There stood a young unemployed man on Jan Smuts Avenue dressed in his best shirt and tie, seeking employment. After weeks on end of standing at these traffic lights he now holds the title of project engineer at a Midrand-based firm.
This is the story of Ayanda Mbatha, a 26-year-old who looked at his retrenchment not as his demise but his rebirth.
Originally from New Castle in KwaZulu-Natal, Mbatha moved to Pretoria where he studied at Tshwane University of Technology for his National Diploma in Mechanical Engineering. After he graduated, and gained practical experience, he later held a permanent position as a mechanical engineer technician. “Here I delved into the technical side where we did the ammunition from scratch,” he explained. A role he did to the best of his abilities until he was retrenched in May this year.
As Mbatha worked for a company that sold its product internationally, due to Covid-19 affecting many businesses negatively, his too had to trim staff. He shared being the ‘last one in’ in his department, meant he was subsequently the ‘first one out’ when trimming. “The shock of being retrenched hit me for a day or two but I knew that I had to quickly get up.”
Coming from a close-knit family, he being the fourth of five siblings and being raised by a single mother after the passing of his father 14 years ago, Mbatha knew though challenges laid ahead of him he had a strong foundation he could look to for aid. “After being retrenched my family’s support was such a boost, their faith in me spoke volumes of the type of family we are.”
He recognised how many people do not have this structure and noted how the lack of this sort of support could hamper one’s growth.
After retrenchment he worked on a plan of action. Ever the astute man, he knew that nothing came from wallowing. So he started posting video interviews on LinkedIn to various companies but he noticed his efforts weren’t getting the sort of traction he wanted. “I knew that I wanted maximum visibility, and how do I do that, I stand at the traffic lights.”
He designed a job board and attached designs he created to it. Now, it was not a matter of if he would find a job but rather when. He first stood at the traffic lights found on Katherine and West Streets, Sandton. There he stood every day for about three weeks before he was told move away, and that’s when he came to Jan Smuts Avenue.
From 8am to 4pm Ayanda stood and though his feet and back would ache they were soothed by thoughts of a goal being accomplished. About three weeks ago, Ayanda received a call for an interview and is now employed.
He praised the Mix FM team and DJ Darren Scott who, gifted him with R5 000 that helped him get to his interviews, “With that money I could get food while I was on break from standing at the traffic lights, pay parking tickets for my car and I would also give what I could spare to vendors and people seeking money.”
His advice to everyone going through something is to fill your mind with positive affirmations. “Nothing negative should get you down in life, doesn’t matter how long it takes, put in the effort.”
