The Department of Employment and Labour has noted with concern of yet another scam titled “youth employment program” that make unrealistic promises to the unemployed.
The department does not have a youth employment programme but, with unemployment in South Africa at an all-time high, scammers are taking advantage of the situation.
In the latest scam, victims are promised generous stipends to sign on to the programme – after they page a deposit fee and share their personal details.
The scammers also fraudulently use the Employment and Labour Minister TW Nxesi and the Department’s social media accounts to con the public.
The Department of Employment and Labour states that it has a Public Employment Services (PES) branch that assists companies and workers to adjust to changing labour market conditions.
PES offers a range of free public employment services, ranging from registering work seekers on the online job matching platform Employment Services of South Africa (ESSA), employment counselling, and providing subsidies/schemes to non-governmental organisations that assist in the employment of people with disabilities.
It is illegal in South Africa to ask a job-seeker to pay for the job.