According to Stats SA’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey for Q1 2026, only three in ten young people aged 15 to 24 who want to work currently have a job. Seven in ten are either unemployed or have stopped looking, and of those seven, four are completely outside the system. Not working. Not studying. Not training.
For Sandi Richardson, Chief People Officer at RCS, this is the reality young South Africans face on Youth Day 2026, fifty years on from the Soweto Uprising of 1976. It is also the reason that this Youth Month, she wants the conversation to focus less on the headline numbers, and more on what young people can do about them.
“The structural challenges are real, and we should not soften them. But within that reality, there are still choices young people can make about how they think, what they learn, and where they take their first step. Those choices add up.”
A Year of Action, anchored to a mindset
Government has declared 2026 a “Year of Action” for youth, marking 50 years since 1976 and calling for renewed focus on expanding economic opportunity.
Richardson suggests that the most useful first move a young South African can make is an internal one, shifting how they think about the path ahead.
“An entrepreneurial mindset is not the same as starting a business,” she says. “It is the habit of looking for opportunities, learning quickly, taking initiative, and being useful before you are asked. Those traits matter whether you are applying for your first job, taking on a learnership, or building something of your own.”
Mindset, skills and the first step: where to start
For young South Africans looking for a way in, Richardson offers a practical sequence rather than a quick fix.
Adopt the mindset. Treat your time as your most valuable asset. Spend it learning, applying, volunteering and helping. Stay curious about how things work and look for problems other people are not solving.
Build skills that open doors. Communication, basic digital literacy, problem solving, customer service and the ability to work with others matter in almost every industry. Many of these can be developed for free online, through libraries or local programmes or through volunteering.
Use credit as a tool, not a crutch. Responsible use of credit can help unlock opportunities, such as purchasing equipment, funding short courses or covering initial business costs. The key is to borrow with a clear goal and a realistic repayment plan.
Treat any first job as a foundation. Entry-level work in retail, contact centres, hospitality or logistics is often where careers begin. The technical and soft skills built there transfer well, and the work record itself opens the next door.
Stay connected. Online platforms like LinkedIn make it easier to find learnerships, internships and entry-level roles, and to build relationships with people already in the industries you want to enter.
Where the first jobs are
For many young South Africans, one of the most accessible points of entry into formal employment is the retail and contact centre sectors. Both hire at scale, both look for soft skills as much as qualifications, and both offer routes into longer careers.
RCS is one of the employers that hires into these roles. The company’s call centres recruit regularly, and progression routes from agent roles into team lead, specialist and other functional positions are part of how it builds its own pipeline of talent.
“We are part of the solution, and we say that with a clear sense of how much more is needed,” Richardson adds. “Every employer that hires young people, develops them and gives them a real progression path is doing necessary work.”
A young founder’s perspective
For Elijah Djan, co-founder of EdTech and financial literacy company Fintr, entrepreneurship started with curiosity and listening, long before it became a business. The turning point came when a prototype of what would become the FinMaster board game, sold at a local market and started attracting genuine interest from users.
“Most people invest too much time into thinking and not enough time into listening,” he says. Understanding real pain points before building solutions is, he emphasises, the single most important habit a young entrepreneur can develop.
His own path was not linear. It was shaped by experimentation, reflection, and a willingness to follow the moments that genuinely sparked his interest. His message to young South Africans is simple: start small, stay close to your customer, and build with purpose.
Where to find support
Young South Africans looking to develop their skills or find an entry-level role can also tap into a growing network of public support. The National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) offers funding, mentorship and business development programmes, while the Presidential Youth Employment Intervention links young people to earning opportunities through the SA Youth platform (sayouth.mobi).
The TSIBA Business School in Cape Town provides scholarship-funded tertiary education in business and entrepreneurial leadership for young South Africans who would otherwise be excluded from higher learning.
RCS also continues its long-standing partnership with the Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative (WPDI), which builds digital and personal development skills among young South Africans. For many, these are useful first steps in turning intent into action.
“Our youth have been handed some tough cards,” says Richardson. “But the youth I meet are not waiting. They are looking for the next thing to learn, the next door to knock on, and the next step they can take. Our job, as employers and as a country, is to make sure those steps lead somewhere.”
