Public Employment Programmes

Public Employment Programmes (PEPs) play a crucial role in stimulating labour demand in situations where the market fails to generate sufficient productive employment. As a component of broader employment and social protection policies, PEPs support private sector job creation and address unemployment and underemployment challenges in developing economies.

Impact of PEPs 

Participation in PEPs equips individuals with valuable work experience and skills, enhancing their employability. The income earned boosts consumption of goods and services, benefiting communities and local businesses. PEPs focus on aiding society's most vulnerable segments by providing employment, income support, and skill development. Additionally, they contribute to the construction of infrastructure and services that foster social and economic progress, often through integrated, multi-sectoral strategies.

PEPs and Social Protection 

PEPs offer job opportunities, income security, and an expansion of social protection in numerous countries. They are a fundamental element of the Social Protection Floor (SPF), addressing the needs of unemployed working-age individuals who do not receive social benefits. These programmes can be designed for crisis response, as part of counter-cyclical employment policies, or within structural transformations that also anticipate future work challenges.

EIIP Collaboration 

The Employment Intensive Investment Programme (EIIP) has collaborated extensively with national PEPs, such as India’s Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and South Africa’s Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP). The EIIP provides technical support for infrastructure design, advises on targeting improvements, and assists in monitoring and evaluating these programmes.

PEPs Spectrum 

PEPs encompass a broad range of government-led direct employment initiatives, distinct from civil service roles. They include traditional public works programmes (PWPs) and employment guarantee programmes. PWPs may be temporary responses to crises, while employment guarantee programmes offer long-term, rights-based employment entitlements, with the State serving as an employer of last resort.

PWP Assessment Tool: ISPA 

The Inter-Agency Social Protection Assessment (ISPA) tool, developed through multi-agency collaboration, including the ILO, assesses public works programme performance. It assists countries in enhancing these programmes and informs policy development and recommendations.