Abstract
This study examines how poor ICT infrastructure shapes participants' lived experiences of the employment prospects and job retention of working-class youth in Orlando East, Soweto. Against the backdrop of South Africa’s growing digital economy, the research explores the ways in which participants perceive weak network reception, unstable electricity supply, high data costs, and limited access to digital resources as shaping their ability to seek, secure, and sustain employment. Guided by Van Dijk’s (2020) theory of access gaps, the study conceptualises digital inequality as a layered phenomenon that extends beyond mere access to devices and connectivity, encompassing motivational, skills-based, and usage dimensions. Employing a qualitative research design, semi-structured interviews were conducted with young residents of Orlando East to capture their lived experiences and perceptions of digital exclusion. Thematic analysis of the data reveals that participants' accounts suggest poor connectivity constrains access to online job opportunities and, in their experience, deepens existing socio-economic inequalities by reinforcing spatial and class-based barriers. Furthermore, the findings reveal that poor digital infrastructure in Orlando East, characterized by weak network reception, electricity instability, and high data costs, deepens social and economic inequality by limiting youth’s ability to access, secure, and sustain employment, while also exposing the resilience and adaptive strategies they deploy to navigate systemic digital exclusion. The study concludes that addressing connectivity challenges requires integrated policy interventions that combine infrastructural investment with digital literacy initiatives tailored to township contexts. By foregrounding the voices of working-class youth, this research contributes to sociological debates on the digital divide, inequality, and the future of work in post-apartheid South Africa.