After a nervy start the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) collaborative effort with the Department of Employment and Labour to recruit 10 000 unemployed young graduates for the digitisation of its (DHA) Civic paper records has so far received 85 820 applications and 23 374 have qualified to be assessed and interviewed.
Department of Employment and Labour Chief Director: Employer Services, Esther Tloane said a number of teams at Labour Centres and provincial offices were hard at work to screen, verify and ensure that qualifying candidates are shortlisted ahead of interviews expected to begin soon.
The recruitment of the 10 000 unemployed young graduates followed President Cyril Ramaphosa announcement during the State of the Nation Address in February 2022 that “the Department of Home Affairs will recruit 10 000 unemployed young graduates for the digitisation of its Civic paper records, enhancing their skills and contributing to the modernisation of citizens services” through the Presidential Employment Stimulus (PES).
Launching the recruitment project on 11 August, Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said the Department has more than 350 million Civic paper records relating to birth, marriages, deaths and amendments. The category of records date back to 1895 which necessitate care and reliable systems that will bear tolerance for the digitisation purposes. These records are in all provinces and the bulk of which are in Gauteng, North West and the Western Cape.
The project is expected to run over a three (3) year period, effective from November 2022 until October 2025. The recruitment drive will be divided into three phases:
- Phase 1 – will see recruitment of the first intake of 2 000 unemployed youth graduates. This cohort will assume duty on 1 November 2022.
- Phase 2 – will see a further recruitment of 4 000 unemployed youth graduates. This cohort will assume duty in January 2023.
- Phase 3 – will see a further and last recruitment of 4 000 unemployed youth graduates. This cohort will assume duty in April 2023.
Successful youth will be paid a stipend ranging from R5 000 for entry level positions to R9 500 for Technical Support level positions and R14 250 for Manager level positions. This cohort will be required to sign a three-year contract linked to the duration of the project.
Mrs Tloane said the Department was putting the final touches in the process leading to interviews and placements. She said to date the Department had received 7 739 enquiries relating to the digitisation project and 7 523 had been responded to.
“In the advancement of equity I am, however, worried that we are getting few candidates of people with disability”; she said.
Unemployed youth should be qualified in Information Technology; Document, Information and Records Management, obtained from Institutions of Higher Learning (Universities, Universities of Technologies, TVETs). Successfully candidates will be subjected to suitability checks (Citizenship, Credit, Criminal and Qualification Verification) (this looks like we will be doing this function).
DHA has partnered with the Department of Employment and Labour to use the Department’s online recruitment platform called Employment Services of South Africa (ESSA). Prospective candidates that meet the criteria should register on the ESSA (Employment System of South Africa) recruitment platform found on the Department’s website at www.labour.gov.za and those that do not have internet access should visit the nearest office (Labour Centre) of the Department of Employment and Labour. Candidates that are already registered on ESSA do not have to visit the Labour Centres and can apply for these positions online.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of South African Government.
