of the Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition (JIPSA),
Johannesburg
26 March 2007
JIPSA has succeeded in injecting urgency amongst relevant stakeholders in
addressing the skills challenge as a contribution to the Accelerated and Shared
Growth Initiative for South Africa's (AsgiSA's) targets of accelerated and
shared growth. The Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition (JIPSA)
has, through better co-ordination and synthesis of information and initiatives,
achieved significant progress.
JIPSA brings together stakeholders who had been working in related fields
but not worked together. Halfway through the 18 months JIPSA was given to
outline a framework for addressing priority and scarce skills, stakeholders
have reached consensus on what the scarce and priority skills are, and how they
are to be acquired and produced.
JIPSA has in addition dealt with the practical implementation of some of the
short-term programmes � such as matching unemployed graduates and employers;
and the creation and co-ordination of placement opportunities. It is looking to
stakeholders � public and private � to attend to the medium and long-term
actions that are needed.
The progress that has been made is detailed in the report on JIPSA's first
nine months, which also identifies areas needing further special attention.
These include second economy interventions which, as in the case of AsgiSA
generally, have proved more challenging than anticipated.
The full report on JIPSA for March-December 2006 is available on South
Africa Government Online https://www.gov.za.
JIPSA
JIPSA was established in March 2006 to help address the challenge of skills,
one of the binding constraints on faster and shared growth identified in
AsgiSA. Inadequacy of appropriate skills to match the needs of the economy and
the quality of education, largely inherited from the apartheid regime, are
critical areas requiring interventions that will help open the way to the
faster and shared growth required to halve poverty and unemployment by
2014.
Further recommendations required optimisation of National Skills Fund in
targeted training programmes, addressing skills immigration challenges as well
as optimisation of training facilities.
Given the urgency of acquiring skills in the short to medium term, which
would be aligned with critical AsgiSA programmes, JIPSA was created as a joint
initiative between various stakeholders to focus on priority and scarce skills
acquisition. It was given 18 months to outline a framework for addressing
skills shortages in the priority areas, identified as:
* high-level, world-class engineering and planning skills for the 'network
industries' � transport, communications and energy
* city, urban and regional planning and engineering skills
* artisan and technical skills, with priority attention to infrastructure
development
* management and planning skills in education and health.
* mathematics, science, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and
language competence in public education
* skills required by the AsgiSA priority sectors such as Tourism, Business
Process Outsourcing (BPO) and Biofuels
* cross cutting skills in project and financial management, ICT and Adult Basic
Training and Education (ABET).
JIPSA is a collaborative effort by all its stakeholders to unpack challenges
faced in each of the priority skills areas and refer the implementation process
back to the relevant custodians with an emphasis on better co-ordination and
synthesis of available information and integration of stakeholder
initiatives.
JIPSA's methodology is to:
- seek consensus between stakeholders on scarce and priority skills
- Isolate, adopt and synthesise existing programmes and develop new programmes
addressing same
- identify short, medium and long term interventions e.g. placements
- to provide backward linkages which influence policies and legislation.
JIPSA adopted the existing education and skills programmes that were managed
by the Departments of Education and Labour, in the main, and brought the
blockages to the attention of the other stakeholders.
Progress
Details of JIPSA's achievements include the following:
* A detailed plan was agreed to by various stakeholders to increase the
number of B Sc Eng/B Eng graduates.
- At the moment universities are producing 1 400 graduates.
- Whilst a conservative estimate of the demand in the built environment
indicates a need for an additional 1 000 graduates, the government and
universities estimate a possible increase of between 480 and 600 graduates,
given additional resources and capacity. Additional budget allocations have
been granted to this effect.
- The stakeholders are considering further plans to address the gap that could
be filled through other means such as overseas scholarships, importation,
etc.
* A detailed plan for production of 50 000 Artisans by 2010, implying an
annual increase of 7 500 (150%) was also agreed by the stakeholders. Many of
the challenges that have been dealt with are systemic in nature. The
implementation plan includes:
- alignment and clarification of the agreed pathways through announcement in
Government Gazette
- finalisation of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) during April
2007
- improving and increasing the Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA)
performance to increase artisans in training
- working with Further Education and Training (FET) colleges and employers to
improve quality and increase artisan training opportunities.
* Stakeholder discussions are taking place to address qualification,
registration and continuing professional development of Town and Regional
Planners.
- This would include a process through which the AsgiSA team would assist
JIPSA to address legislative challenges relating to definitions and role of
town and regional planners.
* The Business Process Outsourcing and Offshoring business plan was compiled
by Department of Trade and Industry and Business Trust and was launched in the
last few weeks.
- Within this sector, skills plans are being co-ordinated with the work that
is being done by JIPSA.
- The team set a target of thirty thousand (30 000) entry level skills, five
thousand (5 000) supervisory and managerial levels and an on-going building of
globally competitive talent pool.
- Up until 31 March 2011, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will make
available training support grants of up to 50% of qualifying training
expenditure limited to twelve thousand (R12 000) per agent. This grant is in
addition to other investment grants under the Government Assistance Support
programme, GAS.
- In addition, DTI and Department of Labour are running a pilot project known
as Monyetla Work Readiness Programme in which one thousand (1 000) unemployed
and underprivileged youth will be trained with 70% job guarantees, including 1
supervisor per every 10 trainees. It is hoped that the pilot will be extended
to benefit thirty thousand (30 000) learners until 2010.
- Further training activities are taking place at provincial level through
funds advanced by National Skills Fund, estimated to benefit six thousand two
hundred (6 200) trainees.
* Tourism skills plans are being drafted as a co-ordinated effort between
four government departments [Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism
(DEAT), Department of Labour (DoL), Department of Education (DoE), DTI];
organised business, Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA);
communities, the South African National NGO Coalition (SANGOCO) and organised
labour, Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU).
- Some of the scarce skills identified include Technical occupations (i.e.
IT, gambling software, and actuarial management), product knowledge (ie
heritage), skills in development and promotion of tourism products, etc.
- Through Tourism Enterprise Programme, Foreign Tourism Technical Training
Assistance (from bilateral agreements with foreign countries) and assistance
from the National Skills Fund (NSF) several focused training activities are
taking place.
- The team will issue a detailed skills plan later in 2007.
* The DOE has intensified attention to improve quality of education in
public schools by introducing an incentive for schools which produce good
results.
- These include R1 000 to a school for every additional student who passes
Maths higher grade, grants to most improved schools, club 100, etc.
Public-Private Partnership (PPP) opportunities are being explored to increase
the impact.
- Budget allocations have been given to address school infrastructure, training
of teachers and principals and salary adjustment to performing teachers.
- Importation of Maths teachers from India will equally be finalised
shortly.
* FET colleges have successfully enrolled twenty five thousand (25 000)
students in the first year of revitalised programmes.
- Improved infrastructure, curriculum reforms and bursaries are the main
attributes of this programme.
- Marketing efforts are being increased to encourage more students to do
vocational training.
* Local placements have benefited at least four thousand (4 000) candidates
whilst international placement have benefited 700 people, most of whom were
women.
- Co-operation from various countries continues in respect of placements,
exchange programmes, information sharing as well as collaboration in research
and development.
* JIPSA will continue to work with different stakeholders to address the
remaining priorities in areas of:
- education and healthcare management systems
- financial and Project management skills
- further improvements in public education.
* Direct Second Economy interventions through Education and Training remain
slow and challenging; this includes a need to train people with less than 12
years of schooling.
- It is hoped that integration of the JIPSA activities with National Youth
Service will increase the impact in the Second Economy.
In the light of an urgent and greater need to share the benefits of growth
going forward. Much more has to be done to enhance public education and
re-skilling youth out of school languishing in the second economy with less
than 12 years of schooling.
Issued by: Government Communications (GCIS)
26 March 2007
