http://forum.skillssummit.co.za/discussions/feed.rss Sat, 19 May 12 02:15:56 +0300 All Discussions - Skills Development Summit Forum en-CA http://forum.skillssummit.co.za/discussion/8/government-target-to-increase-fet-student-from-65-000-in-2011-to-1-000-000-in-2014 Fri, 16 Sep 2011 09:36:47 +0300 SiphoMkhatshwa 8@/discussions
Funding
Poor quality students Produced by FET's
Poor Matric Results in Mathematics
Poor Numeracy skills particular in the Previously disadvantage schools
Quality of Tutoring and skills in FET's

The Target seems to be a wishful thinking and impossible to achieve. I am just a little bit concerned mybe if we get an insite or the Matrix of Events on how this will roll out. Members... Help]]> http://forum.skillssummit.co.za/discussion/4/creating-decent-job-opportunities Mon, 12 Sep 2011 17:16:04 +0300 nadia 4@/discussions It addressed the importance of providing decent jobs in line with basic employee rights and future growth. The ultimate aim is to achieve an economy that generates opportunities for investment, entrepreneurship, skills development, job creation and sustainable livelihoods.

We need to obtain recognition and respect for the rights of workers. All workers, and in particular disadvantaged or poor workers, need representation, participation, and laws that work for their interests. Thus by promoting both the inclusion and productivity elements, we can ensuring that women and men enjoy working conditions that are safe, allow adequate free time and rest, taken into account family and social values, provide for adequate compensation in case of lost or reduced income and permit access to adequate healthcare.
An efficient communication process between strong and independent workers and employers organizations is central to increasing productivity, avoiding disputes at work, and building cohesive societies.

Some of the points that were highlighted, included:
• ILO's strategic objectives for a practical decent work agenda
• ILO's 2010 - 2015 key outcomes
• Opportunity for investment in job rich growth
• Job creation and the employability of workers
• The competitiveness of enterprises
• Stakeholder relations

As far as targets go - during the period 2010 - 15, the ILO's strategy for promoting full, productive and freely chosen employment was inline with the following elements.
• coordinated and coherent policies to generate inclusive job rich growth
• skills development policies to increase employability of workers, the competitiveness of enterprise and the inclusiveness of growth
• Policies and programs to promote sustainability enterprises and entrepreneurship

Distinguishing between investment and what effects it would have on job-rich growth.
Investment decisions vs Job -rich growth
viability - Decent and sustainable employment
availability of skills - Social development
profitable (productivity) - Economic development
sustainability - Opportunities for personal development

Labour market policies should thus include the skills training required in order to compete for salary and wages. An enabling environment should be created and should include all educational systems, trainability of employees, their work related desires and their commitment levels. Support should be given to promote and encourage entrepreneurs and the development thereof with regards to the relevant training initiatives. Many multinational enterprises are feared to be intrusive and many sectors fear their main concern is with importing skills rather than developing local skills. They appear to be more outcomes focussed.

We need to highlight the importance of poverty reduction, with or without these enterprises. Thus far little effort is made on SD initiatives and we see an increase in lower level jobs as well as EPWP projects. It should be reiterated that skills development is key to improving rural productivity, employability and income-earning opportunities, while enhancing food security and promoting environmentally sustainable rural development and livelihoods.

Despite rural women's major role in agriculture and other rural activities, higher barriers in education and training limit their participation in more productive and remunerative work, perform managerial and leadership roles and participate fully in the development of their communities. Targeted action is needed to dismantle these barriers.

A business without effective and efficient staff is simply a Building without people]]> http://forum.skillssummit.co.za/discussion/7/skills-development-in-renewable-and-nuclear-energy Thu, 15 Sep 2011 15:22:23 +0300 nadia 7@/discussions Dr Yves Guenon, MD of Areva South Africa, spoke about skills development within the renewable energy sector. The power sector is the new age of electrification and has been rated one of the top industries to drive job creation.
He states that education should mainly be the responsibility of states. It is a tool allowing people to use knowledge and is also mandatory to develop a nuclear and renewable program within the country. It is better to have a system that allowed people to think instead of repeating what they have learnt.

Knowledge covers a very large variety of concepts. Knowledge is not simply a pile of documents but rather something to be used by someone’s brain. From processing instructions, understanding those instructions and eventually opening the door for improvement and progress. It is agreed that in order to develop knowledge, you require time and money, which can become taxing. For this reason, knowledge can be developed on public or private funding or in most cases by an interaction process.

Areva understands the importance of partnerships with local stakeholders. This is one of the key areas that assisted them in providing 1500 trainees in 2009. It is vital that certain testing operation procedures are adhered to. Training for and with these procedures should be in line with: The overall scheme of the plant, detailed presentation of the internal data and a deep physical understanding of all procedures.

Getting back to the fundamental issue of skills development and more importantly job creation, the nuclear sector creates more jobs than any other technologies during construction and operation. Nuclear creates jobs during a long-term construction period and keeps on more long-term jobs during operation.

Job opportunities found within the South African market can be linked to:

• Direct design and construction of the plant
• Direct manufacturing based on purchases by the plant contractors (first tier)
• Indirect purchases to second tier suppliers
• Operations & maintenance at the power plants
• Outages / Turn-around at the power plants
• Regular expenditures to local manufacturers and services organizations
• Industrial partnership new facilities
• On-going training center for operations (open for international training)

As with the establishment of any trade, you find various induced jobs created in the nearby communities to support the in-flux of new residents - doctors, teachers, and local municipality workers, workers in other local new businesses. An increase in employment due to more local capacity, results in less imports. An increase in 3rd, 4th, etc tier suppliers.

The welding trade is key to the construction of nuclear fleets as well as other projects including the oil and chemical industries. This trade provides jobs created in addition to the welder himself. These induced expenditures directly translate into additional manufacturing jobs in South Africa.

Skills development must address three main categories which apply to the entire program requirements for both nuclear specific skills and more conventional skills
• Project management
• Engineering and design
• Artisan trades

AREVA supports nuclear programs at the University of Northwest.
An engineering, procurement, construction management company will be formed to manage the AREVA scope in RSA.
Training of engineers and designers will be the early need, with training of artisans and supervision for construction activities to follow. Our SA partners currently have training programs, which will be used to address the specific needs for the nuclear program

S.A has done it before:
For Sasol 2 & 3 (from 1978 to 1983), approximately 7000 welders and 5500 pipe fitters were trained at the Secunda training center. These are among the most difficult trades to learn. The need for the new build nuclear program will surpass this accomplishment.

Tell me and I forget - show me and I remember - Involve me and I learn]]> http://forum.skillssummit.co.za/discussion/2/new-growth-path-and-skills-accords Mon, 12 Sep 2011 17:14:47 +0300 nadia 2@/discussions
The core aim is to ensure inclusive growth through large-scale employment creation, setting targets for specific skills but recognising the central need for improved education and broader skills training.

One of the main challenges faced by the cabinet is economic growth. Between 1994 and present, South Africa's economic growth has equalled the average for middle-income countries. Employment and private investment dropped sharply in the downturn and have not recovered well. South Africa also remains one of the most inequitable countries in the world. Our unemployment rate far exceeds those of other countries and many suggest that it is directly linked to inequalities in asset ownership and access to basic education, a legacy of the apartheid era.

The current target rates set are primarily linked to the employment rate. The objective here is to create five million new jobs over the next ten years and to address macro and micro policies in order to support more equitable and employment intensive growth through:

· Creating a competitive economy, including the value of the currency, infrastructure, skills and wage goods.
· Systematically encouraging more labour-intensive and green activities with a
· greater focus on domestic and regional markets.
· Creating social dialogue and solidarity as a central element to change, which is particularly important for skills development.

Employment intensity and growth

· The jobs target requires growth AND greater employment intensity of growth (employment increase relative to GDP growth);
· Employment intensity of 0,2% would require a growth rate of over 15%;
· Employment intensity of 0,8 would require a growth rate of 4%.

Innovation around "job drivers" includes:

· Sustained high public investment in infrastructure with stronger local procurement
· Targets for smallholders in agriculture linked to restructured land reform
· Mining to incentivise output growth plus beneficiation at stage 4, not smelting and refining
· Increased emphasis on high-level services (tourism, culture, business, education, healthcare, software)
· Green economy as a major potential area for employment creation
· African regional development centred on driving improved infrastructure and economic value-chains

HRD and the New Growth Path

· Education and skills are necessary but not sufficient to increase employment levels
· 33% of adults with less than matric are employed
· 48% of adults with matric
· 79% of adults with post-matric
· Inequalities in skills mean inequitable economic outcomes – shortages at top lead to higher incomes while lack of jobs for lower skilled depress pay for ordinary workers

Education

South Africans have more or less the same number of years of schooling as workers in other middle-income countries. But it lags behind due to:
· Deep inequalities which lead to unacceptable quality in most black communities, especially around maths and science and especially in the rural areas and informal settlements.
· The share of the labour force with tertiary education is still highly unrepresentative.
· Weak vocational training systems that lead to a shortage of artisans in particular.

Due to the above mentioned challenges, our skills system has encountered a so called "bottle neck" of note. Artisans, tertiary institutes, project management and design programs have all been scrutinised.

Further targets set to include these elements are as follow:
· Train 30 000 engineers and 50 000 artisans by 2014/5.
· Increase the intake of FET to a million by 2014 once issues with throughput has been addressed.
· Implement basic computer skills in all secondary schools, ABET and for public servants.

Although initial targets agreed with DHET, findings on throughput problems in FET mean they need to be reviewed carefully.

Overcoming inequalities

Researchers claim that the inequitable education system based on race and location was central to the inequality of opportunity. Since the beginning of 1990, many governmental systems that were put in place focused on ensuring that skills development supported social mobility but were not implemented stringently. (SETA's, SAQA)

These gave rise to the following targets:
· 1,2 million workers to receive certified workplace skills development a year from 2013.
· Target 10% of workers in each sector every year.
· Improve SETA governance, accountability and administrative systems with focus on identifying sector skill needs.
· Review FET, HET and apprenticeships to ensure greater access for learners from disadvantaged schools.

South Africa's opportunities in the knowledge economy include business and personal services (finance, legal, software; health, education) which are crucial for African development as well as strengthening skills to achieve world-class levels. South Africa is regarded by some as the higher education hub for the African continent.

Be that as it may, there is no guarantee that insuring support for these sectors will not reinforce inequalities.
A vital question posed is: Can we increase “exports” of health and education without reducing services, especially for poor South Africans?

Skills accord

· SETA's have been called upon to support the employment vision set within the New Growth Plan.
· At the same time, the onus is on employers to train more than what their company currently requires and thus increasing their training spend to between 4% and 6% of their payroll.
· The appeal was made for Labour to recognise the special status of trainees.
· Business and government to make internship places available to students from FET colleges, universities of technology and lecturers
· Government to set training targets in every SOE]]>