Five ways in which local communities can help the youth find jobs

For young people to find jobs, we need to create an environment where the youth can become a sought after commodity.

Supporting the youth to find jobs should not be the responsibility of government alone.

Every community – no matter how big or small – can play an essential role in facilitating job access and solving youth unemployment.

As part of communities, people can employ a number of useful and creative ways to support unemployed youth:

Open a youth employment hub

If one has a community center, training venue or any place with internet and computer access, they can turn that into an occupational center where job seekers can come in a register their CVs online.

Once registered, these youth will be a part of one of the country’s largest job seeker databases.

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This will afford them access to opportunities as they arise – should these posts fit their profile.

Youth employment networks place interns and learners on a regular basis in areas all over the country, so being part of their database is the best place to start.

Registering on all job portals

There are many job portals where it’s worthwhile to register a CV.

Any internet-savvy and willing community member can guide young people through the process.

Host work-readiness training

Hard working and ambitious youth wish to find employment that speaks to their abilities and interests.

Many, however, lack the basic skills to navigate interviews successfully and transition into the working world when they are given an opportunity.

Many NGOs and social enterprises offer free work-readiness training.

Call them up and check if they are available to offer their world-class work-readiness training to your community and empower your youth to both attain and retain employment.

CV writing

A CV is the first chance a job seekers gets to make a good impression on a potential employer so it needs to stand out by being professional, concise and error-free.

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Find some volunteers (for example graduates or people who work in HR) who know how to write and check a quality CV and let them help job seekers craft or correct their CV, giving them the best chance of being invited to an interview to start off with.

Mobilise local businesses

There are many opportunities for small businesses (through programs like Youth Employment Service (YES) and the like) to increase their staff count by offering work experience to youth with little or no financial outlay.

Encourage all small businesses to register to ensure that when funding does become available in your area, SMEs will be contacted and given the chance to grow their business while supporting job creation.

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or Stacy Slatter (news editor) stacys@caxton.co.za

 or Miné Fourie (journalist) minev@caxton.co.za

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