Getting employers on the bus

Employers urged to join WC jobseeker travel voucher programme
 
Today, Provincial Minister of Mobility, Ricardo Mackenzie, met virtually with representatives from the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry with a demo to boost employer participation in the Western Cape Government’s (WCG) recently launched ‘Getting YOU to Work’ programme.
 
The programme offers free travel vouchers for unemployed jobseekers to get to interviews. Each ‘Getting YOU to Work’ travel voucher includes 12 free rides using Golden Arrow Bus Services, on weekdays between 8am and 4pm.
 
Minister Mackenzie said, “We know that the cost of transport is a major barrier to accessing work opportunities. Recent increases in fuel costs and public transport fares have made this even more challenging. Safe, affordable, and reliable transport is key to enabling economic growth and job creation. This is why we are piloting the ‘Getting YOU to Work’ initiative – which removes the transport barrier – as part of the WCG’s ‘Growth for Jobs’ strategy.”
 
Minister Mackenzie emphasised the role of employers, saying, “We invite businesses and NGOs to partner with us as we tackle unemployment in our province. We have created a simple online portal, where companies can sign up as participating employers, so they can offer the travel vouchers to interview candidates. Thank you to those who have already signed up as partner employers and to CapeBPO for facilitating our engagement with this fast-growing industry. It has been exciting to see the impact of the programme, with a number of candidates successfully landing a job after using the Getting YOU to Work travel voucher to attend the interview.”
 
Participants in today’s webinar expressed excitement about the ‘Getting YOU to Work’ initiative and said they are looking forward to working together in creating and filling job opportunities.

CapeBPO CEO, Clayton Williams, said, “Our sector is booming and Cape Town is now established as a leading offshore BPO destination. The jobseeker travel voucher is a gamechanger for supporting young people to access our jobs. We are honoured to be partnering with the Western Cape Government in bringing this initiative into our sector and will be working closely with our private sector partners to ensure that this will benefit those that need it the most.”
 
Information about 'Getting YOU to Work' is available at www.westerncape.gov.za. For queries, call 0860 142 142 or email service@westerncape.gov.za.