local pipelines into entrepreneurship and employment.
“Over the next 12 months, Nwali Hubs aims to enroll and skill 1 440 young people through the Tshwane hub, with a focus on measurable progression into employment, further training, or supported entrepreneurship,” he added.
Speaking at the launch, CEO Elelwani Gumede said Pretoria was selected for the flagship hub because of the scale and urgency of the challenge.
“The high unemployment of [NEET youth] in the city resulted in establishing our flagship hub in a city where the average unemployment rate of youth (18–24) is above 60%. In regions 1 and 2, it is even higher, almost 70%,” said Gumede.
Image: Supplied.
She said the objective of the organisation is to offer relevant skills in entrepreneurship, basic business management, and current skills acquisition relevant to the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
“We see the Nwali Hub as a catalyst capturing the NEET youth market with relevance that will open young people’s eyes to looking at the world of work totally differently,” concluded Gumede.
The organisation invites employers, funders, and community organisations to partner in creating measurable pathways from learning to earning for young people in Pretoria and across Gauteng.
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