Statement by the Executive Mayor Alderman Dan Plato
Despite Covid-19, Cape Town remains a city of opportunity in terms of employment.
Tomorrow, 16 June, Youth Day, is about empowerment for young people. Being employed is one of the biggest – and unfortunately in South Africa – most challenging goals that youth in South Africa can set for themselves. With the challenges facing all of us during Covid-19, it is important to look for hope – and there is hope to be found through the various efforts and initiatives aimed at job creation and helping entrepreneurs in Cape Town.
The 1976 Soweto Uprising was a demonstration of the youth wanting to build a united South Africa, with equal opportunity. It is that same commitment that we need today, to rebuild a society that is united and focused on growth.
The responsibility of governments (the public sector) is to build the environment for investment from the private sector, to create jobs. The City of Cape Town has been able to attract significant investment despite the restrictions of a national lockdown, with more than R11bn invested into Cape Town during 2020.
At least 40 000 jobs will be created by various major construction projects that are currently under way or are about to begin. Cape Town is also widely known as the Tech Capital of Africa with more than 550 tech companies and over 40 000 people employed in the Tech sector, which makes it bigger than Nairobi and Lagos combined.
These efforts have resulted in the city maintaining the lowest unemployment rate of all metros, on the expanded definition at 29,6 percent. According to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey for January to March 2021, employment in Cape Town’s formal and informal sectors increased by 20 000 to 1,384 million, while the national economy lost jobs.
City efforts to create an environment for job creation:
– The annual #YouthStartChallenge gives young people between the ages of 18 and 35 the opportunity to present business ideas that have long-term potential, but also stimulate job creation. The top 100 entrants go through a process of selection, with the qualifying start-ups receiving training and development opportunities. The #YouthStartChallenge is another way we are providing a platform and support for innovation.
– The Mobile Business Hub adds to the efforts of the Business Hub located in the Cape Town CBD, by taking business support skills directly to entrepreneurs. Small businesses and entrepreneurs are a vital segment of the local economy as they employ nearly three quarters of South Africa’s workforce.
– Cape Town is the first municipality to work with the National Skills Fund to provide skills’ pipelines for high-growth sectors and to supply trained and work-ready employees.
– The Jobs Connect workforce development programme links businesses, particularly SMMEs and corporates to the appropriate talent/professionals and provides training and employment opportunities to job seekers across the City.
– The Productivity Efficiency Programme assists small businesses by helping them to proactively address challenges and prevent possible closure or job losses.
We appeal to national government to speed up Covid-19 vaccinations so our residents can return to normal life as soon as possible and so that businesses and the economy can continue with a critical recovery. The implementation of stricter lockdowns will have a negative impact on the local and national economy.
Source: City Of Cape Town