PROGRAMME OVERVIEW
Building a society that works
The Presidential Employment Stimulus was established in response to the devastating economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic – but the crisis of unemployment did not start with the pandemic and is not over now.
Since its launch in October 2020, the Employment Stimulus has taken public employment programmes (PEPs) and livelihood support interventions to new levels of scale. Its largest programme, the Basic Education Employment Initiative, has placed young people as school assistants in over 23,000 schools. It has become South Africa’s largest youth employment programme. The contribution of the Presidential Employment Stimulus is not, however, just about the numbers. It’s also about the quality of outcomes. Its PEPs are delivering meaningful work experiences – often for participants who have never worked before. For young people in particular, this helps overcome a key barrier to labour market entry. The work undertaken is also delivering real social value. The Employment Stimulus has also provided support to people engaged in livelihood activity and forms of self-employment – including subsistence farmers, Early Childhood Development practitioners, the creative sector and youth enterprises. Despite funding cuts in each successive year, key programmes have continued – with budgets for a core portfolio of programmes secured for FY 2025-2026.
Overall Achievements
CURRENT (APR ’24 – MAR ’25)
COMPLETED (OCT ’20 -MAR ’24)
Overall Achievements
CURRENT (APR ’24 – MAR ’25)
COMPLETED (OCT ’20 -MAR ’24)
Provincial Breakdown
Performance Breakdown
These are contract-based work opportunities in public employment programmes (PEPs).
This supports self-employment, such as through the Production Input Vouchers provided to smallholder farmers.
This category applied only during the Covid-19 pandemic. It helped retain jobs in institutions forced to close their doors – such as the District Six Museum – amongst many others.
Stories
Disclaimer:
(Data captured up until March 2025)
The Presidential Employment Stimulus consolidates data reported by participating departments. This data is subject to ongoing verification and audit by departments. The numbers reported may change based on final verification and audit outcomes. Where work opportunities straddle financial years, the audit process requires that they are reported in both years. For example, Teachers Assistants who start work in February and continue into the next financial year. To avoid ‘double counting’ of participants, this is corrected under ‘total opportunities’ reported. Note however that under the performance breakdown, the cumulative annual figures are presented.
