STORY: Chinese-supported job fair held in South Africa
SHOOTING TIME: April 16, 2024
DATELINE: April 19, 2024
LENGTH: 00:04:41
LOCATION: JOHANNESBURG, South Africa
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the exhibition
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): SIYABONGA NIKWANA, Job seeker
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): SHADINAY SAMPSON, Job seeker
4. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): HON. MAROPENE RAMOKGOPA, Minister in the Presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation

STORYLINE:

In Midrand, South Africa, over 60 Chinese-invested enterprises participated on Tuesday in a job fair organized by the SA-China Economic and Trade Association (SACETA). This event was part of a broader effort to enhance employment prospects, especially for young South Africans.

Building on the success of the 2022 job fair, the Chinese Embassy in South Africa has once again backed SACETA by hosting the 2024 edition.

The job fair featured on-site recruitment in various sectors such as finance, energy, transportation, information technology, mining, and manufacturing. The event was open to all South Africans seeking to turn their career aspirations into reality.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): SIYABONGA NIKWANA, Job seeker
"I'm currently working at Dassie September Primary School as a teacher assistant. So far, I've applied for 10 jobs, and I'm interested in IT and technology. Yeah, that's why I've applied for most of the positions here. They said the jobs are available and there's also training available because some of the jobs here require experience in the field."

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): SHADINAY SAMPSON, Job seeker
"As you see, there are a lot of unemployed people here. We are sent from schools mostly, and we really do appreciate this opportunity that the Chinese people have invested in here in South Africa. So it's appreciative and we think them very well."

Hon. Maropene Ramokgopa, Minister in the Presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, said that the government aims to create a business-friendly environment and attract investments like those from Chinese companies. Such bilateral cooperation, said Ramokgopa, will generate jobs primarily in the private sector.

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): HON. MAROPENE RAMOKGOPA, Minister in the Presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation
"The government's role is to create an enabling environment for businesses such as this one, an investment to come to South Africa in order to create jobs. Yes, we may create jobs in the public sector. However, the majority of the jobs that we would like to see to be able to speak to the economic needs would come from the private sector. It is for this reason that we will continuously make sure that our bilateral cooperation with countries like China become in such a way that Chinese companies will find South Africa being a country of choice to come and invest so that we can then now be able to create jobs."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Johannesburg, South Africa.
(XHTV)