Skills for inclusive economic growth Peliwe Lolwana Education Policy Unit University of Witwatersrand SOUTH AFRICA 16th March 2010

Presentation outline Pre-employment The employment continuum Constraints Inclusive skills development

1. South Africa 2010 47 million > 30% unemployed 6.8 million – 18-24 yrs 2,8m NEET Less than Grade 10 = 1,009,259 Grade 10 but < Grade 12 = 990, 794 Grade 12 = 696,992) 47,2% women 36% men 44% African & 41% Coloured

2. Employment continuum Production for consumption Infrastructure development Services, including care jobs Informal sector Player in global production Civil service

3. Constraints Obsessions with policies & frameworks: e.g. NQFs, Learnerships, Quality assurance, etc. – less investments in training infrastructure Over-regulated training environment – takes too long for approval of training Education & training far apart from Labour market and economic policy development, e.g. World cup preparation, Energy crisis Concentration of geographical activities in major urban areas

Constraints … continued Nationalised economic policy drivers – small room for local players Infrastructure jobs driven through contract and tender work – workers vulnerable in the long run Vulnerability of workers in global economies, e.g. Auto industry Lack of information about careers and jobs Lack of access of craft routes to professions

Inclusive skills Increase levels of general education Different strategies for: pre-employment training; on-job training & continued education &training Greater interaction between education and training and the Labour Market Progression pathways (not NQFs) Improved policies on migrant workers for low &high skilled jobs Stimulation of job creation & even distribution of access to both training and jobs