Youths throng for jobs

Since it started in 2022 over 400 000 young people have found positions. CHINA-BACKED FAIR: COLLABORATION OFFERS HOPE TO THOUSANDS

Crowds of unemployed young South Africans – among them, jobless graduates – yesterday thronged Gallagher Estate in Midrand seeking job opportunities at the Chinese government-backed Job Fair 2024.

The fair was intended to lower the country’s staggering 50.47% youth unemployment figure.

Since 2022, the Chinese embassy in South Africa has been facilitating several locally based Chinese enterprises to interact and offer employment to young job-seekers, covering diverse sectors, including engineering, management, sales, telecommunications, industrial machinery and marketing.

The project followed the state visit to SA last August of Chinese President Xi Jinping. Agreements signed with President Cyril Ramaphosa during the visit included:

Supporting the SA government’s efforts to strengthen vocational education and promoting youth employment.

Providing a larger market for SA’s high-quality exports.

Offering stronger support for SA’s industrialisation.

Providing better support for SA’s innovative development.

Addressing the gathering, also attended by Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu and Minister in the Presidency for planning, monitoring and evaluation Maropene Ramokgopa, Chinese embassy chargé d’affaires Li Zhigang said the Job Fair 2024 was “an important measure to implement the consensus reached by our two heads”.

“China is ready to work with South Africa through job fairs to help create jobs, promote development, injecting vitality into the talent recruitment and local development of Chinese-invested enterprises.

“Employment is like a bridge with one end connecting national development, while the other end connects family well-being.

“It is the biggest heart-winning project that benefits ordinary people.”

At the Job Fair 2022, “more than 60 Chinese-invested enterprises interacted with more than 1 000 young South African job-seekers, generating positive social effects”, said Li.

Economic and trade cooperation was “a splendid chapter in the relations between our two countries”.

Quoting figures provided by South African think-tank FDI Market, in the past 10 years, Li said China’s cumulative direct investment in South Africa “exceeded $13 billion, with an average of 260 local jobs per project – ranking first among major investors”.

“At present, more than 200 Chinese-invested companies in South Africa have created more than 400 000 local jobs.

“Some Chinese-invested companies even employ more than 10 000 local people and pay an annual tax of $40 million [about R760 million].”

“The key to state-to-state relations lies in close bonds between people... Let China-South Africa relations bear more golden fruits in the golden era,” he added.

Lauding the Chinese project, Zulu said the fair would “tangibly contribute towards our efforts to address the unemployment challenge”.

Ramokgopa said institutions like the South Africa-China Economy and Trade Association had “become a catalyst in facilitating partnerships and social compacts across the business communities of both countries to advance key targets including job creation”.

Let China-SA relations bear more golden fruit