The Free State Department of Education has recruited 15 500 unemployed youth for teacher assistant and temporary general assistant employment for 2023. They will be placed in numerous schools across the province.
Howard Ndaba, provincial spokesperson for the department, said interviews of shortlisted candidates were conducted from November to December last year. He said 6 200 candidates are expected to start on 1 February and the remaining in May.
This recruitment forms part of the Presidential Youth Employment Initiative (PYEI), targeting South Africans between the ages of 18 and 35 years. Candidates must have a national senior certificate for consideration for this work experiential and skills development initiative launched in December 2020.
Ndaba said candidates will be placed at schools situated within 5 km from where they live.
“Applicants must have no criminal record,” Ndaba stressed.
Those shortlisted were not part of phase 1, 2 or 3 of the PYEI. Since its inception in 2020, the initiative has benefited 49 844 unemployed youth in the province. Some have diplomas and degrees attained from different academic institutions.
One of the scores of candidates that were part of the third phase is Ernest Khalata, who was attached at the Lereko Secondary School in Bloemfontein. A part-time athlete, he has a qualification in human resource management.
“I was given an opportunity to prepare the classroom for the day’s lesson and also to educate the learners. This happened with supervision and at times without it. I started working under the supervision of one teacher and as time went by, I worked with a lot of them.
“Having proven to have the ability, understanding and passion to work with the learners, I discovered yet another talent that was hidden in me: I could actually teach,” said Khalata, who won his first Comrades Marathon bronze medal last year.
