The implementation of the Employment Services of SA (ESSA) IT systems, at labour centres in SA, has seen the successful placement of 13 158 job seekers in relevant jobs this year.
“On our agenda for 2010, we have put Employment Services of SA implementation as a strategic intervention to integrate active labour market measures inclusive of job placement services, job search training, career guidance and skills development,” said labour minister Membathisi Mdladlana in his recent budget vote speech.
In aid of job placement services, the Department of Labour (DOL) rolled out the employment services IT system to all 125 labour centres that have been opened, said Mdladlana.
Jobs for all
By the end of December 2009, a total of 470 006 jobseekers were registered on the ESSA system and a total of 21 074 job opportunities were registered, according to Mdladlana.
These numbers increased to 636 140 registered workers by the end of statistical quarter four, 31 March, said DOL spokesman Page Boikanyo. For the same period 48 499 jobs were registered.
“Using the job matching services of ESSA, the first 6 845 job opportunities were filled” by the end of December 2009, said Mdladlana.
By the end of March this figure had increased to 20 003 placements.
Boikanyo explained that jobseekers who go to the labour centres are registered onto the system. Job opportunities or vacancies are also registered electronically on the ESSA system. An opportunity criterion is then matched to a suitable jobseeker profile for possible placement of the matched profile.
“Job criteria is matched 100% to a given jobseeker profile. For example, Grade 12 with two years' experience may not be matched with one of Grade 12 and 10 years' experience to the same job opportunity,” explained Boikanyo.
The electronic matching takes place on an automatic schedule from one o' clock every morning, he noted. It ends when the officials at the centre come in at 07:30 to check job opportunities that have been matched to registered jobseekers.
The matched jobseekers are then referred to the employers for further selection or placement. In some instances, the matched jobseekers go through a career guidance and information session prior to referral, said Boikanyo.
He added that employers register jobs on their own or are canvassed by the provincial offices of the department to register vacancies.
“There are mostly low-level skills job opportunities, although any kind gets registered,” said Boikanyo. Both permanent and temporary jobs are offered, but temporary jobs are greater in number, depending on the labour absorption capacity of the labour market at the time.
Private partnership
The Public Employment Services will partner with the private employment agencies, confirmed Boikanyo. But he said: “The fashion and extent of partnership will depend on the nature of the public-private partnerships to be borne out of the engagements.”
Boikanyo said these private agencies that will be partnered with are not labour brokers.
National spokesman for the Congress of South African Trade Unions Patrick Craven said: “If this is what we think it is, we will support it. We always drew a clear line between labour brokers who employ workers and then farm them off, and employment agencies that put the employer and the employee in touch with one another.”
Boikanyo said there are agreements to facilitate the establishment of ICT infrastructure to enable online registration of both opportunity owners and the jobseekers, at vantage points such as kiosks and Thusong centres in shopping malls.
“This method, we believe, will enable more skilled jobseekers to register and more employers to register on the system for more effective labour market interaction. The whole process should expedite the passage of the country's citizenry from positions of unemployment to those of income-generating environments.”
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