South Africa has called on Southern African Development Community (SADC) Member States to strengthen public employment services and ensure that jobseekers are better supported in accessing employment opportunities.
The call was made by the Department of Employment and Labour’s Acting Director-General, Jacky Molisane, as South Africa hosts the SADC Employment and Labour Sector Joint Tripartite Technical Committee Meeting in Gauteng from 26 - 30 October 2026.
The meeting brings together representatives from SADC Member States, governments, employers and workers’ organisations, as well as the International Labour Organisation (ILO), to discuss employment challenges and strengthen regional cooperation.
Molisane urged delegates to focus on practical solutions that would improve the delivery of public employment services and make it easier for jobseekers to access available opportunities.
She highlighted the financial challenges faced by people seeking work, including transport costs for attending interviews, internet data for submitting job applications and the cost of printing documents.
“When we discuss employment services this week, I ask that we keep that person in mind. The decisions we make here should make the next encounter with an employment office more useful and the job search less difficult,” Molisane said.
South Africa’s unemployment challenges underscore the need for employment programmes to deliver meaningful results, with the country’s official unemployment rate standing at 33.6% in the second quarter of 2026. Unemployment among young people aged 15 to 34 in the labour force stood at 47.4%.
Molisane said the figures highlight the importance of assessing whether government employment programmes are making a tangible difference in people’s lives.
“We all know how to describe a programme. We can explain its objectives, structure and the number of people it has reached. The more demanding conversation begins when someone asks what happened afterwards,” Molisane said.
She challenged delegates to examine whether referrals translate into jobs, whether training equips people for available vacancies and whether employers continue to use public employment services to recruit suitable candidates.
Molisane emphasised that the success of employment programmes should be assessed not only by the number of people assisted, but also by the quality of jobs secured and the support provided to jobseekers.
“An online application should reduce the burden on jobseekers. People who need assistance must be able to reach someone who can provide it,” Molisane said.
She said employment services should complement broader efforts to stimulate economic growth and create more jobs.
Molisane also stressed the importance of ensuring that young people have access to relevant training and practical work experience to improve their prospects of securing employment.
She called on delegates to use the meeting to share lessons, address common challenges and agree on practical measures that could be implemented in their respective countries.
“Trust also depends on what happens after we leave. If we agree to act, we should be clear about who will do the work and when progress will be reviewed,” she said. – SAnews.gov.za
