Lansdowne library held their annual job-seekers programme to encourage unemployed residents to up-skill themselves and apply for jobs.
At the launch on Tuesday March 19, various speakers from different sectors including Helping Hands Academy, Thrive Training Solutions, Forge SA, the City of Cape Town’s Expanded Public Works Programme, and librarians, spoke to youth, and adults in the audience about the importance of gaining skills to make themselves more employable.
Seventy-eight people attended the launch, according to librarian Ruwayda Ahmed.
She said the job-seekers programme had seen great success. The process starts where residents of all ages fill in a form which is captured and then loaded onto the database. As soon as a project opens up, they are randomly selected and contacted. The contracts can last from a month until up to a year, said Ms Ahmed.
She said this was an opportunity to get work experience and improve your CV. Ms Ahmed said while they thought they would mostly attract youth, most of the residents were over 40 years old. She said unfortunately many of the job seekers came with the idea that they were going to apply for jobs but the session was about learning about how to apply and how to up-skill themselves.
“The attendees were very hopeful for jobs, many of them did expect a job offer on the day but they left more skilled and hopeful. They were taught how to do their CV’s. The challenge is that are there a lot of of older people looking for jobs. The overall unemployed people’s situations are dire, there are so many people looking for jobs and there aren’t enough jobs to go around. A big chunk of over 40’s are looking for jobs. We also had one or two pensioners and a handful of people over 50 as well. Attendees were also shown how to apply to do their matric and were directed about where to go to do it for free. Improving their skills and education betters their chances of getting a job. A follow up will take place soon,” she said.
Lansdowne ward councillor Mark Kleinschmidt, said that education was of utmost importance and greatest tool one could have to be beat a life of poverty. He said that while unemployment numbers in Lansdowne was low, many people in Cape Town still needed jobs.
“It was very well received. There is great support for the programme. There is great unemployment in the country. Cape Town has become the silicone town for call centres. It ticks all the boxes where economic growth is concerned. People of all ages are interested in this, especially the youth. They are looking for opportunities, mainly women folk. Take every opportunity that you can. Up-skill yourself. The more skills you possess the better. You may not have the experience but you will have the skills to fill those positions,” he said.
Lansdowne resident Ahmad Solomon, director at Forge SA, spoke about learning what recruiters are looking for. He said that each individual had certain skills and talents and it was important to discover that which would lead to a passionate career.
Each person paired up with another person in the audience and spoke about their interests and skills, which they found easy to do after a bit of prompting. He said that often people don’t place importance and understand the value of their skills.
“More communities should have this. There’s an expectation on the attendees, they think that if they left their CV somewhere they just have to sit and wait. These workshops shows what else they could leverage when it comes to internet and libraries and doing short courses,. They weren’t aware of the services they could use to create a CV or look for a job. The unemployment statistics are very high, and that is what I saw. While looking for work, do something,” he said.