Losing hope of ever finding permanent jobs
UNEMPLOYED graduates have lost hope of finding a permanent job. A recent labour survey revealed that of the 27.7% unemployed, about 7.6% were graduates.
Among those waiting was Sibonelo Mchunu, 24, from Pietermaritzburg. He graduated with a Btech in public relations from the Durban University of Technology. He completed his internship programme a year ago. “After graduating in 2014, I was optimistic that my life was about to change. Three years down the line I’m still unemployed and slowly losing hope.”
Raeesa Moosa, 25, from Phoenix, graduated in 2016 with honours in commerce from the University of Kwazulu-natal. “It’s been very demotivating for me as I keep getting turned down.”
Maxwell Radebe, 27, of Inanda, graduated with a diploma in internal auditing from the DUT in 2013, and completed two internships – one in the private sector and the other in the public sector. He criticised how the graduate programme was structured, saying there was no progress after the completion of internships.
“Internship programmes are only for 12 months, while the employers’ minimum requirement for a job is three years’ experience.”