Midrand ‘beggar’ is blessed with a job
MIDRAND – Begging for a job at traffic lights lands a man a job at one of the big companies.
With the high level of unemployment in the country and many job application rejections, Jacob Tsotetsi has landed an internship at Saab Grintek Defence (SGD) after being spotted at the traffic lights in Midrand, begging for a job.
Tsotetsi, who studied electrical engineering at the Pretoria West College in 2006, was seen by an employee of SGD last year who helped him secure a 12-month internship at the Centurion-based company. He is hoping to join the company on a permanent basis once his internship has ended.
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Tsotetsi was raised in Winterveld, Mabopane in a family of six. He followed many avenues to fund his studies and thereafter had many failed job applications. He walked for five hours daily to stand at the traffic lights in Midrand with an enlarged version of his CV, adamant to stand out from the rest and be seen by a potential employer.
“I would sometimes have people humiliate me, assuming I’m a street beggar asking for money, but all I wanted was a job. My advice to other people looking for jobs is not to give up. Things do not come easy, but you have to weather the storm,” said Tsotetsi. He has described the internship as ‘the best gift God has given me’.
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