ALL ABOUT THE PRESIDENTIAL EMPLOYMENT STIMULUS AND HOW IT CAN HELP YOU

The Presidential Employment Stimulus (PES) was launched in response to the financial havoc caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Could it help you?



The Presidential Employment Stimulus (PES) was launched in October 2020 in response to the toll that Covid-19 took on South Africa’s already struggling economy. The aim is to boost employment by creating jobs and to keep those in vulnerable sectors like textiles, agriculture and beverages employed. This is achieved through a range of programmes in 15 national government departments working with the private sector.

According to Public Works Minister Patricia de Lille, the focus is on ensuring that the jobs created ‘provide meaningful work experience, so participants become work-ready’. The targets are mainly young people and women, from artists and creatives to cultural- and heritage-sector workers, subsistence farmers, and those involved in rural roads maintenance and environmental initiatives.

South Africa has one of the most unequal societies in the world, and unemployment is the biggest cause of its income inequality, says Dr Kate Philip, PES programme lead. PES is a way of ‘supporting South Africa on a trajectory of more inclusive growth’, she says.
PHASE 1
The first phase of PES ran from October 2020 to March 2021. It was announced that more than 550 000 jobs and livelihoods had been supported out of a target of nearly 700 000, with beneficiaries mainly being young people (84%) and women (58%). The main programme was a Basic Education Employment Initiative. About 320 000 young people were employed as assistants at 22 000 schools across the country and paid a national minimum wage (R3 500 a month), which they could spend in their communities, helping to support local businesses.

PHASE 2
Launched in October 2021, this sees a further allocation of R11 billion from the National Treasury being spent on continuing some Phase 1 initiatives and introducing many new ones. Could some, like these, help you?
  • A Presidential Youth Employment Intervention: President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on young people to register for the new SA Youth service network on the SAYouth.Mobi platform (available data-free) to help them find jobs, learn how to prepare for the world of work, or, as the platform puts it, ‘how to start their own hustle’.
  • A Social Employment Fund: This focuses on work that achieves the common good for communities, such as community safety, urban agriculture initiatives, and upgrading informal settlements. It is hoped private partners will create 50 000 jobs.
  • An Innovation in Public Employment in the Metros programme: This calls on metros to create jobs with social value, such as employing the homeless and training young people with skills to digitise city records, in the hope of making them more employable in the private sector, says Philip.
  • An initiative with the Department of Communication and Digital Technology: This is establishing a Broadband Access Fund to support connectivity for 50 000 households, which is critical in employment searches.
To find out more about PES and to monitor its progress, click here.

Related Article: Your Guide to Claiming Work From Home Expenses From SARS

TEXT: GLYNIS HORNING


ALL ABOUT THE PRESIDENTIAL EMPLOYMENT STIMULUS AND HOW IT CAN HELP YOU ALL ABOUT THE PRESIDENTIAL EMPLOYMENT STIMULUS AND HOW IT CAN HELP YOU Reviewed by Edgars Mag on April 19, 2022 Rating: 5
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