Learnerships & Youth

Everyone tells you to “go do a learnership”. But which one? They are not the same — and the pay and requirements differ a lot. South Africa has four main routes into work for people who are starting out: learnerships, internships, apprenticeships and the YES programme. They sound interchangeable and they are not. Each is aimed at a different level

If you have no matric and no experience, most job sites feel like they were not built for you. Every ad says “Matric required + 2 years experience”. The truth: a huge share of entry-level hires in South Africa come through YES programmes, learnerships, retail and hospitality — not degrees. Here are 11 legitimate ways in. Before the list, one