Written by: Thula Zondi

In South Africa, public employment programmes are often seen as a temporary intervention, a stopgap measure intended to move people quickly into formal jobs or self-enterprise opportunities. . This logic fundamentally misunderstands the role public employment can play in structurally constrained contexts.

When designed well, public employment programmes are not a pipeline with a single exit point or outcome.

This is evident in the experience of the Siyavuna Abalimi, an organisation supported by the (SEF)working with smallholder farmers across rural and peri-urban communities along KwaZulu-Natal’s South Coast.

The contextual realities

For many Siyavuna participants, farming is not an entrepreneurial choice that provides job opportunities to vulnerable communities. Farmers navigate insecure land access, unreliable water supply, poor soil quality, climate variability, livestock damage, and limited market opportunities. These constraints are intensified for women and young people, who often face additional cultural and social barriers to land use and decision-making.

In this context, expecting all participants to “graduate” into agri-enterprises is not only unrealistic, but it risks diminishing the real gains social employment delivers. What matters most is predictability: regular work, improved food security, practical skills, and the dignity of contributing meaningfully to  households and communities.

The social employment model as an enabler

Through support from the Social Employment Fund (SEF), Siyavuna employs participants to farm, while embedding learning within structured, supported work. Participants receive training in organic production methods, ongoing mentorship, and hands-on technical support that responds to challenges as they arise. This layered approach matters because skills alone do not translate into outcomes without time and guidance.

Importantly, the programme does not treat all participants as having the same trajectory. Siyavuna recognises multiple, equally valid pathways. For many , improved household food security and reduced vulnerability are the most appropriate outcomes. For a smaller group of high-performing participants, additional support creates opportunities to explore production at scale and access markets through aggregation mechanisms. This recognises that social employment supports individual trajectories, however they may look.

Qualitative research conducted by Siyavuna during the 2024/2025 SEF implementation period indicated that the programme resulted in a number of tangible outcomes: more consistent access to food, improved nutrition, increased confidence and skills of participants, and meaningful participation by women and youth often excluded from formal labour markets. In some cases, surplus produce generated modest income, creating economic spillovers beyond subsistence.

At the same time, the findings surface important limitations. Without secure land, fencing, water infrastructure, and access to markets, even skilled and motivated farmers struggle to sustain progress independently. 

Why this matters

If public employment programmes are evaluated solely on how many participants transition into formal jobs or self-enterprise opportunities, their most powerful contributions will be overlooked. In particular, programmes using the model of social employment,  like Siyavuna’s SEF programme, demonstrate that impact extends beyond labour market absorption. They generate public value not only by supporting livelihoods, building skills and confidence, and enabling participation in local economies, but also by delivering measurable social and environmental benefits.

The experience of Siyavuna Abalimi’s SEF programme demonstrates that public employment programmes, particularly those designed as social employment, have great value in supporting individual trajectories while building lasting capabilities and strengthened communities. It is not only about focusing on one single outcome of formal employment.

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Edited by: Margo Le Roux and Vuyolwetu Ntinzi