Richards Bay - Director-General in the Department of Labour Sam Morotoba has urged young people to make better choices to ensure they are employable.
Many young people were unable to secure employment because they did not have the relevant skills. He said this was one of the biggest problems in addressing the challenge of youth unemployment.
"We would like to encourage our young people to make better choices so they can be employed," he said.
Morotoba said young people with no matric worsened the situation.
Speaking at the two-day Jobs Fair hosted by the department in Richards Bay, he said there were about three million unemployed young people in South Africa and black people were in the majority.
With regard to experience, Morotoba appealed to employers to give young people an opportunity to gain experience through internships and learnerships. He also urged them to register with the department or to recruit from the department's database.
The aim of the Jobs Fair is to bring together business and unemployed youth who have dropped out of school, unemployed youth with school exit certificates, unemployed graduates, workers who are underemployed and retrenched workers.
It aims to empower the unemployed with soft skills, information and a face-to-face search for placement opportunities - be it further learning, self-employment, co-operatives, community works or public works programmes and formal employment.
President Zuma, who officially opened the summit on Thursday, had called on private sector companies to partner with government in a bid to address the challenge of youth unemployment.
By late yesterday, most company representatives had indicated that they were willing to partner with government to create employment for the youth. Some of the companies indicated that they were willing to fund those young people who wanted to start their own companies - a move that got the thumbs-up from young people.
The youth thanked government for hosting the summit, saying it had brought hope that their lives would change for the better.
Bongani Khumalo, 24, a second-year Chemistry student at the University of Zululand, said he had hope that upon completing his studies, he would get a job.
He emphasised the need for government to open more training centres for those young people with no matric so they can be taught the relevant skills.
"I appreciate what government is doing. This really shows that our government cares,"
