Plan to reshape EPWP for ‘new world of work’
It was aimed at finding ways to drive employment and tackle poverty through the EPWP in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
The government should use its expanded public works programme (EPWP) to fight unemployment by training workers to gain “digitised” skills, keynote speakers at a recent webinar said.
“We as the EPWP have been focused solely on work opportunities, but it is vital to include elements such as training and enterprise development,” said development economist consultant Liesel Eksteen.
Eksteen made the remarks during a webinar titled ‘Re-skilling and enterprise development for PEPs in the era of Covid-19 and beyond’.
The Zoom webinar session was held between the public works and infrastructure department and the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
It was aimed at finding ways to drive employment and tackle poverty through the EPWP in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
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Eksteen, one of the keynote speakers, said the EPWP should look at using both human and artificial intelligence to drive the development and upliftment of South Africa in the post-Covid-19 world.
She said the webinar was held since Covid-19 was not just a health pandemic, but also an economic pandemic as well.
Despite this, she believed the pandemic presented new opportunities for South Africa.
“We have an opportunity to transform the economy now. Digitisation is a make or break now in any job.”
She said people could not depend on one skill or job since many of the skills people have are now obsolete.
Eksteen said government must look at providing people with a combination of skill sets in preparing them for a new digitised world of work.
These included emotional intelligence, use of technology in performing tasks and even advanced cognitive skills.
Another speaker, Lungisani Dladla, said the government must look at using the EPWP to drive township entrepreneurship.
Dladla is a senior official at the department.
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“Government would have to provide development finance and support to small businesses in the townships to create much-needed economic opportunities and jobs for the poor,” he said.
Lesego Moretlwe, a Department of Public Works and Infrastructure spokesperson, said the government was looking at redesigning some of its programmes and projects offered through the EPWP thanks to the webinar.
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