Thousands of former teaching assistants are being encouraged to apply for unemployment relief. This is because they meet the criteria needed to be eligible to receive unemployment relief from a government agency.
The Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) is calling on former education and general school assistants who took part in the Basic Education Employment Initiative (BEEI) to apply for unemployment benefits. This comes as they will not be allowed to continue working as assistants in the fourth phase of the programme.
Education and General School Assistants were employed in schools around South Africa under the BEEI. The BEEI fell under the umbrella of the Presidential Youth Employment Initiative (PYEI) which aims to combat youth unemployment in South Africa.
While the Department of Basic Education (DBE) will continue implementing the BEEI, youth employed in the initiative's first three phases won’t be considered for positions in upcoming phases. The fourth phase of the BEEI is set to begin in 2023.
The announcement that youth were employed in the first three phases of the BEEI meant that thousands of young people became unemployed. These young people are encouraged to apply for UIF unemployment benefits.
The UIF provides temporary financial relief to workers who previously contributed to the fund. Teaching assistants are eligible to receive UIF benefits as they previously contributed to the UIF while they were working. Their UIF contributions were deducted from their monthly remuneration before being paid into their bank accounts.
To date, the UIF has paid R76.2 million to 17 095 beneficiaries in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. These beneficiaries were assisted as part of a UIF campaign to assist former teaching assistants access UIF relief.
This week, the UIF campaign will move to uMgungundlovu District in KwaZulu-Natal. The UIF will be assisting individuals in the district until 27 January 2023.
While teaching assistants are being assisted, they will also be encouraged to register their CV’s on the Employment Services of South Africa (ESSA) system.
The Department of Employment and Labour’s Public Employment Services (PES) branch will be present on-site to register CVs or unemployed individuals.
The UIF also announced their intention to increase the capacity of its payment campaign in KwaZulu-Natal. This will see the fund dispatch two separate teams to assist individuals who require UIF more quickly. The dates and venues for this will be announced in due course on the UIF's social media platforms
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