ILO, partners met to boost Green Public Employment Programmes (GPEP)
Green Public Employment Programmes
19 April 2018
Senior experts from Brazil, Ethiopia, India, Jordan, Mozambique, South Africa, Switzerland and Tanzania came together at the University of Cape Town to participate in the International Executive Course on GPEP that was intended to facilitate discussion on how best to promote green public employment programmes (PEPs) to ensure a just transition to a greener economy.
The Course dubbed “Green Public Employment Programmes (PEPs) and the Future of Work: PEPs as a transformative vehicle for economic, social and environmental benefits for a Just Transition” focussed on the contribution of PEPs to sustainable and inclusive development policies.
The course explored ways of enhancing the understanding of climate change imperatives and a just transition to a greener economy for all, including the most vulnerable rural populations who are forced to adapt to climate change.
It also considered possible eco-based solutions needed to create a “zero-waste” circular economy as well as sharing global good practices and technology options for sustainable public employment programmes.
This kind of south-south information and experience sharing is key to addressing global and regional decent work deficits.
Ahmed Khan, Director of Operational Support and Planning for the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) in Cape Town stressed that “We need to change our thinking from PEPs as ‘filling a gap’ to PEPs as a ‘stepping stone’ in the path of sustainable development.
Course participants had the opportunity to learn from field visits to four of the sites managed by the Working on Fire and Working for Water Teams under the South African Department of Environmental Affairs, as part of the expanded public works programme.
The Working for Water visit demonstrated how community-based contractors and workers from nearby settlements are employed to remove alien vegetation using labour-based approaches enabling restoration of the ecosystem.
The project also provides technical and business skills training to the contract workers on planning and competitive bidding as well as forest fire fighters.
The project also contributes to support added value industries, producing eco-furniture and fire-resistant low-cost housing.
The integrated approach demonstrated by the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) in South Africa has shown how these programmes are able to address deeply rooted economic, social and environmental problems, including structural and youth unemployment, while promoting a circular “zero waste” economy and creating high added value industries between economic and technical sectors.
The International Executive Course, conducted from 09-13 April 2018, was jointly organized between the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Development Policy and Practice (GSDPP), the South African’s Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA), and the ILO’s Employment Intensive Investment Programme (EIIP).
Its framework agreement was to enable south-south partnerships by bringing together practitioners, academics and stakeholders in the UN and international financial institutions in order to learn from each other, share experiences on the implementation of public employment programmes and increase the employment intensity of existing public investments.
The Course dubbed “Green Public Employment Programmes (PEPs) and the Future of Work: PEPs as a transformative vehicle for economic, social and environmental benefits for a Just Transition” focussed on the contribution of PEPs to sustainable and inclusive development policies.
The course explored ways of enhancing the understanding of climate change imperatives and a just transition to a greener economy for all, including the most vulnerable rural populations who are forced to adapt to climate change.
It also considered possible eco-based solutions needed to create a “zero-waste” circular economy as well as sharing global good practices and technology options for sustainable public employment programmes.
This kind of south-south information and experience sharing is key to addressing global and regional decent work deficits.
Ahmed Khan, Director of Operational Support and Planning for the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) in Cape Town stressed that “We need to change our thinking from PEPs as ‘filling a gap’ to PEPs as a ‘stepping stone’ in the path of sustainable development.
Course participants had the opportunity to learn from field visits to four of the sites managed by the Working on Fire and Working for Water Teams under the South African Department of Environmental Affairs, as part of the expanded public works programme.
The Working for Water visit demonstrated how community-based contractors and workers from nearby settlements are employed to remove alien vegetation using labour-based approaches enabling restoration of the ecosystem.
The project also provides technical and business skills training to the contract workers on planning and competitive bidding as well as forest fire fighters.
The project also contributes to support added value industries, producing eco-furniture and fire-resistant low-cost housing.
The integrated approach demonstrated by the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) in South Africa has shown how these programmes are able to address deeply rooted economic, social and environmental problems, including structural and youth unemployment, while promoting a circular “zero waste” economy and creating high added value industries between economic and technical sectors.
The International Executive Course, conducted from 09-13 April 2018, was jointly organized between the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Development Policy and Practice (GSDPP), the South African’s Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA), and the ILO’s Employment Intensive Investment Programme (EIIP).
Its framework agreement was to enable south-south partnerships by bringing together practitioners, academics and stakeholders in the UN and international financial institutions in order to learn from each other, share experiences on the implementation of public employment programmes and increase the employment intensity of existing public investments.