City youths on the march for jobs

UNEMPLOYMENT among young people in Kimberley was tackled yesterday when hundreds of youths marched to various government departments and private companies demanding employment.

The movement, which was initiated by the ANC Youth League in the Frances Baard Region, started last week when young people went knocking on the doors of companies and departments, looking for work.

Yesterday 30 youngsters received employment at the South African Security Services Agency (Sassa) when they arrived at the doorstep of the agency. They were armed with their CVs and qualifications and names were called out according to the qualifications and placements available.

The regional secretary of ANCYL in the Frances Baard region, Cingani Notuku, said the plight of the youths was highlighted after the message spread like wildfire.

“We spread the word on the marches by word-of-mouth. We also had a poster calling on young people to join us in this initiative. We made an announcement last Tuesday and we marched to the departments of Agriculture and Justice,” Notuku said, adding that the marches had been fruitful so far.

“The Department of Agriculture took a hundred youngsters last week. We also managed to get placement for three other with law qualifications at the Department of Justice.”

Notuku said that they are targeting the private and government sectors. “We will march to Ekapa and Petra Diamonds because many of the young people have engineering qualifications,” he said.

He denied claims that they are only targeting government departments. “We are not only going to the government departments and this is not an attack on the provincial government,” he said.

He added that the high rate of unemployment amongst the youth resulted in the initiative. “Young people are always encouraged to go and study to get a qualification. Yet when they have acquired the qualification the doors remain closed. The youth is educated, but unemployed.

“We want to raise the frustration being experienced by the youth with this initiative. There are many youngsters without work and we can no longer sit and complain about it. We need to take matters into our hands and address this challenge.”

He urged other young people to get on board. “Selections are not done on the basis of race or gender. We do not even care who your family is. That is the reason we do not take anyone’s CV and we allow them walk with their own documents.

“They are selected from the list where they had stated their names and the qualifications they possess. There is a list for those who possess degrees, diplomas and certificates and a list for those with matric. The list makes it easier to identify which skills and competencies they possess. It makes no sense placing someone with a law degree in an engineering post.

“Our young people cannot just be considered for Extended Public Works Programmes (EPWP) or learnerships. Someone with a degree has to be the tea lady because they are desperate for employment. We want the youth to be placed in these workplaces for 12 months in order to gain experience to enter the job market,” he said.

Sassa spokesperson, Inno Khunou, confirmed that the agency was given 30 youngsters to employ.

“A representative explained the reason for the visit was to hand over 30 youths and their CVs for placement in entry level positions in Sassa. They demanded a positive response from the agency regarding the placement within seven days,” Khunou said.

The youths also wanted to meet with the Minister of Social Development by Friday to discuss placement and the moratorium on the filling of vacancies.

Khunou said although they understood the plight of the youth, there are regulations to be followed regarding the employment of people.

“With the moratorium still in place, management’s hands are tied and there are certain policies and procedures within Sassa which prescribe how vacancies are filled,” she said.

Notuko concluded by saying that they will be heading to the departments of Correctional Services, Labour, Water and Sanitation and Home Affairs today.