INTRODUCTION

This introduction sketches the context and process of developing the Green Paper. It highlights the link between the Green Paper and other major government policy initiatives and underscores the interface between national youth service and government's principle of constructive partnerships. It also outlines the situation which the National Youth Service seeks to address, and defines the four target groups of youth that will be prioritised for participation in the Service.

1 Origins
The Green Paper on the National Youth Service is a significant follow up by government on provisions of (1) the Reconstruction and Development Programme (1994) and (2) the Youth Policy 2000 (1997). The contribution of the National Youth Service is conceived within the parameters of South Africa's commitment to national development and the development of young people as a dynamic workforce for the 21st century.

Both policy documents identify the National Youth Service as a key initiative for human resource development and for promoting a culture of service towards communities and society. These policy documents recognise that young women and men in South Africa have played a major role in the achievement of freedom ... and are our country's most important resource that must be equipped to play a major role in the reconstruction and development of South Africa.

1.1 RDP and the National Youth Service
Responding to the challenge of youth development in South Africa, the Reconstruction and Development Programme asserts that:

Youth development must focus on education and training, job creation and enabling young people to realise their full potential and participate in society and their future. It must restore the hope of our youth in the future, and in their capacity to channel their resourcefulness and energy into reconstruction and development.

The RDP recognises that, by involving the youth in community service projects such as literacy, welfare, health, public works, peace monitoring and other priority national projects, the National Youth Service, when established, would play a significant role in creating an environment for youth empowerment and development in line with the Plan of Action of the International Convention on the Rights of Children.

This Green Paper, in line with the RDP, proposes the establishment of a national institution to coordinate the National Youth Service in consultation with community, private and public sectors. It agrees with the RDP that Aappropriate government departments must more forcefully represent youth interests, including through the allocation of resources to organisations involved with youth work.

1.2 The National Youth Policy 2000
The National Youth Policy 2000 was produced by the National Youth Commission and based on extensive public participation processes and research, through sectoral workshops and focus groups. The National Youth Policy 2000 recognises that young people are a critical and significant grouping within South Africa. The policy states that the need for youth development is an intrinsic component of national development strategies.

The National Youth Policy 2000 identified nine strategic areas for youth development. Under the strategy for education and training, the creation of a framework for the National Youth Service was mandated. The National Youth Service is a key vehicle for responding to the remaining eight strategies that affect youth in the field of health, economic participation, safety and justice, welfare and community development, sport and recreation, arts and culture, environment and science and technology.

1.3 Other related policies
The Green Paper takes into consideration existing policy frameworks which have a bearing on strategy and implementation. Some of these are:

• the National Qualifications Framework;
• the National Skills Development Strategy and legislation;
• the Higher Education policy and legislation; and
• the Further Education policy and legislation.

In line with new policy trends in education and training, social services and infrastructural development initiatives, the National Youth Service will have far reaching implications in terms of:

• curriculum transformation and the role of educators in the coordination of service learning;
• the design of funding formula for higher and further education;
• provision of local government services, particularly health, welfare and public works;
• sustainable provision of opportunities for youth service activities; and
• re-establishment of social cohesion through community support and participation.

In this way the National Youth Service will play its role in youth development, regeneration of communities, nation building and economic revival by harnessing youth energy and innovation.

2 Problem statement
South Africa has experienced an alarming increase in youth unemployment over the past twenty years. This stems from a range of reasons including a decline in the number of jobs available, the poor education and training which has been available to the majority of young people in South Africa, lack of exposure to work opportunities and to work experience, and a plethora of social and psychological stresses which have meant that many young people are regarded as poor candidates for employment opportunities.

The level of disengagement experienced by young people should serve as a serious warning signal for the rest of South African society. While this disengagement is seen most clearly in the levels of youth unemployment, it is also evident in many other ways: the vulnerability of young people to becoming involved in antisocial behaviour such as crime and substance abuse and their profound disillusion with society.

2.1 The situation of youth in South Africa
South Africa's population is predominantly young. Seventy-two per cent of the total population is under the age of 35 while 39% of the population is aged between 14 and 35, the national definition of youth. Forty per cent of young people are students, while 23% are unemployed. The C A S E report for the National Youth Commission in 1996 estimated that the figure for unemployment among youth who were available for employment was 43%. The 1995 October Household Survey stated that 28% of young people are employed in full time positions and 3% are employed part time.

2.1.1 Education
Only 12% of African youth have studied as far as they wanted to, as compared with 58% of their white counterparts. The 1996 census data, segmented according to age cohorts, has not yet been released. However the 1995 October Household Survey shows that 28% of all youth in South Africa have achieved only some level of primary school education or less.

There are significant variations according to population: 33% of African youth have achieved some level of primary school education or less, as compared with 3% of white youth. According to the 1995 October Household Survey results, only 8% of young people in South Africa had attained post-matric qualifications. These include tertiary education as well as any certificates or diplomas undertaken since leaving school. A major challenge that will confront the National Youth Service is addressing this education deficit.

African youth are more likely to want to continue their education than other racial groupings - 49% compared to 33% for white youth, 30% for Indian youth, and 29% for coloured youth. There is also a strong relationship between educational level attained and the desire to continue with education. Less than a third (29%) of young people with no formal education wanted to continue with their education as compared with 42% of those with some level of primary education, 49% of those with some level of junior secondary education and 52% of those who had achieved grade 11.

There are also significant differences in the education attained by young people in different provinces. Gauteng and the Western Cape have the highest proportions of young people who have undertaken additional education or training since leaving school as well as the lowest proportions of young people who have no formal education.

2.1.2 Employment
Education and unemployment are inter-related. It would be a mistake, however, to assume that poor education is the only reason for the high levels of youth unemployment. Despite an increase in young people's ability to access education over the past ten years, youth unemployment has continued to rise.

Young women experience higher rates of unemployment than young men across all race groups. Young women find it more difficult to access the labour market and face particular problems such as discrimination and harassment when searching for work. There is a particular need to address these issues when delivering programmes which prepare young women for entering the workforce.

Studies have shown that unemployed young people are more depressed than those engaged in youth programmes or employment, and they are therefore particularly vulnerable. It is important to note the profound social and psychological effects unemployment has on young people and the long-term impact this will have on South Africa's overall development. It points to the need for programmes addressing issues of employment to do so in a comprehensive and integrated manner.

The limbo in which many out of school youth find themselves contributes significantly to young people's feeling of being disrespected and de-valued by their families and communities. The National Youth Service will provide a comprehensive way of addressing these challenges.

2.1.3 Young people in conflict with the law
Data available on young people in conflict with the law only covers juveniles in the correctional service system. Juveniles are defined as law offenders, sentenced and unsentenced, who are 21 years and younger. According to the Correctional Services Annual Report 1997, juveniles constituted 15% of the total prison population.

Figures provided by Statistics South Africa indicate the following profile: of the total 218 394 convictions for serious offences in 1995/96, 17 526 or 8% were juveniles between the ages of 7 and 17; 30 565 or 14% were young adults between the ages of 18 and 20.

The lack of a common definition of youth which can be used by all departments working with young people, particularly the departments of Correctional Services, Justice, and Safety and Security, means that little data is available on how many young people are in fact involved in the judicial and prison systems. What is known is that increasing numbers of young people are coming into conflict with the law and do not have access to programmes which can adequately rehabilitate them into society.

3 Target groups for national youth service

3.1 Four key target groups
Four key target groups will be prioritised for youth participation in the National Youth Service. These are: higher education students, further education and training students, unemployed young people and youth in conflict with the law. Each of these groups is defined below.

• Higher education students
  This target group refers to young people who are enrolled in higher education institutions. It refers to all students regardless of their year of study or subject area.
• Further education and training students
  This target group refers to all students who are enrolled in further education and training institutions, regardless of their year of study or subject area.
• Unemployed young people
  This target group refers to all young people aged 16B35 who are not engaged in formal education, employment, or income generating activities. It includes >out-of-school youth, which are those youth who have not completed their education, but who wish to return to it. Since this is such a large target group, it is suggested that some priority target groups be identified initially, for example young people who have been unemployed for a period of at least two years. The category >unemployed youth also refers to young people who may have completed higher education, but who are currently unemployed.

  Given the significant variation in need within this target group, it will be necessary to consider different strategies for the sub-groups identified within it.

• Youth in conflict with the law
  There are two distinct groupings within this target group. The first comprises young people who are encountering the criminal justice system for the first time and who may become involved in community service rather than entering the court system, or may become involved in community service through alternative sentencing. The second group will include young people who are exiting from correctional service institutions and who may be involved in community service as a way of becoming reintegrated into society.

3.2 Other categories within the youth sector
Within these target groups, and beyond them, other groups can be identified and their interests cut across the four target groups cited above. Their relationship with the four target groups is described below.

• Youth with special needs
  It is recognised that there are a number of special needs groups in the youth sector: for example young women, rural youth, disabled youth and demilitarised youth. All these young people, however, will fit into one of the above four groups. For example, there are rural youth and disabled youth who are in the further education and training and higher education systems, or who are unemployed, or who are in conflict with the law. A national youth service policy must provide for the special needs of youth to be aggressively promoted and catered for within the overarching programmes for each target group. For example, any programme for unemployed youth must actively promote ways of engaging young disabled people in service and providing for their needs. This approach contributes towards the key objectives of the National Youth Service which are to build nationhood and a common purpose among young people, rather than segregating youth who experience different needs.

  Young people under 15 years of age constitute a grouping which needs particular attention. The National Youth Service will encourage young people to move into employment, which is not legal for this age group. For this reason national youth service is not the most appropriate development intervention to be made with youth under the age of 15 years. Rather, special programmes need to be established which concentrate on enabling these participants to return to formal education. This does not preclude out-of-school fourteen year olds from being engaged in voluntary youth service.

• Youth who are employed or self-employed
  A further group of young people can be identified: those who are employed, engaged in post graduate study or successfully engaged in small, micro or medium scale enterprise (SMME) activity. These young people are an important group because they can be drawn upon to deliver service in several ways. They could mentor or develop skills in their peers who are not employed and they could undertake service for those who are disadvantaged. While many of these young people may be involved in service through organisations such as religious institutions, sporting clubs etc, it is not appropriate for these programmes to be a particular target of the National Youth Service. Nevertheless, in addition to their participation in such organisations, these young people could be drawn into programmes which do form part of the National Youth Service, possibly in a mentoring role.