With the Industrial Development Corporation at its helm as fund manager, the SEF has created 140,000 jobs across over 6,000 sites nationwide since its inception in 2021. The programme, part of the Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme under the auspices of the dtic, has partnered with thirty-seven civil society organisations and 1,100 community partners. These collaborations have spread work opportunities across the country in areas such as urban transformation, placemaking, care, early childhood development, combating gender-based violence, education, and greening, to name a few.
The SEF was one of three nominees in the Prosperity Catalyst Category, alongside Places for London, UK, and Prosperity in Buffalo, USA - both well-deserving programmes.
“The SEF stood out for us as it supported local actors and organisations to unlock social value while increasing the quality of life, access to work, and levels of education for its participants and beneficiaries. They have demonstrated their contribution to addressing inequality, relieving poverty, and restoring natural systems to build resilience and sustainability. They have the capacity to inspire other cities and communities worldwide to serve as prosperity catalysts and have proven through their programme that creating prosperity can also serve the common good,” says Larry Lye Hock Ng, jury member for The Bay Awards.
Dr Kate Philip, representing the Presidential Employment Stimulus, explained the underlying rationale for the SEF: “Unemployment makes people feel as if they have no value to add to society. But even when labour has no market value, it has - and can create - social value. Societies need instruments to unlock that value, to use labour as a resource for development. The Social Employment Fund is such an instrument.”
The Social Employment Fund supports “work for the common good” in communities - employing people to address a wide range of locally identified community needs. In the process, participants gain self-esteem, work experience and various skills, and real community development impacts are evident.
The SEF encourages and supports participants to transition from the programme into self-employment, further their studies, or use the work experience gained to facilitate their access to employment in the wider labour market.
According to SEF Programme Lead, IDC’s Bhavanesh Pharboo, “This means a lot to everyone who has turned the idea of social employment into reality and has seen the impacts on participants and communities. Now we need to take this to the next level - to every community where local initiative is making a difference.”
