Youth Jobs at SADC

DURBAN – Youth employment must be at the centre of Southern Africa’s development agenda, International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola said as South Africa formally took over the chairship of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

Lamola made the comments at the SADC Council of Ministers meeting in Durban on Wednesday, where South Africa formally assumed the chairship for the August 2026 to August 2027 period.

The minister argued that the region cannot afford to separate economic growth from the needs of its rapidly expanding young population.

Lamola puts youth jobs at SADC centre

Lamola said SADC countries need to create employment at a pace that matches the region’s demographic realities.

Nearly 60% of Africa’s population is under the age of 25, while by 2030, one in every four young people globally is expected to be African, according to figures cited by Lamola.

For the minister, the demographic trend represents both a major opportunity and a significant challenge.

If young people are equipped with skills and connected to economic opportunities, they can become a powerful driver of regional growth.

If governments fail to create enough opportunities, however, unemployment and economic exclusion could deepen.

South Africa takes over SADC chairship

South Africa formally assumed the chairship of the SADC Council of Ministers on 12 August 2026, taking over from its period as interim chair, which began in November 2025.

The chairship gives South Africa an opportunity to influence the regional development agenda over the next year.

Lamola’s priorities include stronger regional integration, economic transformation, infrastructure development and human capital growth.

Youth employment cuts across many of these areas.

The region needs jobs, not just growth

Lamola’s message was that economic growth needs to translate into tangible opportunities for ordinary people.

He warned that SADC cannot continue with a business-as-usual approach while the population becomes increasingly young.

“It cannot be business as usual,” Lamola said, stressing the need for economic growth and job creation to keep pace with demographic change.

That approach puts employment at the centre of regional economic policy rather than treating it as a secondary outcome of growth.

Skills development will be critical

Creating jobs is only one side of the challenge.

SADC countries also need to ensure young people have the skills required by emerging industries.

The regional bloc has already identified employment and labour-market challenges as a major concern.

SADC’s latest labour-market analysis found youth unemployment reaching 62.5% in some member states, while unemployment overall reached as high as 36.9% in some countries.

Those figures demonstrate the scale of the challenge confronting governments across Southern Africa.

Critical minerals could create opportunities

One area with significant potential is the region’s mineral wealth.

SADC has substantial reserves of critical minerals, but Lamola has argued that countries should move beyond exporting raw materials and instead increase local processing, beneficiation and manufacturing.

That could create opportunities for young people across mining, engineering, manufacturing, logistics, technology and related industries.

The challenge will be ensuring that mineral wealth translates into regional industrial capacity and decent jobs rather than simply leaving the region as unprocessed commodities.

Infrastructure is another priority

South Africa’s SADC agenda will also focus on expanding and modernising regional infrastructure.

This includes:

• Energy systems
• Transport corridors
• Ports
• Digital networks
• Water infrastructure

According to SADC, better infrastructure is essential for increasing trade, supporting industrialisation and creating jobs across the region.

Infrastructure development could therefore become an important vehicle for employment and skills development.

Regional trade could unlock growth

South Africa is also pushing for stronger intra-SADC trade.

Lamola has identified increased regional value chains and greater trade between member states as important priorities during the chairship.

For young entrepreneurs and businesses, stronger regional integration could make it easier to access customers and suppliers beyond their home countries.

That could support the development of small businesses, manufacturing and cross-border trade.

Youth unemployment is a regional challenge

The employment problem cannot be solved by South Africa alone.

Young people across the SADC region face different but interconnected challenges involving unemployment, skills shortages, limited access to capital and weak labour-market opportunities.

SADC’s employment and labour ministers have already been examining regional responses to these challenges.

The bloc’s challenge now is to turn those discussions into programmes capable of producing measurable results.

From regional plans to real opportunities

Lamola has previously warned that regional integration must produce meaningful economic opportunities for ordinary citizens.

In March, he highlighted the need for SADC cooperation to improve livelihoods, jobs, food security, energy access and resilience.

That message is particularly relevant to young people.

A regional agreement or strategy means little to a young person who cannot find employment, start a business or access the skills needed to participate in the economy.

South Africa’s year-long opportunity

The SADC chairship gives South Africa a platform to push these priorities across the region.

But success will ultimately be measured by implementation.

The region already has strategies covering industrialisation, agricultural transformation, energy and regional integration.

The challenge is translating those strategies into projects that generate investment, businesses and employment.

The bottom line

Youth jobs at SADC are emerging as one of the central themes of South Africa’s chairship of the regional bloc.

Ronald Lamola has argued that SADC must respond to the continent’s rapidly growing youth population by accelerating economic growth, employment, skills development and economic opportunities.

South Africa’s chairship runs from August 2026 to August 2027, with priorities including industrialisation, critical-mineral beneficiation, infrastructure, regional value chains and increased intra-SADC trade.

The real test will be whether those priorities translate into something young people across Southern Africa urgently need: jobs, skills, businesses and a meaningful stake in the region’s economic future.