Johannesburg – The Department of Employment and Labour says through its entity – the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) – in partnership with businesses, SETAs, and NGOs, it will create thousands of employment opportunities for residents of Gauteng.
The department said the move has the support of the Gauteng Provincial Government.
Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi announced the creation of job opportunities on Saturday, (6 April 2024), at the launch of the “Labour Activation Programme” for Gauteng, which took place at the NASREC Expo Centre, in Johannesburg.
He said R8.4 billion was set aside for Gauteng to implement 105 labour activation programmes over 22 sectors, including Agriculture, Services, IT, Construction, Engineering, Wholesale and Retail, Safety and Security, Hospitality, Social Services, Textile, and Transport.
The Gauteng launch is part of a R23.8 billion national job creation plan that will be rolled out over the next couple of weeks to create more than 700 000 employment opportunities throughout the country.
The opportunities will run between 12 and 36 months.
Minister Nxesi said in the face of rising unemployment, all efforts to create employment in South Africa should be welcomed.
“It is very important that we respond to the challenge of unemployment, and plan together to implement strategies to mitigate it on an ongoing basis,” said Minister Nxesi.
“We believe that government, working together with all stakeholders, has a major role to play in mitigating unemployment and creating and preserving jobs.”
Minister Nxesi added that only substantial economic growth and development will rescue the country from the huge unemployment challenge.
The launch was attended by labour activation programme beneficiaries, project owners, various MEC’s from the provincial government as well as senior government officials.
Participants that will be hired and trained in the programme will be selected through the Department of Employment and Labour’s Employment Services of South Africa database (ESSA).
For registration as a work seeker members of the public can register on the database using this link: https://essa.labour.gov.za/EssaOnline/WebBeans/?wicket:bookmarkablePage=wicket-1:za.gov.labour.essa.web.individual.register.RegIndSearch
Launches of labour activation programmes for other provinces are scheduled to take place as follows:
- KwaZulu-Natal, 16 April 2024
- Western Cape, 17 April 2024
- Eastern Cape, 19 April 2024
- Free State, 22 April 2024
- North West, 23 April 2024
- Mpumalanga, 24 April 2024
- Limpopo, 30 April 2024, and;
- Northern Cape, 09 May 2024
