LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE PUBLIC WORKS
Date
2011-06-09
Authors
Reddy, Myan
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Abstract
The debate in South Africa on the high unemployment rate has always been coupled with
the issue that the country had inherited a very low skills base subsequent to the apartheid
regime. Government officially launched the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP)
in 2003 which was implemented in Provinces in 2004, as one of the short to medium term
measures to combat unemployment. A key element of skills development was attached
to these programmes.
The aim of my research was to explore the skills acquired by the end beneficiaries
employed on the Government’s Public Works Programme. The Soshanguve Working for
Wetlands Project was used as a case study. Aside from being identified as an EPWP, the
choice of utilising the Wetlands Project as a case study was also as a result of a skills
component being an essential aspect to the Project from its very inception in 2000.
The main findings of this research was that it was difficult to implement the legislative
provisions for training in EPWPs, production was prioritised over training, the training did
not translate into better employability opportunities for the end beneficiaries, scheduling of
training and the high illiteracy rate of end beneficiaries were important factors that
excluded them from participation. Moreover integration challenges existed between the
various planning and implementing role-players. The implication of this is that some of
these factors ultimately impacted negatively on the provision of the training and also
contributed towards the training being ineffectual in the longer-term.
Description
MM - P&DM
Keywords
Public works programmes, Skills development