address the location-related exclusions that arise from geography (Binns & Nel, 2000; Kingdon & Knight, 2001).
Finally, information to existing opportunities and subsequently being able to apply for those opportunities is a small but very important service that should be made more readily accessible to young people.
8.2 Youth Cooperatives: an under-exploited option?
According to the ILO (2006) it estimated that cooperatives account for up to 100 million jobs world-wide. However, how much of this figure is representative of young people is not quite clear. Cooperatives provide salaried employment and self-employment opportunities. Cooperatives overcome location related market failures thriving in rural and urban settings. In South Africa, cooperatives are not featured in the school curricula and therefore young people are often unaware of this option. Further, business development institutions such as the Umsobomvu Youth Fund and others exclude cooperatives from their funding ambit. The legislative environment does not lend itself to cooperatives either. The important contribution that cooperatives can make is the facilitation of the work-to-school transition providing on-the-job training and the requisite skills to increase their attractiveness to employers (ILO, 2006). The proposal then is that youth cooperatives are assimilated into youth enterprise funding solutions.
8.3 The Extended Public Works Programme
At a national level the Extended Public Works Programme (EPWP) is perhaps the prime example of a government intervention to take youth unemployment. Established in 2003 the objective of the programme is to offer income relief to the poor and unemployed. The EPWP has been adopted across all government departments and State-owned Enterprises. In its latest report for the 2013/14 financial year, the Minister of Public Works in South Africa attributed 3 million jobs to the programme (DPME, 2014)
The EPWP plays a very important role in providing income, short-term experience, and training. Granted, it may not be the ideal intervention for sustainable employment, but it does capture a notable number of young people that improve their chances of becoming economically active citizens.
However, Meth (2011) argues that the EPWP has failed to meet its objectives and falls short of its mandate because the essential component of training is often absent in many of its projects. The EPWP’s founding documents stipulate that for every 20 days worked, workers should receive at least 2 days training. The programme h