UDM denies graduates were promised jobs

“We were promised jobs after graduating from a course in water management and waste treatment but to this day Umzinyathi District Municipality (UDM) has not employed us.” That is the cry from students who have declined to be named.
In January 2017, 15 students graduated, some of whom worked at Umzinyathi, after successfully completing a learnership facilitated by the UDM. At their graduation, then Municipal Manager, Dr EMS Ntombela, congratulated and explained that UMD was the only District in the province that had properly implemented this skills development programme. He further explained that by qualifying, these learners are ‘creating a pool of qualified employable people that will ease the unemployment rate.’
“We were promised jobs after finishing the course but nothing has materialised.

“We completed the course in 2016 and graduated in January and some of us are still unemployed. We have gone to the municipality a number of times but to no avail,” said one of the students.

However, asked to comment, Sindi Hlongwane, Human Resources Officer at UDM, told the Courier that ‘learnerships do not mean you are being promised a job’.
“The agreement signed by each student at the time did not in any way say that the municipality will employ them. The skills acquired meant that the students would be employable by any company with the skills acquired during the course.”

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