More than farming: Township skills initiative equips youth for work and business
· Citizen
South Africa’s youth unemployment crisis continues to deepen, but a skills development programme in Diepsloot is showing how practical training and work experience can help young people build livelihoods and create opportunities for themselves.
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As Youth Month draws attention to the country’s unemployment challenges, non-profit organisation Afrika Tikkun says interventions aimed at equipping young people with skills remain critical.
According to the organisation, nearly 4.7 million young South Africans are unemployed, while the youth unemployment rate sits at almost 61%.
At Green Acres Farm in Diepsloot, one of Afrika Tikkun’s agripreneurship initiatives, young people receive hands-on agricultural training while earning an income and gaining workplace experience.
Training young people through agriculture
Farm manager Ryan Geere said the programme currently accommodates 30 candidates from the Diepsloot area and has the capacity to host up to 120.
“We know that transport is an issue. They’re all selected from the Diepsloot area,” he told The Citizen.
The farm’s daily operations expose candidates to a range of agricultural and business skills, from crop production and irrigation management to record-keeping, fertilisation schedules, and livestock care.
Ryan said agriculture requires discipline and resilience.
“Agriculture is extremely challenging. It’s not easy, and these candidates know it. From the day they put foot on this farm, they realise agriculture is not easy,” he said.
“My advice to them is just see it through, stick with the plan, stick with the skills you’ve learned and continue.”
Beyond farming techniques, candidates are exposed to workplace processes such as documentation, data collection, production planning and teamwork.
“I do more mentorship, I think, than farm management on this farm,” he said.
Building pathways to employment
Afrika Tikkun Group CEO Marc Lubner believes youth unemployment cannot be addressed only when young people begin searching for jobs.
“To try and intervene when they are already job seekers is too little, too late,” Lubner said.
He said the organisation’s Cradle-to-Career 360° model supports children from early childhood development through to skills training and employment placement opportunities.
The organisation says it has facilitated 24 081 work placements over the past eight years, produced 19 033 economically productive alumni, trained and supported 694 entrepreneurs, and employed 4 683 staff over the past 25 years.
According to Afrika Tikkun, its Head Start programme has assisted 8 539 young people, with 77% gaining specialist skills in sectors including ICT, call centres and agriculture, while 4 724 secured employment placements.
‘The money helps at home’
One candidate at Green Acres Farm said the programme had already made a difference to both her skills development and household income.
“I started working here a few months ago, and I have already learned a lot. The money I make here helps at home, too.”
She added that surplus produce from the farm is often shared with workers and residents in the surrounding Diepsloot community.
Tackling food security and unemployment
Afrika Tikkun says its agripreneurship programme addresses two major challenges simultaneously: unemployment and food insecurity.
Lubner said the initiative teaches young people not only how to farm but also how supply chains work.
Ryan said participants are taught affordable farming techniques that can be replicated at home.
“The way the candidates are learning how to grow food on the farm, with all our farming techniques, it’s inexpensive. It’s things they can do at home,” he said.
By taking those skills back into their communities, participants can help improve household food production while creating opportunities for self-employment.
The Green Acres Farm demonstrate that tackling South Africa’s youth unemployment crisis requires more than job placements alone – it requires practical skills, mentorship and long-term support that prepares young people for the world of work.