THE National Library of South Africa (NLSA), together with social enterprise Lulavvay, launched a joint job crea­tion project at the Sharpeville library in Gauteng.
The partnership will see an initial 27 community librar­ies house a job readiness cent1"e, with a further 600 earmarked for rollout in 2018.
Lulaway chairperson Andile Mkhosana said job creation initiatives vvere more critical than ever for empowering the millions of unemployed people in South Africa.
''As the economy battles to pull itself out of recession and a 14-year high unemployment rate, many individuals' efforts to find work are stymied,'' Mkhosana said.
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Each of these job centres will off er job seekers the opportunity to register their full CVs at no charge on the Lulaway online database and apply for available vacancies.  
Job seekers will instantly be connected to a range of employers nationally, enabling them to access a dive1·se range of job opportunities.
''The present structure of finding jobs for entry-level employees is costly, inefficient and leaves job seekers feeling at a loss of where to turn next,'' Mkhosana said.

''As the economy battles to pull itself out of recession and a 14-year high unemployment rate, many individuals' efforts to find work are stymied:'

Lulaway's Mkhuseli Vangile, said establishing the job cent1·es was an extension of the NLSA's multimillion-rand Mzansi-Libraries Online project, which received funding fron1 the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's Global Libraries Initiative. Vangile said the grant was given to help strengthen public libraries in South Africa through the provision of new technologies ( computers, data and software) and training in ICT to uplift local communities.
These job centres will be managed by 65 graduates of the NLSA graduate internship programme.
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The previously unemployed youths completed the training programme where they acquired ICT skills and training. ''Through the programme, they also received training on how to assist job seekers on the Lulaway Portal. ''ICT skills play a critical role in helping the youth create more opportunities for themselves in terms of employment and entrepreneurship,'' Vangile said. This collaboration between the NLSA and Lulaway will play a significant role in contributing to skills development among the youth.''
Mkhosana said they had created an infrastructure where job seekers were not excluded from opportunities due to their location.
''The libraries will now become hubs of hope for the unemployed. ''They will provide free access to economic growth and will play a pivotal role in bridging the divide between the unemployed and the private sector,'' he said.

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