The Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) is a government programme aimed at alleviating poverty by creating work opportunities for unemployed South Africans.
The EPWP continues to play a critical role in the socio-economic development and upliftment of people in various communities - particularly the youth.
Skills development and training of EPWP participants has been a crucial element of Phase IV of the EPWP. The programme provided accredited training to participants in the form of short courses, skills programmes, learnership programmes and artisan development programmes in an effort to address the scarce and critical skills required by the economy.
Some of the skills provided by EPWP implementing public bodies in the 2022/2023 financial year were the National Certificate in Road Works Construction in the Eastern Cape, the National Certificate in Landscaping in Mpumalanga, and Financial Literacy through the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA). The public bodies provided 40 252 training opportunities in the four EPWP sectors, namely: infrastructure, social, non-state, and environment and culture.
The EPWP has also played a critical role in promoting the development of young people through training and capacity-building. In this regard, 8 250 work opportunities were created for youth through the National Youth Service (NYS), as implemented by public bodies at different spheres of government. The Vuk’uphile Learnership Programme, which is a contractor development programme, has provided support to 87 contractors in order to improve their capacity to implement projects through labour-intensive methods.
For more information about the Expanded Public Works Programme go to www.epwp.gov.za