CAPE TOWN, May 19 (Xinhua) -- High rate of youth unemployment constitutes the greatest challenge to social and economic development in South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Saturday.

Ramaphosa was speaking as he toured the Volvo Assembly Plant in Amanzimtoti, south of Durban.

"We all share a responsibility to ensure that young people gain the confidence, capabilities and exposure to succeed in the working environment," Ramaphosa said as he applauded Volvo for making youth development an integral part of its social investment program.

That is why the government has prioritized the development of pathways into work for young people, he said.

The president urged companies to joined in the Youth Employment Service initiative, launched in March.

This initiative, which provides work experience opportunities for young people on a scale never seen before in this country, is the result of effective collaboration between the government, business and labor.

"It demonstrates the willingness of business to be part of finding solutions to youth unemployment," Ramaphosa said.

He called on companies to join the program, not only to increase the chances of employment for many thousands of young people, but also to enable the companies themselves to develop the young workforce that they will need to expand and grow.

"We all share a responsibility to develop the skills of young South Africans and ensure that these skills are suited to the needs of the economy, now and into the future, said Ramaphosa.

"The success of our efforts will be judged by the extent to which they create more employment and education opportunities for young people," Ramaphosa said.

According to figures released on Tuesday by Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), South Africa's official unemployment rate remains at 32.4 percent amongst 15-34 working youth age group, the highest youth unemployment rate in the world, followed by Greece (25.2 percent) and Spain (22.2 percent).

Ramaphosa said his country is working to address the decline over many years of its manufacturing capacity, which has deeply affected employment and exports.

"We are working to re-industrialize on a scale and at a pace that draws millions of job seekers into the economy," he said.

In its National Development Plan (NDP), the government sets the goal of halving youth unemployment to six percent by 2030.

In his maiden State of the Nation Address (SONA) in February, Ramaphosa announced that a jobs summit would be held within the next few months to harness the energies of business, labor and government behind a major job creation initiative.

The summit is expected to bring together the country's best minds to boost job creation, particularly for the youth.