Making sure that the Setas do their job… for jobs

The OR Tambo district of the Eastern Cape is one of the most impoverished areas in our country, with unemployment, disease and gut-wrenchingly high levels of poverty that reduce the chances of any child born there of growing up to enjoy meaningful participation in the country’s economic activities.

Most families depend on state grants, with many households headed by grandparents.The ravages of HIV-Aids have ensured a steady increase in the number of child-headed households.

Most children start school, but many fail to finish. Even many of those who finish matric swell the ranks of the desolate unemployed, who increasingly get drawn into drug addiction and its evil twin of crime. A few have gone to a Further Education and Training (FET) college, passed, but cannot get apprenticeships to become artisans or a placement to acquire that all-important first work experience.

The script for OR Tambo is replicated in many other areas, some of them rural, others urban. Most South Africans grew up in a place like Lusikisiki, Nquthu, KwaZakhele, Seshego or KwaNyamazane.

Partly to address the anomaly of having this kind of picture dotting the landscape of the country 17 years after democracy, I recently met all the chairpersons of the Sector Education and Training Authorities (Setas).

The meeting was to assess progress towards service level agreements (SLAs) the Setas are developing with the department, progress towards the development of sector skills plans (SSPs) and matters relating to governance in the Setas.

These measures are part of improving the governance and effectiveness of the Seta system and aligning it to the post-school system and the new growth path. While training on its own does not create jobs, job creation will not be realised unless we have an appropriately skilled and knowledgeable citizenry.

Improved work placement for our youth through learnerships, internships and apprenticeships has the potential of creating opportunities for jobs and other forms of sustainable livelihoods. Setas have enough money to make a huge difference if appropriately guided and refocused on the country’s development priorities.

In July, the government, labour, business and community representatives signed a National Skills Accord to enhance training opportunities for workers and the unemployed. This accord included employers committing themselves to absorbing the many youths from FET colleges and universities of technology who require placement for 12 to 18 months in order to become artisans or complete their diplomas. In addition, FET college lecturers will be given the opportunity for workplace experience to expose them to the latest industrial and commercial technologies. We will strengthen and reposition Setas to play their role in ensuring such partnerships and agreements become a reality.

One of the issues I emphasised at the meeting with the Setas was the location of their offices, which are found in upmarket suburbs. Setas are not easily accessible to ordinary South Africans, specifically those who live in rural areas and townships, yet they are some of the major intended beneficiaries of the Seta system. These include college students or graduates, as well as the unemployed who are seeking learnerships and internships. The Setas’ location in the suburbs contributes to the perception that they benefit service providers looking for Seta business rather than the intended beneficiaries.

The SLAs Setas will sign with the department will now have to include opening offices in targeted townships and rural areas. Also, I expect Setas to pool their resources to ensure that every main campus of our 50 public FET colleges has a Seta office.

This will go a long way in closely aligning Setas with our FET colleges for purposes of improving work placement.

Setas must be authorities on labour market information in their sectors. One of their core responsibilities is the development of sector skills plans, which are intended to align the supply and demand for skills in the sectors in which Setas operate. The key beneficiaries should be disadvantaged members of society, but the organisations which employ them and the economy as a whole will obviously also benefit.

In the new year Setas will be called upon to come up with concrete plans to respond to some of the government’s urgent projects. For example, I will ask the Energy Seta to respond effectively to training needs for greening our economy (installing and maintaining solar geysers, for example).

I require the Health and Welfare Seta to work with my department to develop a concrete strategy for the accelerated training of social workers and other related professions that the Department of Social Development so urgently requires.

Between April 1 and September 30, employers registered 18 880 learnerships and apprenticeships against a target of 30 000 for the 12 months ending on March 31 next year, as part of commitments made in the National Skills Accord. In these six months, 8 102 apprentices were certified as full artisans against this financial year’s target of 15 000, meaning the target will certainly be met. This is an increase of 11 800 qualifying artisans over the previous year. However, more still needs to be done.

Our department has adopted the slogan “Every workplace, a learning space”. In this regard, the government (including municipalities), must lead from the front by taking on many more apprentices, learners and interns. The same must go for public enterprises.

I have appointed a task team to work towards improving the governance, accountability and accessibility of Setas.

They must improve their tarnished public image and must prioritise training to address scarce skills, especially artisans and technicians, rather than spending most of their funds on short courses.

We are convinced that our interventions put us firmly on course to address SA’s skills shortages.

n Dr Blade Nzimande is Minister for Higher Education and Training - Sunday Independent