Alexandra’s door-to-door job movement confronts unemployment crisis
Alexandra’s youth are taking their job search to the streets, knocking on company doors in a bold campaign to fight unemployment and reclaim opportunity.
The long-standing challenge of youth unemployment in Alexandra has necessitated a radical shift in job-seeking strategies – one spearheaded by the SA Job Seekers Movement.
The organisation is mobilising job seekers who have grown weary of sending CVs and waiting for responses that rarely come, leading them to deliver their CVs directly to employers through a door-to-door campaign.
Read more: Watch: Jobs Seekers’ Movement campaigns to tackle rising unemployment in Alexandra and surrounds
“We’re doing our second door-to-door job search of the year,” said Mthokozisi Khambule, spokesperson for the movement, speaking ahead of their latest campaign at Motsweding Skills Centre. “Our strategy is to go to company by company with our people, carrying their CVs.”
The campaign held on August 6 was one of more than 20 conducted so far. While immediate employment is the goal, Khambule said the movement also aimed to build long-term relationships with potential employers. “We hope that by luck, people will get employed. But even if they don’t, we’ll have created a connection with the company.”
In July, the group led more than 350 job seekers to Longmeadow Business Estate, a major logistics and industrial hub east of Johannesburg. More than 60 CVs were collected for armed guard positions, and interviews are currently underway.
“As we speak, about 30 people are being interviewed. After they finish with the interviews, they will give us feedback on how many have passed and how many have failed. But, they said to us that we must not stop collecting CVs, because they need guards. So, if some fail, they will need additional CVs from us.”
The campaign aligns with the movement’s broader efforts to prepare young people for the job market. They usually host work readiness workshops at Motswedi Skills Centre every month to equip young people with the requisite skills and knowledge they need to seize job opportunities.
Through this campaign, SA Job Seekers Movement is restoring job seekers’ hope of securing employment, and is proving that community action can open doors.
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