Experts urge government to boost job creation for skills programme beneficiaries

Skills development programmes providers are urging the government to provide opportunities for the beneficiaries of learnerships, internships and work integrated learning programmes after completing their training.

The plea was made during the skills sector conference of the Culture, Arts, Tourism, Hospitality and Sports Sector Education and Training Authority (Cathsseta), on September 3.

The event saw experts in different sectors gather at the Birchwood Hotel in Boksburg, to discuss challenges in the labour market and to absorption of skills into the economy.

The Cathsseta, is one of 21 Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs), which seeks to facilitate skills development.

The sub-sectors include arts, culture, and heritage, conservation, gaming and lotteries, hospitality, sport, recreation and fitness, tourism and travel services.

The panel discussion addressed issues such as the high youth unemployment rate, and the absorption of beneficiaries from skills programmes.

Addressing the panel, the board chairperson of Cathsseta, Themba Ndhlovu, said the conference aimed to implement High Impact Projects (HIPs) to address critical challenges in the labour market and improve the absorption of skills into the economy, especially for the youth, and promote entrepreneurship within the sector.

“The conference was aimed at addressing the challenges that the sector faces and in the next five years, these are the main priorities that we want to achieve.”

Ndhlovu emphasised the importance of having different stakeholders in the sector to discuss the problems to develop a strategic plan for the next five years, ensuring that everyone participated in the process.

The Cathsseta is the driving force behind the offering of unemployed people and recent graduates with skills development programmes such as leaderships, internships and work integrated learning opportunities.

However, Ndhlovu, says that the sector is battling the issue of beneficiaries not finding permanent employment after they complete the programmes.

“That issue is a critical problem that we do experience. When someone has completed a learnership we expect that they are ready to be permanently employed. However, they still remain unemployed.”

Ndhlovu said the Small, Medium, and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) face challenges such as lack of funding, limited market access, and relevant skills, which hinder their growth.

“We must engage more closely with the SMMEs, to understand the problems they are encountering. Some of them need knowledge and understanding before they can get help, and (they) need to be made aware that there are ways to get help through skills and education from SETAs,” he said.

He said by doing that, they would be fully equipped enough to combat the hike of unemployment rates.

“We must understand what their problems are, in order to help them. This will also help SMMEs in creating job opportunities for unemployed people, and that is what we need,” Ndhlovu said.

Different speakers reiterated that there should be measures to address skills development programmes beneficiaries not being absorbed afterwards.

Dr Robert Nkuna, the director at the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation said many beneficiaries are at home without jobs and struggle to start their own businesses.

“We want to move away from that because many people have been saying that we’re training people but they don’t get employed. So, we need to do it deliberately, so that if SETA trains them, there must be someone already waiting to absorb them,” he said.

Nkuna said since the SETAs were not responsible for creating policies, but training people, they were calling on the government to intervene.

Ndlovu said the government should implement policies that align with the needs of SETAs.

“The government needs to support the SETAs by making sure that it briefs them on its programmes and what it is trying to achieve and accomplish.

“When the SETAs are conducting training, they must respond to the government and where there are legal issues and (they) change policy, they must also do so and ensure that the policy is changed rapidly so that SETAs are not hamstrung by policies.”

Samuel Zungu, the deputy director general for Technical and Vocational Education and Training at the department of Higher Education and Training slammed his own department for poor education provided in TVET colleges.

In his address, he said many TVET colleges battle with inadequate resources, whichaffects the quality of education being offered.

“This includes a shortage of qualified instructors and modern training equipment, which directly impacts the quality of education delivered to students.”

He said the quality of education across different institutions can vary significantly, leading to disparities in student outcomes and employability, which undermines the overall effectiveness of the TVET system.

Zungu says that conducting regular assessments and updates to educational practices and curriculum, is vital for maintaining high standards in TVET education, to ensure that graduates are well-prepared for the workforce.

The conference is set to conclude tomorrow, where more experts will weigh in on the issue.

IOL