Gauteng Department of Education - teacher recruitment

How to register on the GDE unemployed educators database

The Gauteng Department of Education keeps one online database of qualified, unemployed teachers and therapists. Schools and all 15 districts use it to fill PL1 posts. Registration is free at unemployededucators.gauteng.gov.za.

Updated 18 September 2026 ·By GoCareers
Open the GDE Unemployed Educators portal
Official portal
unemployededucators.gauteng.gov.za
Who
Qualified, unemployed educators and therapists
Registration
Online, no closing date shown
Login
ID number + password
Cost
Free - GDE never charges
GDE call centre
0800 000 789 (toll-free)

Who can register

  • Professionally qualified educators: a BEd, or a degree plus a PGCE, or another recognised teaching qualification. The GDE describes the system as being for fully qualified educators only
  • Registered with the South African Council for Educators (SACE). SACE registration is a legal requirement for teaching in a South African school, so have your certificate ready even though the sign-up form does not ask for it
  • Unemployed, or on a short substitute contract and looking for a school post in Gauteng
  • South African citizens are the core audience. The form asks whether you are South African and lets non-citizens register with a passport, but a foreign national still needs a valid work permit and a SAQA evaluation of overseas qualifications before a school can appoint them
  • Therapists (speech, occupational and similar) who want posts at special schools can register under the Therapist post type
  • Final-year education students can prepare their documents now, but you need the completed qualification before you can be appointed

What you'll need

  • South African ID number (used as your login) or passport number for non-citizens
  • A working cellphone number - the portal sends an SMS confirmation and one-time PINs to it, and a number can only be used on one account
  • An email address you check regularly
  • Your full residential address, including municipality and township or suburb
  • Certified copies of your teaching qualification and academic record. The national Department of Basic Education requires these for its recruitment database and Gauteng schools will ask for them at shortlisting
  • SACE registration certificate
  • An updated CV listing your phases (Foundation, Intermediate, Senior or FET) and subjects
  • A password with at least 8 characters including a number, a special character, uppercase and lowercase, for example P@ssw0rd

Step by step

  1. Go to the official portal

    Open unemployededucators.gauteng.gov.za directly, or go to education.gauteng.gov.za, click the Vacancies tab and then Unemployed Educators. Check the address bar ends in gauteng.gov.za before you type anything.
    Tip: The portal states in capitals that the GDE will never charge you for an appointment letter or expect you to pay any fees. If a link asks for money, it is not the GDE.

  2. Click Register and complete the form

    Select the Register tab. You will enter your first name, surname, date of birth, gender, race, whether you are South African, country, ID or passport number, post type (Educator or Therapist), whether you have an education qualification, cellphone, alternative number, email, home address, and then choose a password.

  3. Wait for the SMS confirmation

    After you click Register a success notification appears and the system sends an SMS to confirm your profile. If the OTP never arrives, email Unemployededucators@gauteng.gov.za, which is the address the portal FAQ gives for OTP and editing problems.

  4. Log in and complete your educator profile

    Log in with your ID number and password. Fill in your qualifications, SACE details, teaching phases, learning areas and subject specialisations, and the districts you can work in. Schools search these fields, so leave nothing blank. If the system redirects you back to registration, a compulsory step is still incomplete.

  5. Browse and apply for vacancies

    The Vacancies tab lists PL1 posts with a reference number, school name, district, address, phase (Foundation, Intermediate or FET), primary and secondary learning areas and a closing date. Apply to the posts that match your profile; the portal confirms each application by SMS.

  6. Keep your profile current

    Log in every few weeks to update your contact details, new qualifications or availability. Your ID number cannot be changed after registration. If you forget your password, use Forgot your password, enter your ID number, click Retrieve profile and set a new one.
    Tip: Schools and district HR units pull candidates whose profiles match the subjects and phases in demand and call them for interviews. An out-of-date phone number means a missed interview.

What the GDE database actually is

The Gauteng Department of Education Unemployed Educators Database is a provincial recruitment system for school-based educator posts. Once you are registered, your details are visible to all 15 Gauteng education districts and to every public school principal in the province. When a school has a vacancy, the principal, school governing body or district HR unit searches the database for candidates whose qualifications, phases and learning areas fit the post, and invites the matching educators for interviews.

People search for it under many names: "Gauteng database", "GDE database registration", "GDE e-recruitment" and "Gauteng data". They all refer to the same portal at unemployededucators.gauteng.gov.za. There is no separate GDE e-recruitment site for teachers; the GPG Professional Job Centre at jobs.gauteng.gov.za is for public-service and office-based posts, not classroom teaching posts.

The database was rebuilt with a mobile-friendly interface, profile editing, SMS confirmations and a live vacancy list, and the FAQ says school HR committees and principals now access applicant lists directly on the platform rather than through printed lists, in line with POPIA.

Types of posts filled from the database

The portal FAQ classifies the posts that schools fill from the database into five types:

  • Substantive posts: a funded, vacant post. A temporary appointment against a substantive post may be converted to permanent after three months if the requirements are met.
  • Substitute posts: covering a teacher on leave. Temporary and cannot be converted.
  • Growth posts: emergency posts created when learner numbers grow. Cannot be converted.
  • Against promotional posts: filling in while a promotion post is vacant. Cannot be converted.
  • IALL posts: temporary Incremental Introduction of African Languages roles, sometimes shared between schools. Cannot be converted.

Most appointments from the database start as substitute or temporary contracts, and the length depends on the school's needs. Permanent appointment usually follows from a substantive post plus the normal HR process.

Database vs vacancy circular vs SA Youth teacher assistant

These three are confused constantly. They are different routes with different rules.

  • Unemployed Educators Database: for qualified teachers and therapists seeking PL1 (classroom) posts. Register once online, keep your profile current, apply to listed vacancies. Open with no registration deadline; each vacancy has its own closing date.
  • GDE vacancy circular: the department publishes numbered circulars on education.gauteng.gov.za (for example Vacancy Circular 01 of 2026 for principal, deputy principal, head of department, therapist and learner support educator posts). These are formal applications on the Z83 form with a CV and certified copies, submitted to the district or address in the circular by a fixed closing date. See our Z83 form guide.
  • SA Youth teacher assistant (BEEI): a Presidential Youth Employment Initiative stipend programme for unemployed youth aged 18 to 34. No teaching qualification is needed, you apply on sayouth.mobi, not the GDE database, and it only runs when a phase is funded. See SA Youth teacher assistant.

Is there a registration window?

The portal shows no opening or closing date for registration, and the vacancies listed on it carry individual closing dates that run months ahead. Treat registration as open year-round and register as soon as you qualify. Demand peaks in the last quarter of the year and in January when schools finalise staffing for the new academic year, so a complete profile by October gives you the best chance of an interview.

Do not rely on social media posts announcing a "GDE database opening date". If the GDE changes anything, it will say so on education.gauteng.gov.za or on the portal itself.

Fake GDE database links and jobs for sale

On 24 March 2026, Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane warned that people were selling teaching and administrative posts to desperate applicants, and stated that no educator or administrative post in the GDE is for sale. Anyone claiming they can secure you a post for a fee is scamming you or acting corruptly.

Red flags to watch for:

  • Links to a "GDE database" that are not on the gauteng.gov.za domain, including shortened links shared on WhatsApp and Facebook
  • Any request for a registration, processing, appointment-letter or "placement" fee
  • Someone offering to "put you on the database" or move you up a list for money
  • Appointment letters sent from Gmail or Yahoo addresses instead of gauteng.gov.za
  • Requests for banking details before you have been interviewed by a school

Common registration problems

  • "Already exists on the system": you registered before. Use Login, click Forgot your password, enter your ID number, click Retrieve profile and set a new password.
  • No OTP or SMS: check the number you typed, then email Unemployededucators@gauteng.gov.za with your ID number.
  • Cannot edit a field: the same email address handles edit requests. Your ID number cannot be changed at all.
  • Cellphone number rejected: each number can only be linked to one account, and the alternative number cannot be the same as your main number.
  • Redirected back to the registration page: a compulsory field or step is incomplete.
  • Site down or slow: users have reported outages over several years. Try again outside peak hours rather than using a third-party site that offers to register for you.

GDE contact details

Frequently asked questions

How do I register on the GDE database?
Go to unemployededucators.gauteng.gov.za, click Register, complete the form with your ID number, contact details, address and post type, choose a password and submit. You will get an SMS confirmation. Then log in and complete your qualifications, phases and subjects.
Is the Gauteng educators database free?
Yes. The portal states in capitals that the GDE will never charge you for an appointment letter or expect you to pay any fees. If you are told to pay, you are being scammed. Report it to talktothemec@gauteng.gov.za.
Do I need SACE registration to be on the GDE database?
The sign-up form does not ask for a SACE number, but SACE registration is required by law to teach in a South African school and schools will check it before appointing you. Register with SACE first or in parallel so it does not hold up an appointment.
What qualifications do I need?
A recognised professional teaching qualification: a BEd, a degree plus a PGCE, or an older equivalent such as a Higher Diploma in Education. The GDE describes the system as being for fully qualified educators only. Therapists register under the Therapist post type.
Can I register if I am not a South African citizen?
The form lets you answer No to Are you South African and register with a passport number. In practice a school can only appoint a foreign national who holds a valid work permit, SAQA-evaluated qualifications and SACE registration.
Is there a closing date for the GDE database?
The portal shows no registration deadline. It appears to be open year-round, and each vacancy on the Vacancies tab has its own closing date. Register as early as you can and keep your profile updated.
How do schools use the database?
Your profile is visible to all 15 Gauteng districts and every public school principal. When a school has a PL1 vacancy, the principal, governing body or district HR unit searches for educators whose phases and subjects match, and invites them for interviews. Schools also list posts on the portal for you to apply to directly.
Is the GDE database the same as the SA Youth teacher assistant programme?
No. The database is for qualified teachers and therapists seeking school posts. The teacher assistant programme is a youth stipend programme for 18 to 34 year olds without a teaching qualification, applied for on sayouth.mobi, and it only runs when a phase is funded.

Related guides

SA Youth teacher assistant 2026

The BEEI stipend programme for unqualified youth, and whether the next phase is open.

How to register on SA Youth

Sign up on sayouth.mobi in a few minutes.

Z83 form 2026

How to complete the Z83 for GDE vacancy circular posts and other government jobs.

Last updated 18 September 2026. We review and refresh this guide regularly — if something here is out of date, let us know.