Question NW980 to the Minister of Social Development
09 May 2016 - NW980
Masango, Ms B to ask the Minister of Social Development
With reference to the undertaking by the President, Mr Jacob G Zuma, in his reply to the debate on the State of the Nation Address on 18 February 2016 that unemployed social workers who were trained through her department’s bursary schemes were receiving attention from government, what steps have been taken to place these unemployed social workers in employed positions, both (a) in government institutions and departments and (b) in the private sector, given the dire need for social workers in the specified sectors?
Reply:
Steps have been taken to employ social work graduates benefitting from the scholarship programme:
(a) Since the inception of the programme a total of 7 393 graduates have been absorbed into employment by Provincial Departments of Social Development; additional 94 graduates have been employed and placed at Departmental local service offices through the support of PACT (as part of the Government Capacity Building and Support Programme). A further 165 graduates are employed by the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) to support the administration and management of foster care grants.
A request has been submitted to National Treasury to utilise part of the 2016/17 allocation (R100m) for the absorption of 450 social work graduates.
(b) The Department is not aware of numbers of graduates employed by the private sector. However, the department is engaging with Non-Governmental Organisations to facilitate absorption of graduates in that sector.