EXCLUSIVE
Economic Growth Mayoral Member James Vos
I’m happy to introduce an exciting new chapter for the people of Cape Town with the commencement of Jobs Connect for the period starting now until 2026, funded by the Enterprise and Investment Department. I truly believe that this will drive forward the City’s goal of creating job opportunities for our residents with the help of the private sector, which is at the heart of this programme.
The best way to describe Jobs Connect is that it has two distinct purposes: to link businesses, particularly SMMEs and corporates to the appropriate talent; and to provide knowledge, training and employment opportunities to job seekers across the metro. The goal was to come up with a system that was easy to use while at the same time reducing the cost barriers associated with finding employment.
With this programme, the City is looking to expand on the successes made under the Outcomes-Based Workforce Development Programme initiated in 2018.
By June 2023, 88 966 residents had been recruited and assessed, with 15 000 people trained in work readiness, 6 600 people had been placed into entry-level jobs, and 3 450 people placed into internships or learnerships.
But as our city grows, so does the need to expand on opportunities and access. Often in my interactions with businesses, one of their biggest struggles is sourcing the talent and skills that they need to maintain and grow their operations. At the same time, we have many thousands of people who are eager to work, but who haven’t received enough training or guidance in how to make themselves attractive to companies or quite simply don’t know that these opportunities exist. This is why we came up with Jobs Connect, to answer both needs.
The types of employment opportunities available on Jobs Connect include:
- Logistics Industry- Drivers/packers/warehousing agents
- Fast food Industry – cashiers /cooks/chefs
- Retail Industry – cashiers /packers/sales people
- Telecommunications – call centre agents
- SMMEs- contract workers/receptionists /drivers
Short courses are also available to employment seekers, including:
- Work readiness training
- Problem-solving
- Time management
- Team building
- Customer care
- Webs design
- Project management
Longer courses available include:
- Business management
- Business leadership
- Business studies
- Entrepreneurship studies
- Cloud practitioners
How does it work?
- Job-seekers need to register their details online at http://jobsconnect.leelyn.co.zaand complete a literacy and numeracy assessment. The results of the assessment will be added to a digital CV. The entire process is paperless but people can print out their CVs and assessment results. The website is also zero-rated for MTN and Vodacom users.
- Business owners in need of staff can easily register as an employer by contacting info@leelyn.co.za
To date, 88 966 people have been registered and assessed on Jobs Connect, where business owners can source talent for the entry-level jobs or learning opportunities.
The fact that Cape Town has long been and remains the metro with the lowest unemployment rate is proof that initiatives such as these are working. But 26% unemployment is still far too high and therefore job seekers and businesses are encouraged to make use of Jobs Connect as a means to create jobs and economic prosperity.
