eThekwini mayor Cyril Xaba. The mayor's office has revealed that the City, in partnership with the business sector, will soon roll out a programme to train and place local residents in jobs previously occupied by undocumented foreign nationals.
The business community and the eThekwini Municipality has announced a programme aimed at skilling locals to take up jobs that have been left vacant following the departure of foreign nationals. The areas of focus include the textile, machinist, hospitality, and other service industries. The eThekwini Clothing and Leather Council estimates that close to 5000 jobs could be vacant but has added that filling these positions would be extremely difficult.
Thousands of foreign nationals have been leaving the country, returning to their countries of origin, following growing pressure on illegal migrants to depart. These departures have resulted in numerous vacant jobs. Recently, the Labour and Civic Organisation (LACO) announced that it had placed close to 4000 South Africans in jobs following pressure on companies to replace foreign workers with locals.
The eThekwini mayor’s office revealed that, in partnership with the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry, it will soon roll out a programme to train and place local residents in jobs previously occupied illegally by undocumented foreign nationals.
