Jobs in Benoni

Of the household names of individuals born in the town, those who appear most regularly in the international glossies are:

• Charlene, née Wittstock, Princess of Monaco, an internationally acclaimed swimmer who won three gold medals and a silver at the 1999 All-Africa Games in Johannesburg, and represented South Africa at the 1998 and 2002 Commonwealth Games, winning a silver medal in the 4 × 100 m medley relay in the latter competition. Her official title today, is that of consort to her husband Prince Albert II of Monaco, although she was absent from Monaco for quite some time, during which she was apparently recovering from an illness at a clinic in Switzerland;
• Hollywood actress Charlize Theron, who has starred in numerous commercially successful action films – including The Italian Job (2003), Hancock (2008), Snow White and the Huntsman (2012), Prometheus (2012), Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), The Fate of the Furious (2017), Atomic Blonde (2017), The Old Guard (2020), F9 (2021) and Fast X (2023).

Local sporting personalities from Benoni, on the other hand, include:

• former Springbok rugby player Bryan Habana, who in the position of wing, was considered one of the stars of the 2007 Rugby World Cup-winning Springbok squad after scoring eight tries, and was consequently named 2007 IRB Player of the Year. He now heads up the Bryan Habana Foundation in the quest to give back to society through food security projects, among other laudable initiatives
• former Benoni High teacher and long-distance runner Frith van der Merwe, who is also considered the most prolific female runner in the history of the Comrades Marathon. Although she has numerous accolades in shorter distance races, she set female records in the late 1980s and early 1990s for both the Comrades Marathon’s up and down runs, with her record time of 5:54:43 for the down run only being broken by Gerda Steyn in 2023. Her home running club, Benoni Northerns Sports Club, awarded her with the “best ever sportsperson” in 2012.

According to the Britannica website, Benoni was at first a mining camp after the local discovery of gold in 1887. Mining chairman Sir George Farrar set about landscaping the valley in the early 1900s, which could be what lead to Benoni officially being declared a town in 1907. Today, it is part of the industrial complex of the Witwatersrand, and is particularly noted for its iron and steel works, together with its brass foundry.

Situated within close proximity to Johannesburg and Pretoria, Benoni has an average salary among residents of R31 167 per month, reveals Numbeo.

A browse of the job boards, such as Glassdoor, will reveal quite an interesting mix of different types of professional/skilled work in Benoni’s close vicinity. So, choose between offers that include a nuclear medicine technologist, a marketing associate, a B2B sales executive, a high-school language or primary school teacher, an actor, a bookkeeper, or a construction project manager.

Further, the platform lists their town’s top employers who are currently hiring as being the likes of Frontier Consulting, Solventum, Braun & Epstein, MoreCorp, Telna, Metasoft Systems Inc, Genius Premium Tuition, Spartan SME Finance, the Mattress Warehouse, and Ackermans.

On the Executive Placements job board, you can search rather specifically under “jobs in Benoni”, together with more generally under medical jobs (should you be a sought-after medical administrative assistant, for example); finance jobs (should a head of finance in the mining and/or industrial sectors resonate strongly with you); sales and marketing jobs across industries and sectors; plus transport and/or operations-related roles, if those fall squarely into your skill and experience set.

Leadhome describes Benoni as “one of Gauteng’s underestimated suburban gems”, as a result of its abundant lakes, plentiful parks, and golf courses to choose from – meaning it can offer hard-working residents a safe haven from their jobs in, and around, the concrete jungle.

Additionally, this property group suggests that the town offers buyers an excellent range of property sizes, at prices that start at R400k and extend up to R5 million – all while providing a family-friendly set of suburbs (i.e. Lakefield, Westdene, Kilfenora, Linksview, Morehill, Alphen Park, Northmead, Farrar Park, and Parkrand), together with the likes of value for money, large erven with convenient access to all the amenities you may desire (educational, medical and entertainment), and a laid-back ambience with a plethora of tranquil green spaces.

Crowdsourced Explorer offers the below insights, from those who already call Benoni their home:

• widely known for the MTV inspired movie, “Crazy Monkey: Straight Outta Benoni”;
• great weather, with plenty of goods and services;
• perfectly located, close to the airport and business activity hubs, it offers old-school charm with a suburban feel, and great restaurants;
• while fairly small, its still incredibly welcoming to the newcomer;
• for families moving here, there are plenty of jobs, and wonderful schools, malls, hospitals, and sports/fitness facilities.

Once you’ve relocated to Benoni, it’s important that you’re able to partake in your preferred cultural and sporting activities. Must dos, on behalf of SA-Venues, include:

• a visit to the Benoni Museum, which was opened in 1994 and displays information and visuals of the Rand Revolt that took place in 1922, between armed miners and the South African army and police;
• perusing the Lakeside Mall, at Benoni’s own waterfront, where its possible to relish a day of browsing within 130 different stores, a cinema, kids’ play area, and a variety of restaurants within a building that typifies an old Mississippi steam boat;
  and
• partaking in a microlight adventure over the Gauteng countryside, conducted by top microlight pilot/instructor Andy Kaspersen, during which the passenger has the chance to feel free and unhindered, while soaring above this region’s breathtaking views of dams, farmland, and landscape peaks.

When it comes to sports clubs, you’re encouraged to select between Benoni Northern Sports Club, Benoni Action Sports, Benoni County Club, and many others – depending on your sport of choice, and level of ambition to take it further.

The Infoisinfo site shares a list of the top 10 schools in the Benoni area, while parents of school-aged kids can also browse the Schools4SA site, as it provides a comprehensive list of options from A to Z. However, if you’re specifically in the market for a private school, be sure to check out the list provided at SA Private Schools.

According to Quora, a platform aimed at sharing knowledge so as to lead to a better understanding of the world, Benoni has biblical origins – and means “son of my sorrow”. Apparently, there are more horse stables per km² here, than anywhere else in the southern hemisphere, and people have been living in the area since 1881, before gold was discovered in 1887, and quite some time before Benoni was declared a town in 1907 (when the town’s first synagogue and race track were founded).

Further to the town’s history, local air force pilots were trained at the Benoni Flying Field during World War 2, a station that was established on 11 November 1940; opened on 1 September 1941; and disbanded on 24 June 1945. Among the aircraft stationed at the Flying Field, until it was officially closed on 22 July 1946, were Tiger Moths, Hornet Moths, Rearwin 7000s, Harts, Audaxes, and Harvards.

Other stats and figures about the town include the following:

• the Benoni Citi Times is more than a century old, having been founded in 1921 by William Hills;
• the demolition of buildings brought change to the town, such as street names being changed. Fort Street became Voortrekker Street, and Bedford Street became Tom Jones Street;
• Benoni’s oldest school was founded in 1909 by the Dominican Sisters and originally called the Benoni Dominican Convent, but had its name changed to St Columba’s in 1983;
• its Chimes Tavern, originally built as a watering hole for the many expat miners that came to seek their fortunes in 1889, is one of the oldest pubs in the whole of South Africa. Rumour has it that it was such a festive place back in the old days, that miners were often known to enter the bar without bothering to get off their horses.