As a component of the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan (ERRP), which outlined several steps to mitigate the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, President Cyril Ramaphosa introduced the Presidential Employment Stimulus (PES) in October 2020.
The purpose of the stimulus is to use public funds to generate jobs and sustain living standards as the labour market recovered.
The presidency coordinated an effort with 15 government departments, as well as with provinces and municipalities, to implement the stimulus. As part of a "whole of society" strategy, it also depended heavily on solid collaborations other than the State.
In honour of the government's significant milestone, President Ramaphosa stated that while job creation efforts continue, the country is taking a moment to celebrate the more than one million employment opportunities that they have already provided.
These include jobs created, work experience provided, livelihoods strengthened, skills developed and small business owners supported and promoted.
To date, the stimulus has accomplished the following primary objectives: The broadest youth employment initiative in South Africa's history has been funded by the Programme for Employment and Social Development (PES).
This includes a total of 596,109 young people who were appointed across two cohorts as school assistants through the Presidential Youth Employment Initiative PYEI
Support has also been provided to 54,000 Early Childhood Development professionals to secure the continuation and reopening of Early Childhood Development (ECD) facilities. The Social Employment Fund assists neighbourhood-based organisations in starting projects that advance the common good, which has already reached 85,000 participants.
Additionally, more than 32,000 people have received funding in the creative sector to create films, cartoons, books in indigenous languages, theatre shows, mural art, and much more, supporting the industry through difficult times.
A total of 26 universities have also been supported to place graduates in work that provides them with experience relevant to their qualifications.
These and other programmes, according to the President, show the sizeable scale at which the PES has provided opportunities for employment and a living, mobilising a wide variety of stakeholders and producing genuine social value in the process.
