• The Confederation of Associations in the Private Employment Sector (CAPES) is a section 21 company, an industry association representing the interests of the Temporary Employment Services (TES) industry.
• The need to form a unified body to engage in macro-level activities, to proactively lobby government and regulators and challenge adverse legislation around the future of TES, or labour broking as it is commonly referred to, brought about the need to collaborate with other associations and stakeholders within the TES industry and create a unified voice and face for the industry.
• With this focus, Capes was formed in 2002 with the four key staffing associations as its members – the Association of Personnel Services Organisation of SA (APSO), the Constructional Engineering Association of SA - Labour Brokers Division (CEA-LBD), the Association of Nursing Agencies of SA (ANASA) and the Information Technology Association (ITA).
• Capes has 10 corporate members who subscribe to the association’s code of practice and ethics, playing a pivotal role in the professionalizing of the labour broking industry and the promotion of decent work as subscribed by the ILO.

CAPES has formalised its relationships with various institutions and associations including:

• Membership of Business Unity South Africa (BUSA)
• Direct representation at NEDLAC, via BUSA
• Engagement with Department of Labour and other Ministries
• Relationships with a number of unions
• Engagement at the International Labour Organisation (ILO)
• Engagement at Bargaining Councils
• Membership with primarily the Services SETA

International Affiliations:

• American Staffing Association
• CIETT

CAPES endorse the notion of decent work as conceptualised by the ILO as it promotes:

• A fair income and access to benefits
• Employment security
• Social security
• Freedom of association
• Healthy and safe work environment

About Temporary Employment Services

• The Temporary Employment Services (TES) industry accounts for around 4% of the economically active population in South Africa and is a small but important contributor to various national strategic initiatives of both the government and the private sector.
• In Rand terms, the industry is a R26 billion plus industry providing jobs for around 500 000 assignees on any day.
• Of these assignees approximately 15% - 32% obtain permanent employment (depending on job-type) and TES therefore acts as a channel for the unemployed, under-employed and outsiders (people who find it difficult to obtain employment such as youth and the aged) into the formal labour market.
• The new world of work with its changing technology, short product life cycles and skills shortages, as well as the impact of globalization on competitiveness, means that life-long employment is no longer a reality. Rather, the TES industry focuses on employment security rather than job security. In addition, it is attempting to balance employment flexibility with benefits security.
• Temporary assignees, given the nature of the TES industry, are continually exposed to new technologies, different industries and various positions and this contributes towards their marketability and employment security.
• The TES industry also engages in learnerships, apprenticeships and is one of the largest contributors to the skills development levy in South Africa via the Services SETA.
• Labour brokers handle three types of employment scenarios and the perception that they only deal in temporary assignments is flawed.  Assignees range from unskilled labour right through to senior executives and are placed in both temporary and permanent positions depending on the needs of the client.  Labour brokers would also typically deal with conversions where a temporary assignee is given permanent employment with the client.