M.A. (Economics) / Unemployment is a familiar affliction of our age, but its nature, causes and cures remain matters of dispute. As with many familiar things, closer examination leads to deepening mystery. Its pathology is complex, with social as well as economic ramifications" (Routh, 1986: 1). In the world of today which is characterised by globalization, the unemployment problem has become a worldwide problem. It is endemic in both developed and developing countries. But for developing countries, this problem brings more challenges(like increased poverty) and complications (like political and social instability). South Africa is certainly no exception. In South Africa, this problem is succinctly expressed by Barker (1992: 71): "Unemployment is probably the most severe problem South African society is experiencing and it is conceivably the root cause of many other problems, such as high crime rates, violence, abject poverty.... Prominent leaders in and outside government have also stated that no government will be able to govern South Africa ...if this problem is not addressed effectively". According to Hall (1997: 396), one of the overlooked aspects of the unemployment crisis in South Africa is the spatial distribution of unemployment within cities. Apartheid urban planning concentrated the black population in peripheral residential areas, where the majority of the unemployed population is found. In Gauteng, for example, unemployment rates (using the 1991 census) vary between zero percent in former white suburbs and above thirty percent mainly in the former black townships. In addition to the apartheid urban landscape the recent trend of suburbanisation of economic activity, the decline in central business districts and the continued lack of development in former black residential areas may intensify the problem of unemployment. The long-term effects of these processes are far reaching, that is, they may result in profound labour market segmentation which may, in turn, negatively impact on urban development strategies aimed at reintegrating South Africa's cities and addressing the problems of poverty, unemployment, urbanisation and housing. With the establishment of democracy in 1994, many South African unemployed people became hopeful that there was going to be employment for everyone. This was further reinforced by the adoption of the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP), and the promises made by the developed Western countries to assist South Africa in its development endeavours. In 1996, South Africa opted for a neo-liberal approach (which advocates for less government involvement in the economic activity) to economic development by adopting the Growth, Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) policy - which is a supply-side policy. The GEAR strategy calls for a minimalist state, restructuring of the economy like the elimination of export subsidies and the reduction of import tariffs to improve the competitiveness of South African industries in the global arena. In fact, to the contrary, at this stage, GEAR has not helped to stop the increasing tide of unemployment and retrenchments as industries are concerned with cutting costs(of which, labour costs are often the highest) to meet global competition. The cliche "lean is mean" has become crucial in business decisions. The implication of this is that more people have been put out of work. The unemployment level in South Africa has reached endemic proportions. The problem is getting more complicated by the prospects of the closure of marginal gold mines due to the possibility of a weaker gold price and increasing costs.

M.Comm. / South Africa had a stormy political past with the result that as a nation it needs peace and job opportunities. One of the methods of increasing job opportunities is to make use of more labourers and less machinery. But, according to The Mail and Guardian (1996a:1), South Africans have an obsession with capital-intensive projects instead of labour intensive projects.

M.Comm. / Henry Ford once said: "work does more than get us our living; it gets us our life..." Taking this to heart, unemployment is one of the biggest problems facing the South African social and economic environment and is in many cases the cause of violence, poverty and crime. The unemployment rate for South Africa for the year 2000 is 37.7%, one of the highest in the world and is primarily the result of high population growth, low economic growth and outdated technology. Despite the highest growth in GDP since 1996, 3% for the year 2000, the loss in jobs increased from 1.9% for 1999 to 2.7% for the year 2000. Nearly all sectors suffered job losses in the period March 1996 to March 1999. Thus, currently more jobs are lost than being created in a jobless growth economy. All over the world job creation and job creation programmes are receiving more attention. But business, government and labour are looking at this issue from different angles. In order to create jobs all of the parties mentioned need to simulate their energies and work together. Therefore the National Economic Forum (NEF) set out to allocate funds to viable job creation programmes in the provision and maintenance of urban and rural infrastructure and the enhancing of skills. The goal of the study was to research the potential of these job creation programmes to create jobs and to evaluate the success of current job creation programmes in combating unemployment. The study also sets out to show that certain development initiatives could be promoted by these projects. At the end of the study guidelines are offered which are seen to be crucial to the success of job creation programmes. The main conclusions reached through the research were that job creation programmes create jobs for thousands of workers over the long and the short run using labour intensive methods to provide infrastructure in urban and rural areas. These projects create sustainable jobs by coordinating the demand for better infrastructure as well as the commercial demand for waste products. The goal of these projects - to combat poverty in rural and urban areas by asset creation, training and to provide single parents, youth and the disabled with a lifeline - is what makes these projects worthwhile. But the most important spin-off of job creation programmes is that previously unemployed people are becoming economically active and independent, learning basic life skills while becoming self-confident and employable. Of the many guidelines presented the most crucial one for the success of such a programme is a clear goal, focus and vision. For one thing is certain, job creation programmes creates jobs. And South Africa needs jobs urgently. Therefore in the words of Thomas Carlyle: "Blessed is he who has found his work. Let him ask no other blessedness."

M.Com. (Business Management) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in the field of Public Policy, Johannesburg, 2017. / The role of SMMEs in job creation in developed countries has been studied extensively. These studies do not include micro firms in their research. There is a scarcity of literature when it comes to the role SMMEs play in job creation in developing countries. This study adds to the literature gap by incorporating micro firms in its research. The study explored the ability of SMMEs in addressing unemployment in South Africa by looking at their ability to create jobs. The study is a qualitative analysis of existing literature combined with interviews of 16 SMME owners. The role SMMEs play in job creation is not only measured by the number of people employed (labour intensiveness) but also by the potential of SMMEs to grow and thus create jobs in the future. The interview respondents were largely comprised of microenterprises. The paper also found business owners to have low and negative sentiments towards the government. Cash flow and funding remained the major challenges facing the sector in 2016/17. The findings from the interviews are aligned with the empirical findings of the study. / XL2019

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: South Africa’s construction industry plays a key role in the development of the economy, not least through creating jobs and wealth. However, currently the distribution of economic benefits being enjoyed by construction companies is highly skewed, with a very small number of large firms being awarded a big stake of public-sector tender awards. It is against this background that government departments and institutions, including the Coega Development Corporation, have developed and implemented SMME-development programmes. They recognise the development of emerging contractors as an engine to alleviate unemployment and poverty in our country, especially among the youth. It can also be seen as a tool to spread the wealth of the construction industry more widely. These efforts resulted in a sharp influx of emerging contractors on the entry-level grades of the Construction Industry Development Board’s database. The study analyses the current situation of SMMEs in the construction industry and the challenges hindering their growth and development. Although the study focuses on the Coega Development Corporation’s SMME-Development Programme as implemented by the CDC’s Small Business Unit, the lessons from the sample survey and programme analysis are meant to have broader relevance. This relates in particular to the need to encourage and help dynamic and well-managed SMMEs to advance faster on the road towards highergrade contracts. It also stresses the need to get closer co-operation between the different players in efforts to support small-construction entrepreneurs.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment for the requirements for the Degree of Master of Management in the field of Public Development / The purpose of the study was aimed at understanding whether the economic hub of South Africa is able to create the jobs it wants to, specifically with reference to “Green” jobs. It will seek to understand if there are barriers to the realisation of this objective and if these barriers can be overcome. Explore whether the Metropolitan City Council of Johannesburg (CoJ or Johannesburg Municipality), which has embarked on a Green Economy trajectory, can create jobs though the Green Economy. The CoJ promised, through it long-term strategy, the Growth and Development Strategy (GDS) 2040, to play its part in reducing unemployment in the Country. The main finding is that the City is able to create jobs, both within and beyond its borders, but it cannot as yet quantify the number of jobs created or the potential number of jobs that can be created though the Green Economy. / GR2018

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in the field of Public Policy (MMPP), September 2016 / The high rate of unemployment and poverty in South Africa remains a daunting challenge, which continues to impact on the lives of millions of people who have limited education and lack skills, particularly those in the marginalised and rural communities who have no access to income generation. Gauteng Province due to in-migration is no exception to these challenges. In an effort to address these challenges the government has adopted the EPWP programme, which is a nationwide government-led initiative, with the aim of reducing unemployment by ensuring that the unskilled gain skills so that they are able to gain access to labour market and consequently earn an income (EPWP Five-year report, 2004/5-2008/9). The five-year report states that the programme set the target of achieving approximately one (1) million temporary work opportunities, for people, of whom 40% will be women, 30% youth and 2% will constitute of people with disabilities. This programme hoped to mitigate some of the social exclusion that the society is faced with and contribute to poverty alleviation, through the creation of short-and medium-term jobs for the unskilled and unemployed. Phase 1 EPWP programme has not yielded the significant results it was intended to, particularly the reduction of unemployment, which has remained high. It should be noted that this programme created a great many expectations, in so far as it relates to maximising the spread and skilling of all intended beneficiaries, needed to gain access into the mainstream economy. The five-year report (2004/5-2008/9) identifies four sectors which are critical or have potential for creating employment opportunities within the context of the EPWP. These are described as follows: ii  The infrastructure sector, which focuses on increasing labour intensity for government-funded infrastructure projects;  Environment, which relates to public environmental improvement programmes  The social sector, which relates to public social programmes such as community-based care programmes; and  The non-state sector, which provides and creates work opportunities through collaboration with non-state organisations, as well as strengthening community participation through small enterprise learnership and incubation programmes / GR2018

Thesis presented in partial fulfilment for the degree of Master of Management (in the field of Public Sector Monitoring and Evaluation) to the Faculty of Commerce, Law, and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, 2016 / 22 years into the democracy, South Africa is still struggling with unemployment. Issues such as poor education outcomes, high disease burden, uneven public service performance, corruption and others have been listed amongst issues the country is facing however; poverty and inequality have been identified as the two main challenges facing the country (The National planning commission, 2012). This research attempted to understand unemployment and how the EPWP addresses the unemployment issues at a local level. The EPWP intends to provide temporary employment and provide training to its beneficiaries through skills programmes, learnership and artisan development. The skills and training provided intend to enhance the beneficiaries’ chances of being employable on other projects after exiting the EPWP (EPWP, 2016) Between 1994 and 2014 white labour force has increased with 9 percent, Indian/Asian labour force increased with 45 percent, 5 percent increase of coloured work force and a 95 percent hike of black African labour force (Stats SA, 2014). According to the National planning commission (2012) South Africa has made a remarkable transition from apartheid into democracy. The high growth experienced by the black African ethnic group has been attributed to the number of interventions implemented by the government to eradicate inequality such as Affirmative Action Act (AA). From the stats provided, one is able to deduce that the government has been able to make progress in terms of decreasing inequality and therefore needs to develop employment creation strategies to address unemployment. The literature review conducted in this study indicates a link between unemployment, economic growth, apartheid and skills development. Apartheid has not been pursued as an attribute as strategies to overcome it have become pre-eminent. This research utilised the qualitative strategy and cross-sectional research design. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with interview schedule as a guiding tool for basic questions, the researcher asked further questions when required to do so. / XL2018

Thesis (M. Dev.) --University of Limpopo, 2011. / The study deals with the exit strategy impact within EPWP, WFW programme in Tzaneen area, Limpopo province. WFW programme employs contractors and workers for a short period of time and exit them out of the programme after skills transfer and training. In order to investigate the impact of exit strategy within the WFW programme, the researcher made use of different research techniques. The empirical data was collected on the basis of: a survey of 55 respondents, follow up interview with all respondents, and observation of the candidates who are due for exit. The major research findings clarify the selection and recruitment of workers and contractors in the programme, their training and skills development during the employment process, and finally, the exit achievements for poverty alleviation and further employability. It was recommended that exit strategy should be planned properly from the first day of employment, looking at the educational level of contractors and workers. The period of two years in the programme could be extended. In addition to training activities, a version of ABET programme could be implemented for them to improve their educational level. Exit strategy should be sustainable in such a way that the contractors and workers are able to improve their livelihood even after leaving the programme.