City of Cape Town Launches Jobs Connect

To be quite honest here in Africa there are a few city/town councils that are passionate about their people, it’s mostly an issue of mismanagement of funds by the senior city executives meant for developing communities or politicized initiatives that only benefits a few individuals without proper developmental progress such as in infrastructure and citizen empowerment initiatives. But I am always mesmerized by Cape Town in South Africa which over the past years has managed to come up with several people-centric initiatives for Capetonians. The City of Cape Town (COCT) Enterprise and Investment Department has launched a new work placement initiative called Jobs Connect. The initiative aims to create employment opportunities for Capetonians, connect SMMEs and corporates to a pool of local talent and provide training to disadvantaged residents. 

James Vos, the Mayco member for the Economic Opportunities and Asset Management Directorate for COCT explains that the initiative aims to bridge a gap in the employment sector in terms of connecting businesses with employable individuals. 

“On behalf of the City, in my capacity as Mayco Member for the Economic Opportunities and Asset Management Directorate, I look for initiatives that will foster real economic growth and sustenance for the people of Cape Town. Often in my interactions with businesses, one of their biggest struggles is sourcing the talent and skills that they need to maintain and grow their operations. At the same time, we have many thousands of people who are eager to work, but who haven’t received enough training or guidance in how to make themselves attractive to companies or quite simply don’t know that these opportunities exist. This is why the directorate and I came up with Jobs Connect, to answer both needs.”

How to access Jobs Connect

Residents of Cape Town can access the Jobs Connect by visiting the official website (jobsconnect.leelyn.co.za) or by visiting the Invest Cape Town website which will send a link to users via WhatApp to access the website. On the website, users are prompted to register their details and complete a literacy and numeracy test. The results from these tests will be added to a user’s digital CV. 

Users are connected with available jobs based on their skill set and the area in which they are located. Business owners are also able to register on the database by contacting the following details; Leelyn Management at info@leelyn.co.zw or 021 558 1552.

Vos explains that this is not the first new initiative focused on increasing employment opportunities in the city. 

“We recently also launched the Cape Skills and Employment Accelerator Project, through this programme that will train, pay stipends and do job placements for residents in the Business Process Outsourcing or call centre sector as well as the clothing and textile sector.”

Features of Jobs Connect

According to reports by the COCT, the Jobs Connect website will also offer short courses on the following topics:

• Work readiness training
• Problem-solving
• Time management
• Team building
• Customer care
• Webs design
• Project management

 Longer courses will also be available to registered users and include the following topics: 

• Business management
• Business leadership
• Business studies
• Entrepreneurship studies  
• Cloud practitioners

“The programme will be rolled out throughout the City with physical activations in specific communities. Residents will be targeted through Whatsapp, community liaisons, and NPOs who are on the ground,” adds Vos. Currently, there are jobs available on Jobs Connect and are entry-level jobs that do not often require a matric certificate.

• Logistics Industry- Drivers/packers/warehousing agents  
• Fast food Industry – cashiers /cooks/chefs
• Retail Industry – cashiers /packers/salespeople
• Telecommunications – call centre agents
• SMMEs- contract workers/receptionists /drivers