City project for job seekers

THE City of Cape Town has launched an outcomes-based workforce development programme to improve residents’ access to employment opportunities.

The three-year programme, held in collaboration with Lulaway Holdings, aimed to reduce the number of discouraged work seekers by identifying, preparing, and placing them in education, training, and ultimately securing permanent work opportunities for them, said mayor Patricia de Lille.

With a focus on youth and those living in high-density and traditionally marginalised areas, the programme aimed to help 30 000 unemployed residents, provide work-readiness skills training to 6 000 programme participants, and subsequently to place 4 050 candidates in various employment opportunities. This would be achieved through industry partnerships that would ensure training was directly linked to employers’ needs, she said.

THE PROGRAMME AIMS TO HELP 30 000 UNEMPLOYED RESIDENTS

Cape Town’s general unemployment rate was 21.7% and the youth unemployment rate was 52%.

“Despite Cape Town’s unemployment statistics being better than other cities in South Africa, they are still unacceptably high. The city hopes that this initiative will support the unemployed by not only preparing them for possible education or employment opportunities, but also linking them directly to opportunities and hopefully helping them to secure well-paid jobs in growing economic sectors,” De Lille said. – African News Agency