By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi says the province will be the first to do away with the R350 Social Distress Grants by giving young people jobs.
Lesufi was addressing attendees in Nasrec, Johannesburg, where the government is launching labour activation programmes.
He says the new initiative will be a joint mass skills training programme between the provincial government, the Department of Employment and Labour, and the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF).
Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi announced that his department will invest R8,2 billion in the program.
The new initiative named iCrush ne Lova Jobs and Skills Programme is an expansion of the Nasi Ispani program which was launched last year to employ over 6 000 young people.
“The iCrush ne Lova Jobs and Skills Programme seeks to bridge the gap between the skills supply and the demands of an evolving South African job market and is the cornerstone of the provincial government’s efforts to combat unemployment and ignite Gauteng’s economy.
“The programme offers carefully selected skills training opportunities for all ages; in construction, engineering, textile, wholesale and retail, furniture manufacturing, aviation, and entrepreneurial skills, amongst others,” says Lesufi.
Lesufi encouraged young people to apply in numbers.
“We are not taking under a hundred-thousand, we are not taking under two-hundred thousand, we are not taking under two hundred thousand, we are not taking under four hundred thousand, we are taking almost five-hundred thousand unemployed people out of poverty and placing them on the path of human development.
“We are going to be one province that will tell our President thank you so much for your R350 grant, we are taking 400 thousand rand from that grant and we are giving our people a better life,” says Lesufi.
He adds “It has never happened before, I asked my team to check the Guinness World Records.”
Lesufi says all unemployed Gauteng residents can apply at their nearest school or community hall on 13 and 14 April 2024.