The port is busy. The doors are shut.
Durban's logistics, manufacturing and tourism employers hire at scale, and the professional advice that helps people move up rarely reaches them.
- Session length
- 30 minutes
- Cost to a mentee
- Free
- Local time zone
- SAST
The people who arrive stuck.
Students and recent graduates
Applying into ports, logistics and shipping and manufacturing and automotive around Durban against people who already had someone make the call for them.
Job seekers who keep reaching the last round
Strong applications, no useful feedback, and no one in Durban who can say what the shortlist actually turns on.
People early in a job here
First or second role in Durban, working hard, with nobody explaining how progression or pay is decided.
Career changers
Moving out of tourism and hospitality or into it, with a CV that still reads like the last job rather than the next one.
The fields our mentors work in.
Mentors volunteer 30 minutes. Matching is cross-border, so a mentor outside the city is normal and often the point.
Ports, logistics and shipping
Manufacturing and automotive
Tourism and hospitality
Finance and business services
Health and public sector
Technology and data
Four steps, one half hour.
- 01
Tell us what you are stuck on
A short sign-up: where you are, what you want next, and the one thing blocking it.
- 02
We match you
You are matched with a mentor who has done the job you are aiming at, wherever in the network they sit.
- 03
Pick a time that suits you
Times are shown in SAST, so a mentor in another country never means an awkward hour for you.
- 04
Thirty minutes on video
Free to you, on the platform, with a written summary of what to do next.
The questions we hear most in Durban.
These come up again and again from people sitting in Durban, whatever stage they are at.
How do I get into ports, logistics and shipping here without knowing anyone in it?
Is manufacturing and automotive worth moving into, and what does the first year really look like?
What does a strong application for tourism and hospitality look like from Durban?
Should I stay in Durban, move, or work remotely for an employer somewhere else?
How do I explain my Durban experience to an employer who has never heard of my last one?
Who funds the sessions here.
International employers running Give, with people mentoring from Durban and beyond
Universities and skilling programmes for students in and around Durban
Foundations and youth employment funders
Employers running Redirect for rejected candidates
Ready to start in Durban?
Book a free 30-minute session, or tell us what you need and we will match you with a mentor who does the job you are aiming at.
The things people ask first.
Do I have to live in Durban to book?
No. Matching is cross-border, so a mentor is chosen for the job they do rather than the city they sit in.
Is it really free?
Free to you. Sessions are funded by our employer, university and public-sector partners.
How soon can I get a session?
Sign up, tell us what you are stuck on, and pick a slot in SAST once you are matched.
Can I be matched with someone in ports, logistics and shipping?
Yes. Ports, logistics and shipping is one of the areas Durban mentees ask about most, and mentors in it volunteer across the network.
Will my mentor understand the Durban job market?
Often, yes. Where the better match sits elsewhere, you still get someone who does the job you are aiming at, and the advice is set against what you are facing in Durban.
Get unstuck from Durban.
Thirty minutes with someone who has already done it. Free to you, wherever you are sitting.