• Saturday saw the launch of the Gauteng wing of a nationwide upskilling programme.
• Around midday the webpage where people could register for the programme was offline, likely due to overwhelming interest.
• Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi has promised that those who register with the programme will earn a stipend of around R3 500.

This last Saturday saw the launch of the first part of the nationwide UIF Labour Activation Programme (LAP) in Gauteng. This launch will be followed by other launches in each province across South Africa where unemployed young people will be able to sign up to receive skills training in a wide variety of fields.

The hope of the programme, now available to Gauteng residents, is to upskill nearly a million jobless young people, and give them an advantage in the jobs market. Registrations will be focused on townships and residents of historically disadvantaged areas.

This Saturday’s launch was a major affair, as both the Premier of Gauteng Panyaza Lesufi and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi were on hand to usher in the beginning of the programme.

According to Lesufi, more than 480 000 beneficiaries of the COVID-19 SRD R350 grant will now be getting work and learning opportunities as part of the programme, which is being funded by taxpayers to the tune of R23.8 billion.

“We are taking almost 500 000 people out of poverty and placing them on the path of human development,” enthused Lesufi, deep into his campaign trail to remain premier of South Africa’s richest province.

“We will train you to be a plumber. Pay for your training fees, but what is very important, while you are training we will give you a stipend, average maybe R3 500 until you qualify, and when you come back we will tell you where we will deploy you for a permanent job,” Lesufi claimed at the launch.

The Gauteng Jobs and Skills programme launch on Saturday was received with overwhelming interest. Hypertext checked on Saturday the portal that government says registrations for the programme will take place, namely the essa.labour.gov.za website, and found that it was offline by 13:00.

The webpage was back online by the evening and has continued to be online into the new week.

Fortunately, that is not the only way residents of Gauteng can register to take part. There is also a toll free number those interested can call on 0860 101 018, as well as pop-up centres aimed at helping people register for the programme.

This includes community centres and local government offices which will serve as registration hubs. There will also be mobile units set up to reach residents in their neighbourhoods.

Time will tell if the programme fulfils the many promises laid out by Lesufi, or if it will be remembered as a waste of taxpayers monies. With South Africa’s record-setting unemployment rate, desperate South Africans are looking to register en masse, and politician promises are part and parcel of election season.

Click here for more information on how to register for the programme.

[Image – Gauteng Province on X]