Employers in South Africa urged to help graduates jumpstart their careers
Lehlogonolo Masoga, an administrator at the Services Sector Education and Training Authority, interacts during a workshop.
Image: Supplied
South Africa has an extraordinary pool of talent standing ready to enter the world of work. When we opened enrollment for our graduate workplace exposure programme in December 2025, we were targeting 20 000 placements.
However, more than 40 000 graduates stepped forward. These young people have completed their studies and now simply need access to a workplace to jumpstart their careers.
Fourth from left: Lehlogonolo Masoga, administrator at the Services Sector Education and Training Authority.
Image: Supplied
We are appealing to employers across the public and private sectors to help confront this challenge. If your organisation can host graduates (with their stipends paid by the SETA) your participation will go a long way to resolve one of the worst challenges facing our country, unemployment. Even a small intake creates real opportunities.
We also plead with employers who can support this initiative through additional funding to consider doing so. The original allocation covers twenty thousand placements. The remaining 20 000-plus graduates deserve the same chance to gain work-based experience. Co-funding will ensure that no one is left behind because the pool of unemployed graduates is far greater than our offerings.
Services SETA will provide stipends, structured support, monitoring, coordination, and full compliance assurance. We will carry the administrative responsibilities so that employers can focus on developing trainees rather than managing processes.
The strength of a nation is measured in how it responds to societal challenges when it’s called upon. This is a chance to build capabilities across every sector of our economy and to give thousands of young South Africans hope for a better life that they so much yearn for.
Lehlogonolo Masoga, an administrator at the Services Sector Education and Training Authority, makes a point during a radio interview.
Image: Supplied
If your workplace can open its doors to welcome our energetic and vibrant graduates, we ask you to do so. If your organisation can help us expand the support through funding, your contribution will positively impact many lives. If you can do both, the impact will be much greater across the sectors of our economy and society at large.
We sincerely thank you in advance for your patriotism and commitment to building a South Africa of our dreams.
Lehlogonolo Masoga
Administrator Services Sector Education and Training Authority