Au Pairs

Temp jobs

Sports coaching

Au Pairs 

The advantages of this type of work are that your food and lodging are often paid for, because you usually live in the house, or on the same property, as the family employing you. You will earn a bit of extra cash, and you should be given enough time to yourself to go out and have some fun. There are also live-out jobs available where you do not stay with the family.
Although there are often no qualifications required, your chances of securing the job or the salary you want are much better if you have experience working with children. An excellent way to accumulate work experience is to volunteer with organizations that care for orphaned, abused or abandoned children.

Requirements to be an au pair in South Africa

    200 hours of child care experience

    Have a valid driver’s licence

    Most host families prefer non-smokers

    18 to 24 years of age if you are not South African

Use an au pair agency
By registering with an au pair agency you will get the credibility that potential employers are looking for, and you will have access to the agency for assistance and recourse in the event of a problem. The agency will require an interview and your CV and references, and possibly a medical certificate, and you will have to sign an agreement with them regarding the agency fees applicable – read it before signing!
These links are to South African agencies – we cannot take any responsibility for them or their actions – these are just some organizations we suggest you investigate further:

JCR South Africa – excellent advice and downloads, providing a full service to both au pairs and the host families
Au Pair SA - a free service for au pairs looking for jobs in South Africa.
NewAuPair.com – international au pair site – this link lists many South African jobs available

GreatAuPair.com – international au pair site with some South African jobs listed by suburb or region

Once you have chosen an au pairing job get written confirmation from the agency or family of the hours of work, the exact duties for which you are responsible, the terms of pay and the frequency and manner of payment, and the duties for which you are not responsible. You should not be solely responsible for the supervision of a baby, and you should ensure you have the relevant insurance if you are going to be responsible for driving children around in a car or taking them out of the property.

An Au Pair is a member of a family and should be treated as such.

Suitable tasks:

• Anything regarding the children
• Hoovering
• Sweeping the kitchen and hallway floors
• Preparing children’s meals
• Clearing the kitchen after meals and removing any spillages.
• Cleaning the baths, basins and mirrors in both her and the children’s bathrooms.
• Children’s laundry and ironing (this may include a few adult items, but not the entire adult laundry)
• Putting away children’s clothing in cupboards
• Tidying the children’s room and playroom as well as her own
• Changing the children’s beds
• Emptying the bins around the house
• Emptying the dishwasher
• Walking the dogs
• Light shopping (not weekly shopping)
• Help in preparing family meals and private dinner parties if the Au Pair herself is invited.

Unsuitable tasks:

• Anything regarding adults, such as cleaning up after them or very personal tasks such as putting away clothes, washing underwear, etc.
• Spring cleaning
• Changing parents’ beds
• Cleaning household appliances thoroughly, such as fridges, ovens, freezers and microwaves
• Cleaning parents’ room and private bathroom
• Cleaning windows
• Dusting and cleaning skirting boards
• Cleaning outside the house
• Watering the garden
• Taking clothes to drycleaner
• Washing the car
• Preparing dinner parties if she’s not invited.
• Polishing silverware and brass, etc.

An Au Pair is there to help a family only, and should not be in charge of a household.

Temp jobs

There is lots of unskilled labour available in South Africa, but there is always a demand for competent, hard working people with a positive ‘can do’ attitude. As a South African you obviously have the right to work, but if you are coming from outside South Africa you will have to apply for a work visa from your country of residence.

There are many websites offering temporary and permanent employment. The following websites contain details of part time jobs available and allow you to search based on your needs. All newspapers (daily and weekly) have jobs advertised too. Also use search engines, such as Google and Yahoo, using phrases such as “temporary jobs South Africa” :

http://www.careerjet.co.za/

http://www.bestjobs.co.za

http://www.jobs.co.za/

http://www.careerjunction.co.za/

http://www.careerclassifieds.co.za/  

http://www.southafricajobs.co.za/  

http://www.ioljobs.co.za/

Gumtree – free popular resource for jobs in South Africa

Sports coaching

An excellent way to earn money whilst making a difference is to coach a sport in South Africa. Many clubs, regional sport associations, community organisations and schools require coaches for all age groups.

Many of the coaching opportunities are taken by non-South African gap year students who pay a large amount of money to do what you can do at a fraction of the cost.

Your starting point is to focus on a sport in which you have an interest, or can play fairly well. It is not necessary for you to be a brilliant sports person unless you are working with provincial and national sides – most positions require people who are willing to add value, to learn on the job and to help organize and run activities.

Once you know which sport you want to coach you can approach clubs and schools near your home (or where you intend staying) and ask if they have a need for coaches and assistants. If you are willing to coach for no or little money then you will find less resistance! Speak to any coaches who you know to find any opportunities available.

Here are some suggested links to research your sport of choice:

4the game.com – South African football websites

South African Football Association

South African Hockey Association

South African Rugby

SA Swimming

Cricket SA

Netball SA

South African Tennis Association

Squash SA

South African Golf Association

Sports coaching programmes for which you pay

Gap Year South Africa – aimed at UK residents. They offer organized accommodation, transport and coaching of local school communities in the Port Elizabeth area of the Eastern Cape

Volunteering Solutions – based in Cape Town and Hout Bay

Global Sports Xperience – many organizations with coaching experiences in all different types of sport

GapYear.com - many organizations with coaching experiences in all different types of sport