National Rural Youth Service Corps programme
The National Rural Youth Service Corps (Narysec) is a youth skills development and employment programme. It is the youth fagship programme of the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform which also forms part of the CRDP.
It also provides character building programmes, soft and hard skills training and dispatch the youth to rural areas to undertake various rural infrastructure and other development projects. It transforms youth from rural areas, from being job seekers to become job creators in their own right, breaking the vicious cycle of social grants dependency.
In May 2013 some 13 000 participants in the Narysec programme were at various stages of their training as development agents. The Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DRDLR) has partnered with the Agricultural Research Council to train 900 agri-paraprofessionals in smallholder livestock and dairy production, and 750 more in vegetable gardening and soil sampling. The Department has invested over R631 million in programmes to train and deploy rural youth.
A further 400 youth have received practical training in construction by Murray and Roberts. This is part of the collaboration with the private sector. Youth have also participated in construction projects in Worcester (housing construction), Beaufort-West (constructing a youth hub), and Limpopo (brick making and paving).
Background
The objectives of Narysec are to:
- train youth through specifically developed programmes linked to community needs in rural areas
- develop youth with multidisciplinary skills through civic education
- capacitate youth in retaining knowledge and technical skills acquired during training
- increase the number of rural communities receiving support in their self-development through the CRDP.
The programme has been specifically designed as part of the National Youth Service and focuses on aspects of discipline, patriotism and service delivery in rural communities.
Recruitment is done through advertisements and selection by community structures. Narysec participants are expected to stay in the programme for 48 months following their recruitment from rural communities. The frst two years of the programme is focusing on skills development while the latter two years focus on incubation of enterprises.
National Defence Force training
A total of 1 047 youth graduated at 3 South African Infantry Battalion in Kimberley on 29 May 2013.
The Department of Defence has successfully instituted a National Youth Service (NYS) training programme since January 2011 in collaboration with participating state departments.
A total of more than 5 000 youth from the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DRDLR), and 500 from the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government have participated in the DOD NYS programmes up to May 2013.
The curriculum of the DOD NYS programme provides subjects such as drill, physical training, leadership, civic education, life skills, youth regeneration, diversity management, environmental management, public service induction, communication and social responsibility.
The programme is focused on character building in order to deliver youth who have developed self-discipline, are proud South Africans and can take the lead in their communities. No combat skills are developed and the DOD NYS programme is thus non-military training.
Given the limited spare capacity of the SA Army, SA Navy and the SA Military Health Service to present and support the broader NYS programme, only a small number of youth may have been reached, but significant citizen building is offered. Each of these youths will have a significant impact on the socio-economical upliftment of their communities.
On conclusion of the DOD NYS programme, the participants return to their own departments to continue with their youth service programme.
Rural Development and Land Reform training
The skills development provided by DRDLR's National Youth Service Corps (NARYSEC) is in the domains of construction, agriculture, disaster mitigation, office management,
basic administrative skills, project administration and enterprise development. Construction in rural areas has been identified as an immediate focus area of skills development.
basic administrative skills, project administration and enterprise development. Construction in rural areas has been identified as an immediate focus area of skills development.
The skills-development phase will be followed by the community-service phase, where the youth will apply their newly acquired skills in rural communities under the leadership/mentorship of the responsible department.
The final phase or exit strategy of the Narysec will be linked to the maintenance and operations activities of local and district municipalities. The strategic outcomes of the programme in the long term are expected to be:
- a decline in the level of youth unemployment in rural areas
- an increase in literacy and skills
- an increase in disposable income of youth in rural areas as a result of employment and entrepreneurial opportunities
- decreased dependence on transfers from family members working in urban areas.
On conclusion of the four year NARYSEC programme, the participants are in positions to be employed, or to contribute to the economies of their respective communities through building enterprises.
In its initial phase, it enlisted 7 958 young people between 18 and 35 years of age, with a minimum educational standard of Grade 10. They were drawn from rural wards across the country, including farms, small rural towns and some peri-urban areas.
Application forms are avialable from the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DRDLR)
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