Manzini Municipality launches a job preparedness project

By Thokozani Mazibuko

In a bid to curb the high rate of unemployment amongst young people, the Municipal Council of Manzini has launched a job preparedness project for the youth of Manzini as part of the commemoration of the International Youth Day 2025.

The project was launched on Friday at the Municipal Council Chambers.

The municipality celebrated this year’s International Youth Day under the theme “Localising the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),’ with much emphasis on SDG Goal 8, which focuses on creating quality jobs, promoting entrepreneurship, and fostering economic growth.

The commemoration focused mostly on job preparedness as the youth was trained on how to create vision boards, Curriculum Vitae (CV) writing, interview illustrations and how to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to search for jobs.

When explaining the job preparedness project for the youth of Manzini, Tive Nxumalo, the Municipal Council of Manzini Acting Chief City Planner, said they partnered with local companies to have them attach the youth for a period of not more than three months.

She pointed out that the companies that they have partnered with include, amongst others, Cardo Capital, EGIS Group, Asante Guest House and The Gorge Hotel, to name just a few.

Nxumalo highlighted that the Municipal Council of Manzini will have 10 young people enrolling in the municipality as part of the project.
She mentioned that other companies have shown interest in being part of the project, but they had yet to formally confirm their participation.

Nxumalo highlighted that by the end of this month, they would have advertised all the available posts in the various companies they have partnered with, as well as the skills required.

“The programme is open to every young person who is not above 35 years. The participants will be required to provide proof that indeed they are residents of Manzini,” she said.

She mentioned that, however, those who attended the event on Friday will be given first preference during enrolment.Nxumalo pointed out that the youth will apply for the programme via the municipality.

She mentioned that some of the companies will provide stipends to the young people who will be attached to their establishments, while others will not do so.

As a result, she urged the youth to be patient and persistent enough, whether or not they were receiving the stipends, as the project was meant to open doors for them, since through the invaluable experience they will obtain during the project, they will be in a better position to be employed.

Meanwhile, Lucky Sithole, a lecturer at Royal Science and Technology Park (RSTP), allayed fears amongst the young people, who had the perception that Artificial Intelligence (AI) had been introduced to steal their jobs.

He pointed out that AI will not in any way steal people’s jobs, but rather it will replace certain aspects of the production chain but not the entire job.

He, therefore, urged the youth to utilise AI when drafting their CVs and application letters.

Sithole mentioned that 75 per cent of job seekers were now using AI to apply for jobs. He highlighted that statistics have proven that 78 per cent of those who applied for jobs using AI were employed, whereas only 48 per cent of those who applied for the same jobs without using AI were employed.

“You must therefore apply for jobs using an AI tool such as Jobscan,” he said.

Furthermore, he urged the youth to use social media to advertise their skills, as such will increase their chances of being employed.