The 30 000 short-term EPWP job opportunities created in recent years, have been a crucial income source for many, playing a vital role in people’s livelihoods.
From July 2023 to February 2024, the Water and Sanitation Directorate alone, created 5 651 EPWP work opportunities across 81 major infrastructure projects and operational functions, valued at approximately R28 million.
Workers employed in services such as stormwater maintenance, waterway restoration and janitorial services, are essential to the directorate’s day-to-day operations.
In informal settlements 2 341 new EPWP janitorial job opportunities were created during this financial year, exceeding the target of 2 000 jobs.
Equipped with personal protective equipment (PPE) and the necessary tools, these hard working teams ensure that a dignified sanitation service is available to residents, by cleaning communal toilets and reporting defects promptly for maintenance.
Just in the past two weeks, 77 new trainees were recruited and are now working in Masiphumelele, Khayelitsha, and Dunoon.
In the previous 2022/23 financial year, 88 EPWP trainees completed theoretical and practical modules, paving the way for formal qualifications in engineering trades. Their development has been in a variety of skills including power tool handling, rigging, scaffold inspection, hazardous material handling, overhead crane operation, Health and Safety Awareness and computer skills.
‘The directorate is committed to empowering and upskilling unemployed, vulnerable members of our community, through EPWP. It gives them an opportunity to earn an income and at the same time form part of professional teams delivering critical water and sanitation services which we all depend on. With the added experience and skills added to their CVs, it gives candidates a competitive advantage for permanent jobs in the workplace market.
‘We’re also proud to have been able to successfully place 1 242 previous EPWP workers, in permanent positions within the Water and Sanitation Directorate. These positions were filled by worthy candidates, who managed to secure permanent positions by applying in response to advertisements and progressing through the City’s recruitment processes, as and when vacancies became available,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Water and Sanitation, Councillor Zahid Badroodien.
