Minister Thulas Nxesi Nxesi addresses Bushbuckridge Jobs Fair

Employment and Labour Minister T.W Nxesi said the area of Bushbuckridge in Ehlanzeni District, Mpumalanga Province was too big not to have a service delivery point like a labour centre.

He told the community that paperwork was at an advanced stage to facilitate the opening of a labour centre to bring Departmental services at Coal Face to the community.

The Minister today also urged the unemployed to use the Jobs Fair to launch their entry or re-entry into the job market "in this constrained jobs environment".

Nxesi said the gravity of the unemployment situation was exhibited by the 1 111 people who came to register as work-seekers and were provided with employment counselling services during the Jobs Fair.

"We are hoping that with the assistance that was provided to work seekers to apply for various opportunities, within the coming weeks, the majority will be contacted and assisted to prepare for interviews with prospective employers in the province and beyond. We also received a total of 1244 applications for the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) and enquiries, and where all documents were complete, payments were effected. We also received and processed 68 applications and enquiries for Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases," Nxesi said.

Nxesi was speaking at a Jobs Fair hosted by the Department of Employment and Labour today at Thulamahashe New Stadium, Bushbuckridge.

The latest Jobs Fair follows similar ones held the previous year in Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, North West and Limpopo. The next Jobs Fairs will be held in the Free State and Western Cape, respectively.

The Bushbuckridge Jobs Fair formed part of the Department of Employment and Labour's "Taking Services Closer to the People" campaign focusing on the communities in the Bushbuckridge areas of Casteel, Shatale, and Hluvukani.

The Minister took time to recognise the 39 inspections across the Ehlanzeni District to check compliance by employers in this region with labour legislation.

"I am concerned about the lower levels of compliance and have already instructed the Inspector General to conduct more blitz inspections in this region," the Minister said.

The Departmental inspections which showed low compliance levels were conducted in the Hazyview and Whiteriver areas - and these focused on agriculture, wholesale and retail sectors.

His advice to the majority of young people who attended the Jobs Fair, he warned them that there is "No Job that is a dirty job"; he continued that "there is no job that is too lowly - that is how we start out to gain experience and work our way up from the bottom". Nxesi advised that taking an entry-level job might lead to processes of discovery of talents and skills.

The Department of Employment and Labour Jobs Fair concept seeks to stimulate the employment of work seekers, particularly among youth. The event also provides an opportunity where job seekers can interact with potential employers and learn about available job opportunities.

The latest Jobs Fair was supported by many partners including the Department's Supported Employment Enterprises, Public Employment Services, Compensation Fund, the Unemployment Insurance Fund; Government Departments (SAPS, Department of Health, Mpumalanga Tourism, Mpumalanga Premier's Office), TVET Colleges; SETAs; development agencies; businesses; and community organisations among others.

Hundreds of work seekers attended and were provided with useful information on career counselling and were registered on the Departmental matchmaking system called the Employment Services System of South Africa (ESSA).

The Bushbuckridge municipality is located in the north-eastern part of Mpumalanga Province and is closer to the Kruger National Park. The area has over half a million people. The region accounts for about 34% of the total population of Ehlanzeni District Municipality, and 14% of the total Province population. Its main economic activity is agriculture and tourism.

Nxesi said the Department's systems, and those of its partners in the Presidential Youth Employment Initiative such as the Youth Mobi, the Higher Education KHETHA, and those of Private Employment Agencies registered with the Department, are digital and can be accessed remotely from anywhere, in line with trends in other countries.

He said the mobile units secured with the assistance of the European Union deployed during the Jobs Fair were an example of technology as it progresses and encouraged the youth to use them.

For more information, contact:

Petunia Lessing
Director: Media Liaison
Cell: +27 66 301 4645
E-mail: [email protected]

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