Despite the Department of Employment and Labour’s (DEL’s) call for employers to use its online recruitment portal to recruit workers, the system is offline.
Speaking at the DEL’s breakfast advocacy session with stakeholders this week, deputy minister Boitumelo Moloi urged employers to use the department’s Employment Services of South Africa (ESSA) system as a recruitment tool for prospective employees and to maintain stability in the labour market.
However, when ITWeb tried to access the online portal this morning, the following message was displayed on the screen: “The ESSA application is temporarily down due to financial year-end processes. The application will be available and back online on 11 April 2022.
“We apologise for any inconvenience this might cause.”
The ESSA system is an online portal created for prospective job applicants to register and create their profiles (CV/resume), view vacancies and review their CVs.
Those that are unemployed and in the job market can register themselves as a job-seeker on the system.
The system, which is available to all South African citizens, is credible and user-friendly in allowing employers to recruit, according to Moloi.
“Employers could further be assisted, as the department also offers counselling to job-seekers,” said the deputy minister. “We need employers to be friends with us.”
The call for local employers to use the ESSA system comes as the DEL is working on amending the country’s Employment Equity (EE) Act, to ensure companies comply with the law that promotes equity in the workplace.
SA’s workplaces yearn for transformation, said Moloi, noting legislation is in place not to punish, but ensure compliance.
“EE self-regulation has not delivered results. That is why we are coming up with EE Act amendments. If we continue with thestatus quo, it will take us a century to transform workplaces. Workplace transformation is moving at a slow pace and we need to do something.”
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