Unisa shines at KZN careers fair and information session

The Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) Deputy Minister, Jomo Sibiya, hosted a service delivery oversight visit to Ugu District Municipality at Gamalakhe Township on the South Coast of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) on 6 March 2026.

This community engagement, attended largely by young people, was led by government leaders and officials from all three spheres of government and featured a career exhibition and information session with government departments and institutions of higher learning.

This event had two objectives: a business breakfast, followed by a careers fair held at the Ugu Sports and Leisure Complex, situated in an area famous for tourism and leisure, but with high youth unemployment and limited higher education opportunities. The business breakfast provided an excellent opportunity for Unisa representatives to engage in meaningful stakeholder relations-building and to understand the mandates of various government entities and the kinds of collaborations that could be established with the university.

In his address, Sibiya said, “Due to low levels of awareness amongst the communities in this district, especially among the youth, a lot of ordinary community members do not know of several benefits they could receive from several DEL agencies which could alleviate social strife, provided at no cost to community members.”

(From left) DEL Deputy Minister Jomo Sibiya and KwaZulu-Natal Legislature Speaker, Nontembeko Boyce

Sibiya pleaded with business owners in the area to work hand in hand with the DEL to curb the growing unemployment. He also encouraged the educational institutions to play their part in ensuring that young people are equipped with relevant skills that could provide them with employment opportunities in both the private and public sectors. T

He also spoke at length about the government's endeavours to save the ailing steel and sugar companies in South Africa, which face possible closure, assuring the audience that the government would support these prominent industry players in their respective sectors so that they do not shut down, which would result in huge unemployment across the country. The national unemployment rate of 31.4% in South Africa requires that the youth and unemployed people be given as many training and skills development opportunities as possible to secure sustained employment. He said it is an undesirable situation that the youth have a higher unemployment rate than other population groups.

Addressing the crowd gathered in a hall at the same event, the Speaker of the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature, Nontembeko Boyce, said, “Ours is to ensure that the ideals of the constitution, indiscriminately, live in each and every one of us”. Boyce emphasised the legislature’s critical role of strengthening democracy through law-making, oversight and meaningful public participation. She highlighted that legislation passed by the KZN Legislature must translate into real, tangible improvements in the lives of the people of this great province.

Both Sibiya and Boyce referred to Unisa as the largest comprehensive open and distance e-learning institution in Africa, which could assist communities outside major urban areas in studying at the university. They emphasised the importance of sharing information purposefully with the community and of conducting ongoing awareness efforts, such as this one, in which the government coordinates community imbizos.

Staff at the Unisa exhibition stand

Staff from Unisa’s Communication and Marketing Unit who were in attendance handled several enquiries from both current and prospective students. The main concern of current students was the unfortunate situation arising from the closure of Unisa’s Wild Coast Office in 2021. The absence of a Unisa office in the Port Shepstone area, serving the greater South Coast region, made it difficult for students to access face-to-face services when required.

* By Siyabonga Seme, Manager: Communication and Marketing: KwaZulu-Natal Region