'I think we can all leave here with something in hand,' says one hopeful job hunter, while another said it would have been better to stay home.
Riverlea resident, Arlen Humphries (c) and others attend the Vul’amathuba Festival of Opportunities. Picture: Nigel Sibanda/The Citizen
Arlen Humphries was excited when he woke up on Tuesday morning. Packing his CV in a folder, he headed out the door to the Vul’amathuba Festival of Opportunities, hopeful of finally getting work and pulling his family out of financial struggle.
12 hours later, he returned with the same CV and debilitating worries about the future.
Humphries, from Riverlea, travelled with residents from Sophiatown, Westbury and surrounding areas to the launch hosted by the Gauteng Department of Economic Development (GDED) and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, at Constitution Hill in Braamfontein, Johannesburg.
The province-wide initiative is part of the government’s response to high unemployment in the province, a scourge that, by some estimates, has left around 60% of young people aged 15 to 24 without a job.
The campaign aims to connect job seekers, artisans, creatives, unemployed graduates and aspiring entrepreneurs with “tangible opportunities for employment, skills development, business support and economic participation.”
While many who attended the event found it helpful and told The Citizen about their enthusiasm for the opportunities on offer, others said it lacked tangible results.
“It was a showcase of all the companies, but nobody is saying, ‘listen, we have employment, we need you guys to start’,” Humphries said.
He and thousands of others travelled in the rain, hoping to secure funding for their businesses or a job opportunity.
By 9am, about 2 000 people were in attendance, with about 4 000 expected. The GDED said 9 458 opportunities were available to those who braved the rain.
Although the weather put a damper on the day, Humphries was able to register for funding and put his name down at stalls that interested him.
But the excitement faded when he realised that acceptance was not guaranteed.
“We came because we need employment.”
“Our communities are marginalised. Our communities need employment. We are struggling because we’ve got gangsterism, shootings, and drug dealing”
“We don’t want to be a part of that. We want to be a part of the working South Africa,” he exclaimed with conviction.
Possible solution
Through Vul’Amathuba, the GDED is trying to remove barriers to economic participation and create an enabling environment for inclusive growth, entrepreneurship, job creation, skills development and partnerships across the province.
But Humphries explained that the event would have been worthwhile if companies came to the event with vacancies in mind, treated it like an “induction day” and took the opportunity to screen attendees with their CVs at hand.
“That’s what we needed to have happened here, and it didn’t happen.”
The early birds
Sisters Kgaugelo Distele, who matriculated last year, and Lerato Distele, who graduated from the University of South Africa in July this year with a degree in Communication Science and Psychology, were a bit more hopeful when they left the event.
They were among those who arrived early to try to secure a job, funding or an internship.
“I am just hoping to find a job because it is really hard getting a job these days, especially with some of us who don’t have work experience,” said Lerato.
Through partnerships with the private sector, skills development institutions, business support organisations and other strategic partners, the GDED seeks to create a one-stop platform where residents can access relevant information, networks, training programmes, enterprise support, and job opportunities.
Lerato noted that when they finished at the stalls, both she and her sister were told to apply once companies open vacancies in October.
“There’s some promising stuff. Samsung says they have an internship programme coming up in October, so we should check it out and apply on the website,” Lerato said.
Kgaugelo said there were many opportunities, and she was looking forward to visiting the funding stalls.
“I think we can all leave here with something in hand,” she added.
‘Seems like a youth career expo’
While many seemed content with the snack packs they received upon entry and enthusiastic about the job opportunities presented by the various exhibitors, others were frustrated.
Dikeledi Olifant from Orange Farm said she was told to bring her CV but left feeling “like they are hosting a career expo for youth.”
“We have a lot of youth here, even ones fresh from university. So this expo is fair to the youth and not us, the older people,” Olifant continued, questioning whether it would have been better to have stayed at home.
Speaking to SAnews, Deputy Director-General for Economic Planning at the GDED, Bulumko Nelana, explained that the campaign was working to bridge the gap between those looking for work and those with vacancies.
“The platform provides better visibility between opportunity providers and opportunity seekers.
“Increased visibility, at a lower cost on available opportunities, has the potential to shift Gauteng’s unemployment rate as the festival grows year on year,” Nelana added.
‘We’re not here for bananas, oranges and sandwiches’
Olifant noted that many attendees used their last money to print copies of their CVs just to leave with them, while others piled up for the companies.
“It’s not fair. We are not here for bananas, oranges and sandwiches,” Olifant said.
“If they had been honest, there would have been people who were still gonna come. Now they turned us into fools for nothing.
“If each tent was hiring five people or taking CVs, we would be more encouraged, not this thing of them advertising to us.”
Discouraged and still unemployed
Simphiwe Khanye from Tsakane expected unemployment solutions that would be available to her mom for a better, more financially secure future.
However, she left the event disappointed after realising the companies were just advertising.
“If this was for my benefit, I would not mind, but imagine my mom, who wanted to come here for this sham in this weather,” Khanye said animatedly.
“Voting time is near, so funny things like this will happen because they want our votes,” Khanye claimed.
