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By Nontokozo Gemani
- Graduates like Kgothatso Mathabathe miss out on interviews because they cannot afford the high transport costs to companies in Pretoria.
- Unemployed teacher Paballo Mokoena paid R700 to travel all the way from Gauteng to Bloemfontein for a failed job interview.
Finding a job is forcing young South Africans to borrow money. Job seekers are spending their last cash on transport, internet data and printing.
About five million young people aged 15 to 34 do not have jobs. The high cost of applying for work blocks many from finding employment.
Kgothatso Mathabathe has a university degree but still cannot find a job. She used to drop off CVs at companies. She stopped because transport and food costs were too high. She had to borrow money just to drop off her documents.
Mathabathe now applies online but spends more than R400 a month on data. She buys 1GB bundles weekly to search job websites.
When she has money, she pays R3 a page to print copies of her CV. Travelling to interviews is another heavy cost. She spends about R150 a day on transport in Pretoria.
“Applying is basically a leap of faith when you do not have money,” Mathabathe said.
She has lost job opportunities because she could not afford transport.
Paballo Mokoena is a qualified teacher who has been looking for work for two years. She once spent about R700 travelling from Gauteng to Bloemfontein for an interview. She did not get the job.
Mokoena also struggles to pay taxi fare to the police station to certify her documents.
Nomfundo Mbatha pays about R200 a month for internet data. She estimates she has spent about R1,000 on transport since the year started.
Job seekers without smart devices use internet cafes. Bhekela Ndlovu runs a cafe in Tsakane. He says up to 10 people visit every day. He charges R40 for three hours of computer use.
Unemployed young people face a difficult cycle. They need money to look for work, but they need work to get money.
Pictured above: Unemployed young South Africans are spending their last cash on transport and data just to apply for jobs that they often do not even get.
Image source: Pexels
