According to Statistics South Africa, the unemployment rate is 45.8% among those aged 15 to 34, with 4.7 million young people actively seeking work but remaining unemployed. Behind those numbers, many young people are frustrated in their job search by factors such as data costs, admin barriers like lack of ID books, and poor access to professional networks.
One issue that demands more attention is the high cost of transportation, which disproportionately affects people from previously disadvantaged communities. This means most township and low-income residential areas are located far from economic hubs and central business districts.
Nolundi Matomane, Talent Acquisition manager at South Africa’s leading online recruitment platform, Pnet, says: “Research shows that the cost of jobhunting can reach R1,500 a month, meaning that many jobseekers face a stark choice between being able to afford their necessities and investing in their search for a new job.
“Transport costs may account for more than half of the costs of looking for employment, with costs rising sharply recently due to ongoing fuel increases. All too many young people need to resort to borrowing money from family, friends or even loan sharks, simply to afford a return trip to an interview.
“What’s more, a lack of reliable transport links and the near collapse of rail services means that many people need to use multiple modes of transport to reach an interview. Getting to the interview could involve two to four hours travelling each way, leaving those jobseekers lucky enough to secure an interview in the first place exhausted and disillusioned.”
The cumulative effect is a growing population of 'discouraged work seekers' – young people who want to work but have stopped searching because they cannot afford to keep trying. “As such, transportation in South Africa is a structural barrier that traps individuals in poverty by blocking them from economic opportunities,” says Matomane.
Matomane says that schemes like the Western Cape Government's Getting YOU to Work programme and various corporate initiatives are helping young jobseekers commute to interviews without out-of-pocket expenses. Pnet has resolved to play a small role in addressing this challenge through their Youth Month campaign, which offers Uber vouchers to qualifying jobseekers. Up to 30 June, jobseekers who have secured an interview with a Pnet customer through their Pnet profile have a chance to win an Uber Rides voucher valued at R160 to cover their return trip.
"Landing a job interview is a real achievement. We want to make sure it counts,” Matomane says. "If a young South African has done the hard work of building a profile, applying for a role and landing an interview, the cost of getting there should not stand between them and that opportunity."
Pnet invites all businesses to consider this when inviting someone for an in-person interview. Could the initial interview be conducted telephonically instead to help reduce barriers for candidates? Furthermore, Pnet is challenging all companies to consider what more the private sector can do to remove the practical barriers that keep talented young South Africans out of the workforce.
Do you already have a job interview lined up in June that you secured via Pnet? Enter your interview details here.
