About the Labour Market Intelligence Partnership
The Labour Market Intelligence Partnership (LMI Phase 1) was a collaboration between the South African government and a national research consortium, aiming to establish a credible institutional mechanism for skills planning in South Africa.
From 2012 to 2016, the LMI Phase 1 conducted research to inform monitoring, planning, and policymaking for more effective skills development and equitable labour markets in South Africa
Rationale
LMI Phase 1 was a unique undertaking designed to inform and support evidence-based skills development policy in South Africa. The partnership of researchers and planners developed ways to inform planning and funding decisions across the post-school education and training system, thereby informing and supporting the skills planning policy and practice of DHET and its entities, at varying levels and in varying spaces.
The rationale behind the LMI Phase 1 was to:
• Empower students and work-seekers to make the correct education and skills decisions, making them more attractive to employers;
• Enable government and companies to be able to make better strategic decisions in matching skills demand and supply, leading to increased productivity and profits; and
• Allow adult education and training institutions, workplace training providers, the FET college system, artisan, technical training, and the higher education sector, to respond to shifting labour market demand signals much more effectively.
[LMI Phase 1] aims to set up systems for reliable data indicating skills needs, supply and demand in our labour market in a manner that will enable our country, including government and business to plan better for human resources development needs for our country.
- Minister Blade Nzimande, Minister of the Department of Higher Education and Training of South Africa, 2012
Goal
At its core the LMIP was an applied research project, focussing on six key areas:
- Establishing a foundation for labour market information systems in South Africa
- Skills forecasting: supply and demand
- Studies of priority sectors
- Reconfiguring the post-school sector
- Pathways through education and training and into the workplace
- Understanding changing artisanal occupational milieus and identities
LMI Funding and Governance
Contracted by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) lead this research consortium with two partners: the Development Policy Research Unit at the University of Cape Town, and the Centre for Researching Education and Labour at the University of Witwatersrand.
LMI Phase1 was funded by the DHET through the National Treasury and South Africa’s National Skills Fund. A formal memorandum of understanding between DHET and the LMIP consortium was signed in February 2012 covering a four year period (2013-6). The LMIP contributed to Outcome 5.1.1 of the South African government’s delivery plan.
The governance of the LMIP was carried out through two key committees:
LMI Phase 1 Advisory Committee
The Advisory Committee served to guide the research–policy nexus, providing leadership and strategic direction, and was tasked with facilitating alignment and coordination between the DHET, other government departments, Sectoral Education and Training Authorities (SETAs), professional councils, South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), universities, the research community and the private sector.
LMI Phase 1 Steering Commitee
The Steering Committee was tasked with for example: ensuring project implementation, progress and achievement of outcomes; providing strategic direction to the research process; and agreeing on the specific project proposals for each of the themes.
Meet the LMIP Team
From sociologists to economists and education specialists, the LMI Phase 1 team formed a multi-disciplinary collaborative of cutting-edge expertise about the South African labour market in a global context.
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Programme Director/Research Leader
Dr Vijay Reddy, Human Sciences Research Council
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Programme Director/Research Leader
Dr Glenda Kruss, Human Sciences Research Council
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Research Leader
Dr Asghar Adelzadeh, Applied Development Research Solutions
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Research Leader
Assoc. Prof. Peliwe Lolwana, University of Witwatersrand
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Research Leader
Prof. Haroon Bhorat, DPRU, University of Cape Town
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Research Leader
Dr Michael Rogan, Rhodes University
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Research Leader
Dr Angelique Wildshut, Human Sciences Research Council