M van Schalkwyk: Tourism Skills Conference

19 October 2006

First Ever Tourism Skills Conference: Finding practical ways to connect the
tourism industry to the best and the brightest South Africans

1. General Background

This has been a bumper month for tourism events. We have recently hosted the
national FIFA 2010 Accommodation Workshop. Shortly before that, we held World
Tourism Day celebrations. These events have celebrated our achievements and
shown us the great potential for our sector's continued growth. However,
today's event is about getting our house in order and mapping a way
forward.

As a nation, we have committed ourselves to poverty alleviation and job
creation through our Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa
(AsgiSA). This initiative commits us to action, to the achievement of hard
targets and to overcoming the critical obstacle of skills shortages.

Part of AsgiSA's roll-out is government's massive investment of R370 billion
on infrastructure development, which will greatly improve our offering to
tourists. Just as importantly, it will make the economy more accessible to more
of our own citizens. For the next two days we must sharply focus on finding
practical ways to connect the tourism industry to the best and the brightest
South Africans, as employees and as entrepreneurs.

There are vast opportunities in this room. This is the first time that we
have brought all the different stakeholders together to focus on skills in the
tourism industry. We have a unique opportunity to rapidly reach consensus on a
way forward. This will culminate tomorrow in the signing of a declaration by
government, business, labour and communities. The declaration will commit us to
working together in a national Tourism Skills Development Forum, so that our
efforts today are sustained in future.

2. Tourism Skills Audit results

Our deliberations will begin on the basis of the preliminary results of the
Tourism Skills Audit. Last week's issue of the Economist warned us that "the
global economy places an enormous premium on brainpower; and there is not
enough to go around."

In this context, the skills audit results yield no surprises. At least 90
percent of the scarce skills in the tourism sector are in the high-skills level
band. Currently we have critical shortages in the following areas:

* technical management skills
* skills in information and knowledge management
* product knowledge
* language and communication skills.

The audit results also confirmed that our industry faces many of the same
challenges as other industries in South Africa. Weak linkages between industry
and training institutions are one of the most significant of these. In
principle our Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) were intended
to strengthen this link and improve the relevance of training. However, in
practice, the study has found that the industry view of the Tourism Hospitality
and Sport Education and Training Authority (THETA) has been that of a barrier
rather than a facilitator.

3. Challenges

While I do not want to dwell on the negative for too long, it is important
for us to acknowledge our challenges in order for us to address them properly.
It is also important to look at the different aspects of our challenges so that
we can work on more effective solutions that involve the right role-players,
all of whom are here today.

A case in point is the low investment by small, medium and micro enterprise
(SMMEs) in skills development, which should be viewed as a major cause for
concern. These companies carry a large portion of the employment load in
tourism. Yet, a recent study found that 26% of South African SMMEs in the
tourism sector had no need or wish to expand. More than 80% of workers surveyed
in South Africa said that they had not received formal training. This figure
compares dismally with that of other growing economies in the world. Most SMMEs
in our sector are operated by owner-managers, who themselves do not have much
formal tertiary education.

The research has found that among informal firms, about 60% of
owner-managers have not obtained a matriculation qualification and less than 2%
have degrees. This in turn has negative implications for the long-term
sustainability of their businesses and ultimately the tourism sector. Joint
strategies need to focus on greater uptake of incentive programmes by smaller
businesses.

We recognise the efforts by larger businesses to invest in skills
development in spite of the difficulties they have experienced in accessing
training incentives. We also recognise that organised labour has an important
role to play in motivating workers to attend and complete training courses.

Another crucial set of stakeholders is the higher education sector. This is
the first time we have invited higher education institutions to such an event.
We welcome you as participants. We encourage you to form stronger direct
relationships with industry. We hope that you will pay heed to the consensus
that will be reached regarding scarce skills and that this informs the
development of your curricula in future. Our preliminary research suggests that
curricula need to cover a wider range of sector and sub-sector demands. This
will not only benefit industry, but will increase the value and attractiveness
of your courses to potential students, resulting in a win-win situation for all
concerned.

The introduction of tourism as a high school subject makes the job of
attracting high calibre individuals somewhat easier. It broadens our talent
pool by increasing awareness amongst youth of the vibrant career options in our
sector. Tertiary education offerings also need to be aligned with school
curricula to ensure that we continue to stimulate people and enable the
development of career paths.

We also recognise the presence and importance of independent education
providers. The accreditation of service providers has proven cumbersome and as
a result, many firms have found it difficult to claim funds for skills
development through the SETA structures. The challenge, in general, is to find
ways to improve the institutional responsiveness to the skills demands of
domestic and foreign investors. Specifically, a credible transparent
accreditation system for independent education providers is required.

4. Concluding remarks

These challenges are by no means simple. However, I am confident that the
solutions lie within the people in this room. It may often appear that
government, business, labour and communities have competing interests, but we
have a powerful common interest when it comes to developing skills and
people.

There is a lot that we can achieve by aligning our goals and efforts.
Consensus building is never an easy process, but it results in more robust
solutions. I encourage you to take advantage of the opportunity you have at
this conference to become part of the solution. I encourage you to voice your
concerns, because they will be heard, they will be taken seriously and they
will be addressed.

We must be doing something right. Tourism has been a star performer in the
South African economy to date. We have been on a record-breaking streak that is
showing no sign of slowing down. Let us continue to forge ahead, remembering
that our people are our most valuable asset and that they deserve our best
efforts. I wish you well in your deliberations.

Enquiries:
Riaan Aucamp
Cell: 083 778 9923

Issued by: Department of Environmental and Tourism Affairs
19 October 2006