The Youth Employment Service (YES), BMW Group South Africa and Absa partner to advance graduate employment
The Youth Employment Service (YES), South Africa’s largest private sector-led youth employment initiative, has announced a strategic partnership with BMW Group South Africa and Absa to help bridge the gap between qualification and employment for unemployed graduates.
Through the collaboration, BMW Group South Africa is providing 12 months of full-time, paid work experience, while Absa is offering historical student debt relief for qualifying graduates. YES is providing salary top-up support in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation.
The YES Quality Work Experience combines paid work experience, digital skills development, mentorship, and targeted financial support to help remove barriers to employment and prepare graduates for longer-term career opportunities. It builds on YES’s broader track record of creating more than 233,267 12-month, full-time work opportunities for young South Africans to date.
“This partnership with BMW Group South Africa and Absa represents a powerful commitment to unlocking sustainable youth employability at scale,” said Ravi Naidoo, CEO of YES. “By placing these graduates into strategically relevant sectors, including high-impact and future-facing roles, we are creating a multiplier effect where one job can create 10 more. We structured our partnership with the Mastercard Foundation to support leading corporates with exactly this type of graduate employment initiative.”
Since 2022, BMW Group South Africa has offered more than 4,300 work experiences through the YES programme. Its latest YES cohort includes more than 1,000 young South Africans, reflecting the company’s continued commitment to creating employment opportunities for young people across South Africa.
“Our investment in youth employment goes beyond immediate talent needs,” said Valencia Modiba, Head of Transformation and Corporate Investment at BMW Group South Africa. “By partnering with YES and sponsoring 172 graduates through this programme, we are contributing to a generation of South Africans who are work-ready, digitally capable, and equipped to help propel our economy forward. This is what responsible business looks like in practice.”
As part of the programme, a cohort of 172 qualifying graduates has received historical student debt relief through the Absa CSI Trust Graduate Historical Debt Relief programme. In total, Absa has provided an estimated R60 million in debt relief to more than 800 graduates from participating higher education institutions.
“For many graduates, historical student debt is the final barrier between earning a qualification and starting a career. Through this debt relief intervention, we are helping young people unlock opportunities, realise their potential, and build brighter futures. When we invest in the aspirations of our youth, we are investing in South Africa’s future, one story at a time,” said Setlogane Manchidi, Managing Executive: Corporate Citizenship, Absa Group.
By removing this barrier, the programme helps graduates pursue career opportunities and contribute meaningfully to the economy. The initiative aligns with Absa’s purpose of “Empowering Africa’s tomorrow, together… one story at a time.”
Through the Mastercard Foundation’s support, graduates receive an additional monthly salary top-up, giving them greater financial stability throughout the programme. This recognises that access to work experience is only one part of the transition from education to employment. For many young people, financial stability during the programme can play an important role in helping them participate fully and complete the 12-month placement.
“The Mastercard Foundation is committed to supporting young people across Africa to transition from education to dignified and fulfilling work. Through the Associates Program, we aim to reach about 12,000 young people over five years through strategic partners in South, East and West Africa,” said Carol Hondonga, Director of the Transitions Platform at the Mastercard Foundation.
Of the 1,046 young people in BMW Group South Africa’s 2026 YES cohort, 102 are placed internally across BMW South Africa and BMW Financial Services South Africa, while the remaining 944 are placed with external host employers through implementation partners.
The graduate employment programme is expected to inject at least R48 million into the economy through salaries, while helping reduce grant dependency and supporting longer-term economic participation. Across YES programmes, 47% of alumni have secured employment, and 17% are engaged in entrepreneurial activities.
By investing in young South Africans, the programme demonstrates that empowering youth is ultimately an investment in the country’s long-term economic growth and resilience.
*Information provided by the publicist.
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