Government to scale youth jobs fund to R1bn after pilot surpasses targets

By Thapelo Molefe

Government will expand the Jobs Boost Outcomes Fund from R300 million to R1 billion after a pilot programme exceeded its employment targets and demonstrated that outcomes-based funding can help young people secure and retain jobs.

The announcement was made on Friday during a briefing on the fourth-quarter performance of the Presidential Youth Employment Intervention (PYEI), in which officials outlined progress in tackling youth unemployment during the final quarter of the 2025/26 financial year.

Deputy Minister in the Presidency Nonceba Mhlauli said the Jobs Boost Outcomes Fund pilot, which concluded at the end of March, had become one of the most successful initiatives under the PYEI.

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The fund was launched as a R300 million pay-for-performance programme designed to incentivise organisations to place young people in jobs and ensure they remain employed. Under the model, implementing partners receive only