City’s temporary employment aimed at making a difference

THE City of Cape Town aims to create 42 500 temporary employment opportunities through its Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) in the 2015/16 financial year – from 40 000 in the previous financial year.

The EPWP is a national government initiative launched in 2004, with the aim of giving unemployed South Africans a hand through temporary jobs to earn some form of income, but also to acquire skills that make them more employable.

Since 2011, the City has created more than 140 000 temporary work opportunities for unemployed residents through this programme. By the end of June next year, it is envisaged that this num- ber will increase to just over 180 000. The dedicated budget in the last four financial years, including the new one, stands at R466 million, excluding normal line budgets where EPWP jobs are created through service providers.

Every year, the various City departments are required to submit plans as to how they will contribute to the EPWP employment scheme. Our biggest contributor is Utility Services, in particular, the Solid Waste Management Department, where a number of the jobseekers are accommodated. Transport for Cape Town, Human Settlements and Community Services are the other three top employers within the City for the programme. In fact, these four directorates were responsible for nearly 75 percent of all work opportunities created in the last financial year.

Of the 42 500 work opportunities set as a target for the 2015/16 financial year, more than 76 percent will be accommodated in Utility Services, Transport for Cape Town, Human Settlements and Community Services.

One of the challenges is getting some job seekers to understand that the opportunities are temporary, and that there is no guarantee of full-time employment, even though we have a standard induction programme where we address these issues. More and more, we are facing undue pressure from individuals who demand permanent employment after completing their stint on the EPWP.

Unfortunately, that is not how the programme works. It is quite literally a stepping stone that offers a short to medium-term income, but more importantly, the opportunity to acquire skills that can improve an individual’s employability in the general job market.

The EPWP is designed to provide temporary employment opportunities to as many unemployed residents as possible. There are 402 701 people registered on the City’s job-seekers database. EPWP employment periods vary from project to project. In certain circumstances, a project’s timeline may be extended for operational reasons, which may lead to some workers gaining a further period of employment. The type of work opportunities under the programme include: Administrative assistance. General work supporting existing service delivery projects such as cleaning and minor maintenance. Youth development work. Stonemasonry work. River and alien-vegetation clearing. Community care. All unemployed residents who are interested and willing to work on the programme are required to register at their nearest subcouncil office to be considered for opportunities. Job-seekers are also reminded to update their information regularly; a change in telephone numbers or physical address) and to visit the subcouncil offices at least once every 12 months to ensure that their registration remains valid.

Little is the Mayco member for Social Development and Early Childhood Development