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MORE than 2.7 million applications from unemployed youth have been received by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) for the second phase of its Basic Education Employment initiative.
The department said that, as of 7.30am on Saturday, it had received more than 2.7 million applications from 475 918 young people in Phase II of its Basic Education Employment Initiative.
It said “extremely high” volumes of traffic had led to its site slowing down and at times crashing.
The applications for Phase II opened on September 27 and the deadline has been extended to midnight on October 10.
The Presidential Youth Employment Initiative (PYEI)-Basic Education Employment Initiative (BEEI) was started this year to provide unemployed young people employment and training opportunities in the education sector.
“Phase I of the Presidential Employment Stimulus (PES) was successfully implemented from 1 December 2020 until 31 April 2021, in the basic education sector as the Basic Education Employment Initiative (BEEI). Approximately 300 000 young people participated in Phase I of the BEEI,” said the department.
“Phase II will focus on addressing the reduction of youth unemployment, as the data collected throughout the initiative has shown that most of the young people are unemployed graduates, who lack the relevant experience to propel them to employment.
The BEEI initiative will go a long way in assisting the department to mitigate the unfortunate fallout from the COVID-19 academic disruptions we have experienced since the first 2020 national lockdown aimed at containment of the pandemic. The
Initiative also aims to provide a protective net for learners at risk of dropping out of school, due to psychosocial challenges.”
The department is seeking to provide 287 000 unemployed young people with 192 000 education assistant and 95 000 general school assistant positions.
Statistics South Africa’s Quarterly Employment Statistics survey, released last week, showed that total employment fell by 86 000, or 0.9 percent, from 9 652 000 in March, to 9 566 000 in June.
“The department would like to take this time to thank young people for the enthusiasm shown towards making a difference in the Basic Education sector, and wish them great success with their application,” the department said.
The department said in a statement that the application process did not work on a first-come, first-served basis. However, all applications must be submitted by October 10.
“Since the opening of the application process on September 27, the site experienced extremely high traffic volumes, causing it to slow down and occasionally time out. The SA Youth toll-free number was also affected due to receiving up to more than 50 000 calls per hour,” the department said.
As a differentiated application process, the department has introduced an alternative avenue for applicants to submit their application.
SA Youth has added another web-based or electronic application form that is not linked to, nor dependent on, the SA Youth mobi-site in terms of connectivity or stability.
“We would like to notify the public that the web-based or electronic application form is an alternative application method, however, it is not zero rate and will require a small amount of data (3MB) to complete.
“The mobisite (sayouth.mobi) is still available for submission of applications,” the department added.
The department further emphasised that all application forms must be submitted online, as no walk-ins to schools would be allowed due to the Covid19 restrictions and preparations for final exams at both primary and high schools.
“Youth between the ages 18 and 35, who are currently neither in education and training nor receiving any form of government grant, as well as young people with disability, and women, are eligible and encouraged to apply,” the department said.
The department also cautioned young people against falling victim to fake news regarding the initiative.
To qualify as an Education Assistant, you must have passed matric English, while an NQF Level 4, 6 and 7 qualification certificate, will be an added advantage. However, for placement as a General School Assistant, a matric certificate is not required for Infrastructure support and Sports and Enrichment Agents, although Trade certificates
will be an added advantage.
To apply for placement, young people are urged to visit sayouth.mobi to create a profile and submit their application. No walk-ins will be allowed in schools due to Covid19 restrictions.
Applicants must submit their application online.
Should you receive notice that you have been selected for shortlisting, you will be
required to prepare the following documents:
· Curriculum Vitae (CV)
· Testimonials (former school, local chief, church leader, etc)
· Police clearance certificates
· Affidavit/Declaration by applicant stating he/she has no criminal record while
awaiting the Police clearance
· Certified qualifications such as Matric, (where applicable: NQF Level 4
qualification certificate, for Education Assistant applicants with NQF level 6
and 7 an added advantage)
· Certified copy of identity document/ passport.