Sending CVs is not really working, according to job-seeker
SHARONLEA – Job hunters overcrowd streets.
Over 200 desperate job seekers take their hunt to Malibongwe Drive intersections and streets, setting up placards pleading for jobs.
The men target motorists and businesses while they stand with placards advertising themselves as builders, carpenters, painters, gardeners and plumbers.
One job hunter who is from Zimbabwe, Zakaria Nkwinika, said everyday he sits between the streets hoping to find a piece job or a full-time one.
“I’m not here to mug or rob people, I am only looking for a job. After hours, I go back to my Zandspruit shack,” said Nkwinika.
He came to Johannesburg over a year ago looking for a decent job as a school teacher.
“Failing to get a teaching job which I am qualified for, I decided to go into carpentry. My father in Zimbabwe taught me carpentry and I also have papers for the job. I have to advertise myself on the streets because sending CVs is really not working for us,” said Nkwinika.
Ward 101 councillor Ralf Bittkau said they don’t have major problems with these job seekers.
He said they might be desperate for jobs, but they listen when told.
“I sometimes speak to them about how they position themselves. They were also told not to roam around the streets but to gather one place. These men are just job-hunting that’s all. We haven’t received any disturbing reports on their side,” said Bittkau.
According to Statistics South Africa reports, the unemployment rate in the country decreased to 25 per cent in the second quarter of 2015 from a ten-year high of 26.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2015.
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