About Us
YouthBuild South Africa (YBSA) is a youth development organisation dedicated to empowering opportunity youth with the skills, leadership, and support they need to build meaningful livelihoods and transform their communities. Through an integrated approach that combines education, technical skills training, leadership development, and community asset building, YBSA creates pathways to employment, entrepreneurship, and further learning.
YBSA is an affiliate member of YouthBuild Global, a worldwide movement that unifies and partners with an expansive network of YouthBuild programmes across the globe. Together, this network champions opportunity youth, supporting them to achieve their ambitions, realise their full potential, and become leaders of positive change in their communities.
Rooted in South African communities and strengthened by global partnerships, YouthBuild South Africa works to address youth unemployment, strengthen community infrastructure, and contribute to inclusive and sustainable development.
Vision
With love and respect, we partner with opportunity youth to build the skillsets and mindsets that lead to lifelong learning, livelihood, and leadership.
Mission
YouthBuild South Africa strives to create a world where all young people are seen for their potential, and power to transform themselves and their communities.
Our Core Values
We focus on systems that impact our young people. That is, everything from workforce development systems, criminal justice systems, education systems, and how we can make these systems more responsive to the needs of under privileged young people.
Love
We respect and value any individual, and we welcome them with open arms and open minds.
Accountability
We speak and act with integrity. We treat ourselves and others with respect.
Collaboration
We work together to achieve common goals, and we contribute to a supportive community.
Leadership
We take to heart our responsibility to realize our full potential and to help others realize theirs.
Diversity
We draw knowledge, strength, and inspiration from the full human community.
Our impact
YouthBuild South Africa (YBSA) empowers young people to become skilled, confident, and economically active contributors to their communities while delivering lasting social infrastructure across South Africa. Through our integrated programmes in construction, life skills, leadership development, and entrepreneurship, YBSA creates pathways out of unemployment and into sustainable livelihoods.
An average of 60% of YBSA graduates transition into formal employment, learnerships, internships of at least six months, self-employment, or further education. Our youth gains practical, market-relevant skills while building and refurbishing schools, community facilities, housing, and multi-purpose infrastructure that strengthens local development in both urban and rural communities.
By combining youth development with community asset building and a growing social enterprise approach, YBSA delivers dual impact: transforming the lives of young people and creating safe, functional, and dignified spaces that support education, opportunity, and community pride.
