Gordhan said the government would focus on projects which provide young people with work experience in the public service or in community development, on-the-job-training and job-search assistance.

The focus will be on piloting job creation projects and a further R2 billion has been budgeted for the 2012/13 financial year and R3 billion for the 2013/14 financial year.

These projects will be monitored and evaluated to determine their effectiveness.

The move follows a proposal mooted in the 2010 Budget to introduce an incentive to encourage youth employment.

The idea was that the incentive would complement initiatives supported through the expanded public works programme.

The billion rand for helping the youth does not replace the youth incentive, said Gordhan, adding that it was necessary to try as many things as possible to see what works. - BuaNews