Minister Buti Manamela Secures Private Sector Partnership to Advance South Africa’s Skills Development Agenda

Minister of Higher Education, Buti Manamela, successfully obtained firm pledges from private sector leaders to partner with government in order to further South Africa’s Skills Development agenda. The partnership is intended to further South Africa’s post-school education and training system, and develop education pathways that promote matching employment and economic growth.

This commitment was obtained during Minister Manamela’s high-level business breakfast, which was part of the activities of the Department of Higher Education and Training’s Budget Vote. The business breakfast convened members of all the key economic sectors including, agriculture, mining, engineering, ICT, financial services, manufacturing, and all the key sectors of the economy, to include business executives, entrepreneurs, leaders in education and training, and all key stakeholders of the economy.

The intention of the meeting was to design the building blocks of a sustainable partnership to address one of the major challenges that South Africa faces, namely, youth unemployment. This business breakfast engaged participants in a number of discussions to design South Africa’s education and training systems to develop the necessary skills young South Africans require to enter the workforce and thereby contribute to the economic development of the country.

The youth unemployment crisis in South Africa is dire. Of dissolving the crisis is to address South Africa’s three million NEETs (young South Africans who are not in education, employment, or training). Among NEETs, over one million youth – graduates and skilled young professionals – remain unemployed.

The NEET crisis is particularly paradoxical. Young South Africans lack employment opportunities. Business across many sectors are struggling to fill vacancies with appropriately skilled workers, and workers in the informal economy and those working in the subsistence economy lack the requisite skills to fill those vacancies. A significant skills gap stifles the South African economy.

Minister Manamela, acknowledging the gravity of the situation, has called for new, more robust collaborations and partnerships among the government, education, and the private sector. Only through partnerships can South Africa build a skilled workforce in the areas of economic, industrial, and innovation work to meet the demands and bring about the changes.

The point of the business breakfast is to create a partnership and collaborative space to provide stakeholders with the ability to focus on a problem and identify possible solutions, with the intention to develop a set of skills that address the employment needs of the economy and opportunities for work.

An important outcome of the engagement was that the Minister declared it not a once-off meeting, but the beginning of a formal and ongoing partnership. This partnership will have regular meetings to assess and enhance and stimulate formal collaboration.

Minister Manamela stated that subsequent meetings will rely on a structured implementation framework meant to provide accountability, and assess and ensure that the pledges made by the government and business will be sustained and monitored. This framework embodies the acknowledgement by both government and business that the issues of skills shortage and unemployment in South Africa will require ongoing engagement of both parties.

The sessions of the engagement concentrated on identifying and discussing five strategic issues that are of utmost importance for the advancement of South Africa’s skills revolution.

The first focused on the need to innovate public-private partnerships in the Post-School Education and Training (PSET) sector. There was recognition that conventional methods to achieve collaboration PSET sectors oftentimes do not have long-term, sustainable impacts. Therefore, a variety of participants expressed the need to shift away from the short-term projects and toward building partnerships that are strategic and that have sustainable and long-term outcomes.

The second focused on the need to strengthen the link between skills development and business and industry. It was emphasized that educational frameworks need to be flexible and dynamic to reflect the requirements of the evolving business environment. The business participants outlined the importance of having direct engagement of employers in both the development and review of educational frameworks.

Moreover, the need for increasing access to workplace exposure, internship and other hands-on training opportunities was echoed by a large number of respondents. Participants indicated that students will have an easier time making the transition to employment if they have had practical experience to complement the theoretical experience they have received.

Third, participants recognized the importance of scaling-up apprenticeships, learnerships and work-integrated learning as ways to prepare young people for entering the job market by providing them with skills and experience in the field.

Representatives identified several methods to increase participation levels in these types of programs, including: providing incentives to employers; eliminating administrative barriers; and finding more effective and efficient ways to implement the programs. There was agreement among the participants that improving access to experiential learning opportunities would greatly improve young people’s chances of finding a job after they complete their education.

Participants discussed the expectations of business from government, including a need for policy clarity; streamlined administrative processes; access to funding sources; and improved coordination among departments of government.

While many organisations are ready to invest resources to help develop the skills of their workforce, business leaders suggested there are some significant challenges that may hinder the impact of these investments, such as bureaucratic delays, regulatory complexity, and fragmented systems. As a way of encouraging more private sector involvement in the development of the workforce through training, they called for a more streamlined and responsive policy environment.

The fifth and final strategic theme focused on creating a shared accountability framework. Participants in the discussion felt that for collaboration to be successful, there need to be clear definitions of the roles of each party, the responsibilities of each party, and the performance indicators that will measure success. The public and private sectors both agreed that measuring progress and ensuring commitments made will result in actual outcomes is critical to ensuring success in the skills revolution in South Africa.

Ultimately, the most significant outcome of the discussions between participating executive representatives was that they made formal pledges to support the implementation of the skills revolution agenda. Pledges included support for training programmes, creating opportunities for work-based learning, curriculum development, and other activities aimed at improving youth employment opportunities within South Africa.

A key outcome of the discussions was the strong endorsement by both business leaders and public sector representatives of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges as essential components in the South African education and skills development system; business leaders stressed that TVET colleges are key institutions for preparing youth for careers that directly connect to South Africa’s economy.

A number of participants argued for a re-evaluation and a re-branding of TVET Colleges as to reflect the value they create in preparing young people with the skills that will be needed into the future. There was also recognition among the participants that there would continue to be demand for technical and vocational skills, even with the rapid introduction of developments in the areas of artificial intelligence, automation & digital technologies.

There was general agreement that TVET Colleges have the ability to produce skilled artisans, technicians, technologists and professionals who will have the skills necessary to meet the demand in sectors of the economy for the future. Improving the strength of these institutions through enhanced services will contribute to reducing critical skills shortages while also improving the opportunities for employment of the youth.

A further area of concern raised was related to the lack of co-ordination within government programmes that are involved in providing skills development. It was pointed out that across multiple departments and agencies, many of the same skills initiatives are often duplicated or do not co-ordinate and therefore lead to wasted opportunities.

Participants acknowledged that alignment between all government organisations, educational institutions and industry is critical to ensuring that all interventions have maximum impact, are integrated and respond to the needs of changing economic conditions. As a result, greater co-ordination of all resources available will assist in ensuring that all programmatic aims are achieved through the most appropriate and effective methods.

During the meeting, the need for entrepreneurship development as a priority area was discussed. The business community stressed that the development of the South African economy will depend on not just creating routes into employment but also creating an environment in which young people can become entrepreneurs and business owners.

They suggested that there should be an increasing focus on providing young people with the skills, capacity and knowledge they require in order to develop their own businesses and also that this will help South Africa develop new businesses, create job opportunities for young people and support overall economic growth.

Discussion participants identified that young people often have many of the creative ideas and ambition needed to establish successful businesses but typically do not have the skills, access to good quality mentorship and appropriate support systems to enable them to bring those ideas to life. They recognised that increasing the provision of education and support for entrepreneurship will be an essential part of the overall skills revolution agenda.

Moreover, both Standard Bank and Primestars as co-hosts of this collaboration have expressed their full support for this initiative.

As a guest speaker, Dr. Kirston Greenop of Standard Bank highlighted that the promotion of inclusivity and the development of economic participation through vocational education and skills development in practice, is key to providing access to long-term and sustainable employment opportunities. He elaborated on the fact that pathways to meaningful employment can only be achieved by concentrating on developing job-ready skills, which provides individuals with the tools they require to engage productively in the economy.

In a similar vein, the CEO of Primestar, Mr Nkosinathi Moshoana, has highlighted the importance of closing the gap between education and employment. He referred to the ongoing efforts of this organisation to connect graduates with employment and to support graduates in the process of transitioning from education into the workforce.

During the consultation, Minister Manamela made it clear that how the value of the discussion is determined will depend on what actions take place after this conversation. He stated the commitments made during the consultation must be able to deliver measurable benefits to young people and to the economy through practical programs and initiatives.

The Minister stated that the report which arises from the consultation should indicate how to efficiently implement partnerships and how to effectively scale successful initiatives across the country. He acknowledged that much of this work is being done in various industries and institutions, but it is important to create a much more coordinated and collaborative manner between stakeholders will create greater impact.

The Minister stated that stakeholders should identify successful examples of program implementation, understand why these programs have been successful, and create a strategy to replicate those programs and to expand those programs throughout South Africa in order to accelerate progress towards a more responsive and inclusive education and training system.

At the meeting participating were the Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training, Nomusa Dube-Ncube; the Director-General of the Department; and senior officials of the Department with an interest or responsibilities in skills development and programmes associated with skills development. The above-mentioned officials participating in their own right shows the Government’s commitment that the outcomes of this engagement will be responsible and reflective of actual implementation.

In his closing remarks, Minister Manamela reaffirmed the Government’s intention and commitment to transforming the post-school education and training system into one that creates a powerful driver of economic inclusion, productivity, and opportunity.

He elaborated on how education and training institutions should not serve as waiting rooms that hold young people until they eventually receive job offers. Education and training institutions should have the necessary capabilities to enable individuals to contribute to society and the economy with meaningful skills and knowledge.

The Minister concluded by reiterating his message that South Africa’s future prosperity will depend on the establishment of a skills ecosystem that supports innovation, entrepreneurship, productivity and sustainable development. The only way South Africa can create more opportunities for young people and new modes of growth for the economy is through creating stronger partnerships between government, business and education.