• Minister of Employment and Labour has warned South Africans against paying those promising jobs in return.
• The minister reminded citizens that labour laws forbid this practice and anybody participating in these acts should be reported.
• Nxesi also encouraged South Africans to step outside of their comfort zone when looking for jobs.

South Africans are desperate for gainful employment, so much so that citizens are willing to go so far as to pay people to get jobs.

This sort of scam has been running for years and each year government has to warn citizens and remind them that if somebody tries to charge you for a job, they aren’t legitimate.

“Labour laws forbid agencies from charging work seekers who are looking for employment any fees. Please stop giving these organisations and mafias your parents’ hard-earned cash to buy employment from these crooks. For the common interest of everyone, report unscrupulous agencies that charge you fees to labour inspectors and the police,” Minister of Employment and Labour, Thulas Nxesi said in a speech on Thursday.

Many of these sorts of fake job scams pretend to be government departments as a way to make the scam more believable. This payment is also sometimes portrayed as a deposit that will be refunded, which it never is.

Should a prospective employer tell you that you need to pay to be considered or even just have your CV looked at, report it. You can find how to contact the Department of Employment and Labour in your province at this URL.

Minister Nxesi was speaking at the Jobs Fair being held in NASREC, Johannesburg this week amidst the backdrop of a job crisis in South Africa.

The minister urged citizens to make use of his department’s facilities and opportunities.

“You will never know what you are good at unless you try. Use our labour centres to talk to employment practitioners and counsellors. Seek out mentors and trusted people that can help you during your job search journey,” said Nxesi.

The department is also rolling out 14 buses to rural and urban communities that will act as sort of satellite Employment and Labour Centres.

“We definitely need more of them to reach out to our young people in recognition that the economic hub of the country, such as Gauteng and other provinces such as the Eastern Cape, Limpopo, Northern Cape and Mpumalanga are vast,” the minister added.

In its most recent Quarterly Labour Force Survey, Statistics SA found that Matric graduates continue to struggle to find jobs even as 437 000 people were employed during the quarter.