We have the backing of some of South Africa's leading lights in business and the trade union movement, including the chairman of Business Leadership South Africa, Bobby Godsell, Cosatu general-secretary Zwelinzima Vavi and leading businessmen Cyril Ramaphosa and Michael Spicer.

Over the coming weeks, these leaders in the economy will be writing articles in our Review section on how they believe unemployment can be tackled.

If you would like to have your voice heard on this critical issue, please write to us at tellus@sundaytimes.co.za.

Your contribution might be to the debate about how jobs ought to be created. Or it could go further.

Charity, as the old saying goes, begins at home. Those who employ domestic workers, nannies or gardeners should see to it that their staff have proper employment contracts and that they are paid appropriately.

Beyond that, we should all look at our workplaces and ask ourselves some difficult questions.

Are our workplaces accessible to trainees, interns and others seeking basic work experience?

Are there ways in which we could assist youngsters wishing to enter the industries in which we work to gain experience? This need not be a year's internship such as that offered by this newspaper's corporate owner, Avusa. Even a few weeks spent in a work environment could prove invaluable to someone seeking employment.

Retrenchment will always be part of corporate life, but we would like to make it an unwritten rule that jobs should only be shed as an absolute last resort when every other effort has been made to save a business.

Many readers - and not only those running small businesses - would say there is too much government red tape involved in hiring new staff.

Our Each One, Hire One campaign will open up space in our Review section and in Business Times to debate policy and to recommend ways of reducing the cost of hiring new employees.

We will provide advice on how to employ people, and we will offer readers seeking work an opportunity to showcase themselves to potential employers in our Money & Careers section.

We invite you to support our campaign by having your say and by changing the way you think about employment at home and at work.

The government, business and trade unions must do their part, but so must we, the people who make South Africa great.