Hundreds of thousands of young people gathered at different venues set up as walk-in centres for job applications by the Gauteng provincial government to mark Youth Day on Friday.
With queues snaking for more than a kilometre by midday at one of the centres at Pimville Community Hall in Soweto, the crowds of young people painted a grim picture of unemployment in South Africa.
With youth unemployment at 46.5%, 23-year-old Walter Phakane, who matriculated in 2021, was among the throngs of people who were filling out forms in Pimville.
Phakane, from New Canada, said he has not been able to find a job since matriculating. He is applying for the position of senior road officer.
Pimville is one of the four centres set up in Johannesburg, including the Nasrec Expo Centre, Eldorado Secondary School and Ivory Park North Hall. There are 22 centres in total across the province.
Community Safety MEC Faith Mazibuko, who was deployed at the centre, said the thousands of young people who are coming to the hall are a clear demonstration that unemployment is serious in Gauteng, especially among young people.
“They came out in numbers. Community safety has very long queues because they associate us with thousands [of job opportunities], but other departments are also hiring. So, we are busy encouraging them that other departments have posts, such as the departments of health, education, social development, and transport and logistics.
“The challenge is that most of our unemployed young people have studied up to matric,” she said.
“Those who have diplomas and degrees we are able to channel them to proper departments that require their skill. Other posts require experience and the young people will come and say, we don’t have the experience. We hope with the engagement with the department of public service and administration, we might find a way,” she said.
“There was a time as a department that we took the decision that the issue of experience should not disadvantage young people, but they must be taken and given on-job training like we are doing with our crime prevention wardens. A majority of them work under the police, traffic officials and other law enforcement agencies as part and parcel of what we call on-job training,” she said.
“We wish to urge all other departments to do that so that young people [shouldn’t] feel that they do not qualify because they don’t have experience,” she said.
Mixo Matsebele from Protea Glen has a diploma in policing from Vaal University Technology, and said she had been unlucky at finding a job.
The 28-year-old said she thought the tide was turning when she was called for a psychometric test in 2020 and 2022, but she did not get any of the jobs.
She submitted applications for positions as a laundry worker in the department of health and a general worker in the departments of sports and community safety.
“I wish to just get a job, any job,” she said.
It was not only young people who were looking for employment opportunities. Ntombi Lesiba, a 40-year-old mother of three, was one of the first people to apply when the centre opened in the morning.
Lesiba did not pass matric and has never had a formal job in her life. Her two children aged 26 and 21 years old, and her niece who is also 21, were still in the queue to fill their application forms.
“It would make such a difference in our family if anyone of us gets a job,” she said.
Dubbed the Jobs Fair campaign to commemorate June 16, Mazibuko said today was just the launch, but the posts are available and will be closing on July 14.
The queues were also long at the Nasrec centre where Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi was expected to visit the centre. Taxis, cars and buses filled the empty field near the centre with long queues of young people awaiting their turn to submit their applications.
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