The Department of Employment and Labour, in partnership with the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), has announced the launch of the second round of the National Pathway Management Network’s (NPMN’s) Innovation Fund, an initiative of the Presidential Youth Employment Intervention (PYEI).

The fund is focused on supporting interventions that stimulate demand for labour, reducing barriers that hinder labour market entry and facilitating links to appropriate opportunities.

The department is calling on suitably qualified organisations to pilot novel approaches and/or scale existing viable concepts that will unlock earning opportunities for young people.

The deadline for the submission of applications is July 8.

The minimum funding criteria will be R5-million and the maximum grant will be R25-million per applicant.

This funding round is open to government, nongovernment and private-sector organisations that meet the eligibility criteria.

Project partners must demonstrate an understanding of the objectives of the NPMN and demonstrate the capacity to plan, implement and manage a project of the size and nature proposed.

Successful applicants will sign a two-year and six-month agreement with the IDC and, in that time implement, evaluate and close the project.

More information can be found on the IDC’s website.

All applications must be submitted to: InnovationFund@idc.co.za.

The PYEI is an effort to address the country’s unemployment crisis, seeking to transition young people from learning to earning.

The intervention brings together the expertise of several government institutions and social partners to deliver more opportunities for young people.

The PYEI also integrates with other interventions coordinated by the Project Management Office in the Presidency to drive structural reforms and enable job creation.

The department is responsible for NPMN and the IDC is the fund manager for the Innovation Fund.

The NPMN is a “network of networks” aimed at facilitating the successful transition of young people into and through the labour market.

The NPMN aims to provide active support to the entry and retention of young people into the labour market while providing greater alignment between the various networks and systems that exist to ensure access to a shared set of opportunities and services.

 The NPMN has three key objectives: stimulating and aggregating demand, driving systems change to address barriers and linking young people to opportunities.