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9th September 2024

Inspiring Change Webinar: Supporting those who are NEET

The second of our new webinar series in collaboration with DGMT



Fri 13 Sep 2024, 12:00 - 13:00

In this webinar we aim to equip social performance practitioners with the knowledge and insights necessary to make informed investment decisions that will tangibly improve High School learner outcomes. 

Objectives

The Challenge of those who are NEET

Young people’s lives in South Africa are marked by multiple vulnerabilities. Some of the challenges they face include income poverty, low educational outcomes, poor housing and unreliable or expensive transport options, poor physical and mental health, limited social networks and restricted access to the social grant system.

At least 40% of all young people leave school before completing matric; they enter the labour market without the necessary educational credentials and skills, and are often ill-equipped to navigate the complex social structures that determine access to employment. This transition also takes place at a time when young people no longer qualify for the social protection they accessed when they were younger than 18 – such as the Child Support Grant, or support services available at schools.

Many fall out of social and economic systems entirely and become invisible. Described as ‘NEET’, they are not in education, employment or training. Young people that are considered NEET are at risk of longer-term economic and social exclusion.

With over 3 million young people between the ages of 15 and 24 that are NEET, responding to their challenges in a holistic and inclusive way is a matter of urgency.

Solutions

We will discuss general approaches to solving these problems and the success factors behind them, and even explore practical examples.

The Role of Funders

We will discuss the principles that funders (IPPs and Community Trusts) need to embrace to effectively support approaches that genuinely work.

Speakers

Bridget Hannah

DGMT: Innovation Director

Bridget Hannah is an Innovation Director at the DG Murray Trust, leading the portfolio, ‘All young people on pathways to productivity’ – believing strongly that young people in South Africa urgently deserve access to skills and support that enable them to earn an income and participate in the world of work. Before DGMT, she worked for the Western Cape Government, building programmes leveraging public funds and civil society expertise to support quality first work experiences for young people, and a movement around After School Programmes focused on improving learner outcomes. Bridget is particularly interested in working to build strong, collaborative partnerships towards achieving collective impact.

Kristal Duncan-Williams

Youth Capital: Project Lead

Kristal is Project Lead for Youth Capital, a campaign advocating for policy change to solve unemployment. A Mandela Rhodes scholar, Kristal has a master’s degree in Public Health in Health Economics, and more than a decade of research experience across the fields of molecular biology, public health, and youth employment. She has an interest in research-driven advocacy and believes that making data accessible for everyone is critical to building an engaged society.

Youth Capital is a campaign advocating for key policy changes to solve youth unemployment, ensuring that youth voices and experiences inform solutions. The Action Plan is a strategy that details 10 critical challenges where young people need support on their journey from education to economic productivity. Key to their work is ensuring that young South Africans shape conversations on the systemic challenges laid out in the Action Plan and the relevant solutions to those challenges. Youth Capital identifies policy change and collectively drives lobbying activities with the relevant decision-makers.

Antonia Appel

FETCH: Communications Manager

Antonia Appel is the Communications Manager for the FETCH approach, a coaching and community-strengthening initiative within the DG Murray Trust. With over 10 years of experience in strategic communications and stakeholder engagement, she believes in the power of storytelling to inspire action and empower young people. Previously, she held key communications roles at the University of the Witwatersrand’s Faculty of Health Sciences. Antonia holds a Master of Arts in Sociolinguistics, specialising in language and cultural diversity.

Following extensive research and engagement by civil society partners, the FETCH approach was designed and implemented to provide holistic support to young people to improve their wellbeing and employability.. FETCH offers a unique response to youth unemployment because it offers targeted, individual, ongoing support to young people that are NEET, while simultaneously supporting community service providers and stakeholders to improve their response to the youth unemployment crisis.

The project aims to proactively offer young people support with a well-targeted, holistic package that helps them understand available pathways (back) into education, training and work; empowers them through referrals to existing support services that connect them to employment, education and training opportunities; and keeps them connected to an opportunity over time through re-engagement when necessary.

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