SAMED has partnered with the Youth Employment Service (YES) to help transform the South African MedTech and healthcare sectors – encouraging SAMED members to create work opportunities for unemployed, black, South African youth in return for up to two levels on their B-BBEE scorecards.

Register for your first YES programme before your financial year-end and gain one or two B-BBEE level ups almost immediately.

 Given leniency from the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic), if your company registers with YES and contracts youth before your financial year end, you can receive your B-BBEE level up(s) in the same year.

This festive season, give the gift of a future, not only for our youth, but for our economy as a whole.

YES, a South African not-for-profit, is a joint national initiative between business, government and labour that aims to address the youth unemployment crisis in South Africa by providing 12-month quality work experiences (QWEs) to unemployed, black youth. In return for placing youth, corporates can receive up to two levels up on their B-BBEE scorecard. 650+ level ups have already been awarded to business.

Since being founded three years ago, YES has worked with over 1,700 South African companies (of which 27 are SAMED members) to create more than 67,000 work experiences. This has seen R3.8 billion being ploughed into communities and the economy through youth wallets.

The impact YES and its corporate partners has had on country, company and youth cannot be measured solely by numbers. Specifically, there is no yardstick for the individual youth lives that are changed for the better.

Keorapetse Mosime, a 27 year old YES Youth from the small town of Lerome in the North West, began working in the YES/Youth Health Africa programme in 2020. Youth Health Africa is a healthcare implementation partner for YES combatting HIV. Keorapetse was employed as a contact tracer, responsible for contacting and tracing people who had missed appointments and/or medication collection related to HIV/AIDS and TB.

“It was a very exciting and challenging job that I thoroughly enjoyed,” says Keorapetse. “Dealing with different types of people that are stubborn and often impatient was not easy, but I began learning a lot about myself and the importance of patience – especially within the field of healthcare. I learned the importance and value of workplace professionalism and the value of being a hardworking and loyal employee. It was also very important to be a kind and caring person during this job, because of the types of people and sensitive information we are dealing with.”

Keprapetse was finally given the chance to show the country, and the world, what she was made of – she even won an award for her good work. Not only is her potential being fulfilled for a brighter future, but she is actively contributing to her community and her country, doing valuable, purpose-led work.

There are 8 million Keorametses hoping for an opportunity to do the same – let’s give them that this festive season, and watch as our country (and your business) transforms and thrives.

Join the movement. Find out more here.