The Retail Motor Industry Organisation (RMI) has welcomed the appointment of South Africa’s new Cabinet in the economic portfolios, but the organisation remains concerned about the skills shortages that exist in the country.
RMI CEO Ipeleng Mabusela said that while small to medium businesses in the automotive aftermarket sector were expected to drive economic growth, the industry is currently sitting with a critical shortage of technicians.
“As an industry, together with the Department of Employment and Labour and Higher Education and Training, we have to address the automotive skills shortages, reduce unemployment and be part of real transformation,” the CEO said.
Mabusela said South Africa would need to build more TVET Colleges, and strengthen existing ones, while shifting the focus towards more vocational and technical education.
“Vocational skills form the backbone of any economy and can be a valuable stepping stone to advanced careers in the future.
“The RMI fully supports any efforts by government to tackle youth unemployment in the long term by prioritising education and the skills deficit that exists,” Mabusela added.
Among the economic portfolios announced by Cyril Ramaphosa as part of his Government of National Unity (GNU) on Sunday night, Nomakhosazana Meth is Minister of Employment and Labour, Dr Nobuhle Nkabane has been appointed Minister of Higher Education and Parks Tau becomes Minister of Trade, Industry, and Competition.
Mabusela said the RMI, which represents over 170,000 employees in the automotive aftermarket sector, was open to collaborating more closely with the newly formed ministries to address the skills shortages and other key challenges.
Martlé Keyter, CEO of the Motor Industry Staff Association (MISA), this week urged the new Employment and Labour Minister to prioritise reducing the unemployment rate among young female South Africans, which had reportedly risen to an estimated 49.4%.
“South Africa remains the most unequal country in the world. Recent studies have shown that starvation is stealthily stalking South Africa, sweeping through cities and rural villages where some people are dying of malnutrition,” Keyter said.
“The minister will have to hit the ground running.”