Publications
Partners
A QUIET revolution has happened at the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) since it was last in the news. It’s had a complete change of board personnel – the only member of the previous board who was re-nominated is its new head, Yershen Pillay, a man whose quiet, smiling exterior gives no hint of an extraordinarily active career for someone who’s just 30.
Pillay has served on the Human Resource Development Council of South Africa, the Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) Council of South Africa, the Board of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) and the National Education Council of South Africa.
And part of his job over the last year as NYDA head, says Pillay, is “cleaning up the NYDA’s image”. The unfortunate matter of the 17th World Festival of Youth and Students has shadowed the agency, but Pillay is quietly confident that it is on a positive trajectory now: “Young people can expect to see a much improved NYDA in the next two to three years.”
Few young people want to be entrepreneurs
Several key steps have driven this change. First, the NYDA has used data to motivate a change in direction: most young people, it found, do not seek to open up their own businesses, so it has shifted its core work from enterprise finance to education and skills development.
“Only about 4.6% of young people want to be entrepreneurs, we found. It was very surprising, but we must respond to the real needs of young people. And after all, the quality and level of education of work seekers supports entrepreneurship.”
Secondly, says Pillay, “We’ve moved from loan provision to grant provision for our young entrepreneurs.”
The NYDA, he explains, has found that giving people small sums of money to get started is actually more productive; once they’ve achieved some success, it is easier for them to access loans through other institutions (such as the Industrial Development Corporation and the Small Enterprise Finance Agency, with whom the NYDA has an agreement), but getting there is easier if they don’t have a requirement to pay back that first amount hanging over their heads.
Thirdly, he says “We’ve been cleaning up processes, systems and policies.” For example, the agency has applied the accelerator to applications for assistance – these must now be attended to in a matter of days rather than months.
The agency has also adopted a new frankness; as Pillay says, there simply isn’t enough funding to help all young people in need, so it has been very clear about what it can offer, and to avoid false promises.
“There’s a new commitment and energy at the NYDA. We are seeing a real impact on young people’s lives; that has also helped to boost staff morale.”
Flagship programmes
The agency has a few flagship programmes which have been proven to have high impact.
The National Senior Certificate 2nd Chance Matric Rewrite Programme offers learners who failed matric in 2011-2013 a chance to rewrite, as long as the subjects they need to pass are physical science, maths, accounting, life science or English. The target for 2014 is a total of 4 500 learners, who will get 52 hours of classroom teaching in each subject they are registered for, as well as guides and assessments. (Applications for this programme closed in April.)
Pillay says that you would be surprised how well these learners fare, who might otherwise have dim job prospects.
The Solomon Mahlangu Scholarship Fund, established late last year, provides study grants for young people who’ve been accepted at tertiary institutions for ICT, law, tourism, geology, logistics, pharmacy, journalism, agriculture, engineering, development studies and supply chain management.
Grants programme
The grants programme for entrepreneurs is yielding some quite spectacular results, and repeatedly proving the case that investing money in micro businesses yields enormous knock-on effects. “Our branches have not been waiting for applications,” says Pillay.
“Staff have gone out into their communities and sought out the people who are already entrepreneurs to offer them assistance. We can take a certain amount of risk that the banks can’t take. The result is a chance to break free from poverty, for the entrepreneur and their family.”
Grant recipients also benefit from a 24-month mentorship. “We hold your hand through that time.” R25m has been allocated to the Grant Programme to assist both individual entrepreneurs and cooperatives during 2014.
In addition, the Thusano Fund (“helping hand”) has a budget to help with needs that fall outside of the Grants Programme or the Solomon Mahlangu Scholarship Programme. (Find out more at www.nyda.gov.za)
The grants programme has yielded 3 593 jobs so far, says Pillay, and the 30-year-old is aware that other countries are watching with interest to judge its success.
“In two to three years we will really have a sense of the success of what we’re doing and will know how to fine-tune our work. But the interim results show that we are making a difference.”
Pillay has served on the Human Resource Development Council of South Africa, the Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) Council of South Africa, the Board of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) and the National Education Council of South Africa.
And part of his job over the last year as NYDA head, says Pillay, is “cleaning up the NYDA’s image”. The unfortunate matter of the 17th World Festival of Youth and Students has shadowed the agency, but Pillay is quietly confident that it is on a positive trajectory now: “Young people can expect to see a much improved NYDA in the next two to three years.”
Few young people want to be entrepreneurs
Several key steps have driven this change. First, the NYDA has used data to motivate a change in direction: most young people, it found, do not seek to open up their own businesses, so it has shifted its core work from enterprise finance to education and skills development.
“Only about 4.6% of young people want to be entrepreneurs, we found. It was very surprising, but we must respond to the real needs of young people. And after all, the quality and level of education of work seekers supports entrepreneurship.”
Secondly, says Pillay, “We’ve moved from loan provision to grant provision for our young entrepreneurs.”
The NYDA, he explains, has found that giving people small sums of money to get started is actually more productive; once they’ve achieved some success, it is easier for them to access loans through other institutions (such as the Industrial Development Corporation and the Small Enterprise Finance Agency, with whom the NYDA has an agreement), but getting there is easier if they don’t have a requirement to pay back that first amount hanging over their heads.
Thirdly, he says “We’ve been cleaning up processes, systems and policies.” For example, the agency has applied the accelerator to applications for assistance – these must now be attended to in a matter of days rather than months.
The agency has also adopted a new frankness; as Pillay says, there simply isn’t enough funding to help all young people in need, so it has been very clear about what it can offer, and to avoid false promises.
“There’s a new commitment and energy at the NYDA. We are seeing a real impact on young people’s lives; that has also helped to boost staff morale.”
Flagship programmes
The agency has a few flagship programmes which have been proven to have high impact.
The National Senior Certificate 2nd Chance Matric Rewrite Programme offers learners who failed matric in 2011-2013 a chance to rewrite, as long as the subjects they need to pass are physical science, maths, accounting, life science or English. The target for 2014 is a total of 4 500 learners, who will get 52 hours of classroom teaching in each subject they are registered for, as well as guides and assessments. (Applications for this programme closed in April.)
Pillay says that you would be surprised how well these learners fare, who might otherwise have dim job prospects.
The Solomon Mahlangu Scholarship Fund, established late last year, provides study grants for young people who’ve been accepted at tertiary institutions for ICT, law, tourism, geology, logistics, pharmacy, journalism, agriculture, engineering, development studies and supply chain management.
Grants programme
The grants programme for entrepreneurs is yielding some quite spectacular results, and repeatedly proving the case that investing money in micro businesses yields enormous knock-on effects. “Our branches have not been waiting for applications,” says Pillay.
“Staff have gone out into their communities and sought out the people who are already entrepreneurs to offer them assistance. We can take a certain amount of risk that the banks can’t take. The result is a chance to break free from poverty, for the entrepreneur and their family.”
Grant recipients also benefit from a 24-month mentorship. “We hold your hand through that time.” R25m has been allocated to the Grant Programme to assist both individual entrepreneurs and cooperatives during 2014.
In addition, the Thusano Fund (“helping hand”) has a budget to help with needs that fall outside of the Grants Programme or the Solomon Mahlangu Scholarship Programme. (Find out more at www.nyda.gov.za)
The grants programme has yielded 3 593 jobs so far, says Pillay, and the 30-year-old is aware that other countries are watching with interest to judge its success.
“In two to three years we will really have a sense of the success of what we’re doing and will know how to fine-tune our work. But the interim results show that we are making a difference.”
