By Nontokozo Gemani
- Zanele Maseko completed her Bachelor of Education in 2019 but was only offered short substitute contracts, never a permanent post.
- After trying watches, perfumes and vegetables, Zanele Maseko found real success selling sweets on Small Street in the Johannesburg CBD.
A qualified teacher has turned to selling sweets in Johannesburg CBD after years of struggling to find a permanent teaching job.
Zanele Maseko completed her Bachelor of Education at UNISA in 2019, but instead of a full-time teaching job, she was repeatedly offered contracts as a substitute teacher while permanent teachers were on maternity leave.
“Every time I applied for a teaching post, I would get hired as a substitute. I never got a permanent post,” Maseko said. The contracts usually lasted about four months, leaving her unemployed again.
Maseko’s experience reflects a wider, currently reported problem. As of January 2026, there were 17,450 vacant teacher posts nationally against 389,286 allocated positions, according to Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube. The Department of Basic Education has said the issue is not a shortage of teachers, but a shortage of money to employ them permanently.
After graduating, she sold watches for a few months before stopping because the business was not working out. She then started selling perfumes.
To support herself and her two children, she continued running small businesses while applying for teaching posts.
She tried selling vegetables, but the business did not make enough profit. Not ready to give up, she decided to sell sweets instead.
That’s where she found a sweet success.
“I buy different flavours of sour worm and gummy worm sweets in bulk, pack them neatly onto sticks, wrap them and sell them on busy streets in the Johannesburg CBD at Small Street,” she explained.
Maseko said the business has surprised her because it is doing very well and making a good profit.
“The nice thing about selling sweets is that not many people are doing it. There are only a few sellers, so it gives me a better chance to make sales,” she said.
She also sells organic juices for a company to earn extra income. She makes money from every product she sells and by encouraging other people to join the business.
Maseko said that running different businesses has taught her that success takes time.
“The businesses take time to grow, but if you work hard and stay patient, they can become successful,” she said.
Entrepreneurship had always been part of Maseko’s life. While she was still studying, she earned extra money by braiding people’s hair.
Maseko believes many people think there is no money in small businesses, but her experience has shown that even a small business can make a profit.
“Not every business will make a profit overnight. You have to keep trying until you find something that works,” she said.
Maseko said her faith has also played a big role in her journey as an entrepreneur.
“Involving God in my businesses is what has kept me going. He has given me the courage to keep trying different businesses instead of giving up,” she said.
Although she still hopes to get a permanent teaching post, Maseko says entrepreneurship has helped her support her family and taught her never to depend on one source of income. She continues to apply for every teaching post she comes across while growing her businesses.
Pictured above: Sweet sticks made by Zanele Maseko, packed with sour worm and gummy worm sweets, ready to sell on Small Street in the Johannesburg CBD.
Image source: Supplied
