THE City of Cape Town is putting a R5,5-million budget behind Jobs Connect – a recruitment platform to link young people with employers, which also includes work readiness training opportunities.
The allocation forms part of the City’s proposed Building For Jobs Budget 2024/25.
To date, over 100 000 Capetonians have signed up to the Jobs Connect platform, which offers an easy-to-use, accessible way to connect work-seekers with employers.
“Jobs Connect offers Capetonians an opportunity to find work and training opportunities in our high-growth sectors, including call centres, hospitality, manufacturing, retail and more. Importantly, these sectors have low-barriers to entry especially for young people hoping to experience the life-changing transformative power of earning an income for the first time,” said Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis.
“The Jobs Connect platform is just one of the many ways the City is ensuring that Cape Town maintains the lowest broad unemployment rate of all SA metros, with 363 000 new jobs created in our metro since the current local government term of office began in November 2021, said Hill-Lewis.
The Jobs Connect platform can be accessed via mobile phone or desktop, and is data-free for MTN and Vodacom users.
Users create an online profile that serves as their digital CV. Thereafter they complete a digital numeracy and literacy assessment. Both the CV and the assessment certificates are downloadable.
Once registered and assessed, people can go through the platform to see what training and learnership opportunities are available. Job-seekers are also able to drill down to opportunities by area. Individuals who are selected for an interview are automatically notified via SMS or WhatsApp.
‘Looking for work can be time-consuming and stressful, and can cost work-seekers up to R1 500 per month according to studies. Jobs Connect eliminates many of these issues by offering a streamlined, user-friendly, and cost-effective online system. ‘With over 100 000 Capetonians registered on this platform, we are seeing promising results for both work-seekers and employers.
‘Recently, Jobs Connect, which is managed by Leelyn Management, collaborated with Smile FM in securing 12 914 job opportunities for Capetonians in just a few weeks before Christmas 2023. This was well above the campaign’s target of 10 000 jobs,’ said Alderman James Vos, mayoral committee member for economic growth.
How to get started on Jobs Connect
To get onto Jobs Connect, work-seekers need to register their details on the website, https://jobsconnect.leelyn.co.za/ and complete a literacy and numeracy assessment.
Business owners looking for talent can also register as an employer by contacting Leelyn Management at info@leelyn.co.za or phone 021 558 1552.
