Don’t get fired without knowing how to handle it

“The knowledge that no one appears to be interested in employing me is the hardest part of being unemployed,” according to a recently retrenched man.

The Morehill resident, who wished to remain anonymous, was previously a site agent contracts manager in the construction industry, but lost his job in November last year.

He worked in the industry for 52 years, but being 72 now, he feels his chances of finding work again are greatly diminished.

“I have been told by recruitment agencies that my age is a serious obstacle to my finding any employment and the construction industry is in a serious state of depression at the moment,” he explained.

“I have a small pension which on its own is not enough to live on so I am looking for any alternate employment that I can find just to subsidise that pension.”

When asked whether there were any positive aspects to his retrenchment, the man said, “I think 52 years in the construction industry was a very stressful time and being out of it now is mentally relaxing.”

Grace van Zyl, owner of Aspire Wealth Management, said there are several options to prepare for retrenchment.

“Get your CV in order, look at your spending; be careful of debt, as interest rates are going up,” van Zyl said.

“Find out from financial institutions what they offer: some lenders will give a few months’ grace period if the borrower is retrenched.”

Van Zyl ended off by advising people to seek out insurers, as some offer retrenchment insurance as well.

The City Times also spoke to a Benoni CBD resident, who recently found work after being jobless for nine months.

The woman, who did not want to be named, worked as a sales admin finance clerk, in the chemical industry, until the end of May last year.

“To be honest I was very scared and no one could really understand; my age was against me because most companies are looking for school leavers and crazy degrees,” she said.

“It was very depressing.”

For this woman, the toughest part of retrenchment was being at home and no longer having a steady income.

Having lived through retrenchment and unemployment, the woman shared advice for anyone who recently lost their job: “Get help to budget properly, and I was told that the local UIF offices can advise on counselling.”

She said communication with family and friends, keeping busy and a positive attitude are important to getting through the experience.

The woman further said she is now glad she was retrenched, as she has a new focus on life and is happy with her new job, in the same field.

Also read: Woman lives off R550 a month, stresses need for proper retirement planning