City helps youth to find that elusive job

27 January 2017

 

The City of Johannesburg is collaborating with the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) to provide young job-seekers with effective methods of finding employment and innovative ways of marketing themselves using their curriculum vitaes (CVs).

On Thursday January 26, the two parties hosted a Job Preparedness Workshop at the Roodepoort Community Library during which they also introduced competitive skills to young aspiring professionals.

 

“We decided to hold this workshop after seeing that many young job-seekers visiting our library did not know how to structure their CVs properly. This often created problems for them because their CVs were not marketing them properly,” said Library Manager Monica Ramabulana.

She also said the common mistakes job-seekers often made included making their CVs very long. “There are many incorrect things we see when job-seekers come to use our facilities. For example, we have seen handwritten sections in a number of CVs.

“Our library is near an informal settlement and most people to whom we provide services have CVs that are not up to standard,” she said.

Other topics the workshop covered included how to search for the right job, complete an application form and prepare for the interview. Job-seeker Irvin Motse of Matholesville, in Roodepoort, said the workshop came at the right time for him as he was preparing for a job interview.

The 25-year-old, who is also a part-time student at Unisa, said he had made serious mistakes in his previous job interviews.

“We’ve discussed many aspects here that I’ve often neglected. I’ve realised that everything thing you do during an interview has to match everything that appears in your CV.

“I’ve also learned the importance of researching the organisation you want to work for and preparing for every possible question. These are some of the things we often take for granted and if they’re not done, one is certainly set to fail,” Motse said. 

Workshop facilitator Nonhlanhla Skosana, from the NYDA in Soweto, said: “We don’t only want job-seekers to know how to draft their CVs and prepare for their interviews.

“The Job Preparedness Workshop also covers the significance of learning in the workplace, especially during leanership and internship programmes. It is very important that people learn professionalism and ethical codes within organisations as they form part of their experience,” Skosana said.

The second leg of the workshop, to focus on speech training, will be held on Wednesday February 1. Future workshops will deal with life skills and entrepreneurial steps.