Microsoft South Africa and the Youth Employment Service (YES) are building on a shared commitment to equip young South Africans with the digital skills needed to participate meaningfully in a fast-changing economy. At a time when youth unemployment remains a significant challenge across the continent, the partnership reflects a practical response to one of South Africa’s most urgent priorities: helping more young people move from learning into opportunity.
Recently, the initiative reached a key milestone – winning the annual Tech Impact Award at the Sentech Africa Tech Week Awards in Cape Town, South Africa. This award is a recognition of the impact of a programme that is working to widen access at scale and to build a stronger pipeline of digitally skilled young people able to pursue employment and economic participation.
The YES × Microsoft AI Skills Initiative is helping to train young South Africans in digital skills, with bespoke learning material curated by Microsoft and YES to meet different levels of exposure to artificial intelligence and computer science. The training pathway is designed to build awareness of AI and support progression from novice to expert level, giving participants a stronger foundation from which to pursue further study, work and long-term career development.
Expanding reach through scale
The scale of the collaboration reflects the urgency of the challenge it seeks to address. One year since the initiative was launched, the numbers tell a story of scale and reach: more than 70,000 young people have already engaged in digital learning pathways, while 140,000+ certification opportunities have been unlocked. But behind each number is a person, a first qualification, and a new confidence to engage in the digital economy.
The partnership speaks directly to a wider challenge: many African economies face a dual pressure in which workers do not always have the skills required for available jobs, while too few quality jobs exist to encourage continued skills-building. By focusing on practical, industry-relevant digital capabilities, Microsoft and YES are working to narrow that gap and support a more inclusive transition from training to employment.
A partnership focused on access and employability
The YES × Microsoft collaboration delivers curated training material that recognises different starting points and levels of digital exposure, while keeping the focus firmly on employability. As participants move through the formal training programme, the aim is not only to build technical awareness, but also to show how digital and AI capabilities can improve the way they work and open pathways to future careers.
The programme’s emphasis on digital and AI-related skills aligns with the growing demand for capabilities that can help young people participate in modern workplaces. By offering structured exposure to these fields, the initiative is intended to do more than deliver training alone. It is designed to help participants leave with practical awareness of how these technologies can shape the way they work and how digital skills can become the basis of a profession in the future.
As Tiara Pathon, AI Skills Director for Microsoft Elevate South Africa, commented, “Through the YES × Microsoft AI Skills Initiative, we’re not only equipping 50,000 young South Africans with globally recognised digital skills and an industry recognised international certification, but we’re fundamentally reshaping access to opportunity in the digital economy.”
Part of a broader effort to build South Africa’s digital future
The partnership sits within Microsoft’s broader commitment in South Africa to prepare more people for participation in a digital economy. This commitment highlights the importance of improving both access to skills development and the quality of that development if African economies are to harness the growth potential of a young workforce. Collaboration between organisations such as YES offers a practical example of how targeted skilling initiatives can support employability, strengthen economic inclusion and contribute to longer-term economic growth, and offers a blueprint for future public-private partnerships.
As the need for market-relevant skills continues to grow, this work underscores the value of partnerships that connect training more directly to opportunity. By focusing on digital capability, employability and access, Microsoft South Africa and YES are contributing to an approach that aims to help more young people move with greater confidence from potential into participation in the economy.