SEF’s potential to foster long-term education and employment
By Francois Du Toit
The Social Employment Fund (SEF) is a significant step in South Africa’s journey in addressing pressing socio-economic challenges. This initiative pays participants a short-term stipend of R1 600 and has transformative potential, while providing temporary financial relief and empowering individuals through meaningful work experience and skills development.
However, as the SEF seeks to create more than just immediate relief, it must pave genuine pathways to full-time employment or further study opportunities, to enable participants to improve their lives in the long term. This potential is there but the realisation requires a clear focus on skills development, practical work experience and connections to sustainable opportunity networks.
A foundation of financial relief and stability
The monthly stipend seems modest but, in a nation where the unemployment rate hovers around 33% and youth unemployment is far higher, even limited financial support can be life changing. The stipend is a crucial buffer, enabling participants to cover basic needs and, importantly, reduce the need to take on unsustainable debts to make ends meet. It is essential in low-income communities, where opportunities for employment and further education are scarce.
The SEF is more than a simple handout. The focus is on engaging participants in socially beneficial tasks, like environmental conservation, community health and local infrastructure projects, for the betterment of their communities. This emphasis on dignity, empowerment and community upliftment is a powerful combination and reflects the dual purpose of the SEF: To addresses the immediate socio- economic challenges facing participants, while enabling personal growth.
Skills development and work experience as steppingstones
A great challenge facing many young, unemployed South Africans is the lack of formal work experience or skills’ training. It’s a Catch22 where they are trapped in a cycle of poverty, unable to secure employment due to a lack of experience but they cannot gain experience without a job.
The SEF has the potential to break this cycle, by incorporating a strong component of skills development within its work projects.
The African Conservation Trust (ACT) lives the value of such programmes in the environmental sector. Participants in environmental conservation projects learn a diverse set of skills, from ecosystem management to project planning and teamwork, all of which are highly transferrable to other sectors. Through these hands-on experiences, they gain more than just technical knowledge, they build self-confidence, communication skills and a sense of ownership over their work. These ‘soft skills’ are as critical as technical abilities in creating well-rounded job candidates. Through ensuring SEF projects include structured skills development, whether in technology, literacy, health education or trade skills, participants gain a firm foundation for permanent work or educational opportunities.
Connecting SEF graduates with employment networks
It is imperative that the SEF creates intentional bridges between participants and employers or educational institutions. One challenge of short-term employment initiatives is that, without a structured exit plan, participants can struggle to transition from temporary work into stable, long-term employment.
The SEF overcomes this by establishing partnerships with businesses, government agencies and training institutions to create ‘pipelines,’ offering clear pathways to employment or further study. For example:
– Collaborating with South Africa’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges to ensure that participants, who have gained technical skills, are able to continue their studies in these fields, possibly earning qualifications to make them competitive in the job market
– Creating networks with employers, particularly in the agriculture, construction and technology industries, would allow SEF graduates to transition directly from community work to more permanent roles in these sectors. Companies will benefit by gaining motivated, semi-trained individuals who understand the value of teamwork, discipline, and social responsibility.
The reality in South Africa, however, is that the formal employment market has very limited scope to absorb school leavers or graduates of any skillset. A miniscule percentage of job seekers can be gainfully employed. Our unemployment rate continues to climb. Big business and government simply do not have the capacity to absorb job seekers and neither should they be expected to. The focus by programme developers on exit plans and jobs in a formal sector that is struggling to survive is perhaps ill-conceived.
What if JOBS had a new meaning
What if JOBS was simply: ‘Just Opportunity to Benefit Society’ or ‘Just Opportunity to Become Sustainable’? Then a person generating R2 000 to R4 000 per month from firewood sales or homestead garden produce would have a JOB. We could create JOBS by doing the small things in our own communities. Minor road repairs, invasive vegetation removal, rubbish removal and countless other common good tasks. To create a safe and healthy environment. This is what the SEF provides - an opportunity to move from subsistence to sustainability, to create dignity and pride in your backyard, your neighbourhood.
The broader impact on South African society
Beyond individual benefits, social employment organisations have the potential to create a lasting impact on South African society, by fostering a culture of service, resilience and skill-building. SEF participants emerging with practical skills and positive work experiences can serve as community role models, inspiring others to engage in similar programmes or to pursue their own education and career paths. We hope to see a ripple effect - strengthening communities and broadening pathways out of poverty.
Transforms temporary support into lasting change
In conclusion, the SEF is a bold experiment that, when carefully managed and supported, lays the foundation for a more inclusive, empowered and skilled hyper-local South African workforce. Through providing essential financial relief, hands-on work experience, knowledge and connections to further opportunities. To achieve this, we must ensure that SEF is not simply a temporary measure but a bridge to a better, prosperous future for all South Africans.
Francois Du Toit is the CEO of the African Conservation Trust.
BUSINESS REPORT