The aim of this workshop is to obtain SETAs’ and other stakeholder inputs and feedback on the draft proposal for the development of sector briefs.
In South Africa, skills-biased employment growth and relatively capital-intensive production structures, combined with weaknesses in the education and training systems – amongst other problems – have resulted in large-scale unemployment at the lower end of the skills distribution, and a shortage of suitably skilled labour at the upper end of the distribution. Within this context, SETAs are required to develop Sector Skills Plans (SSPs) to drive skills development for each of their economic sectors. Currently, SETAs develop SSPs independently of each other, resulting in unnecessary duplication of research efforts, and more importantly, the development of SSPs that do not adequately reflect an economy-wide perspective.
A key aim of the Department of Higher Education and Training’s Labour Market Intelligence (LMI) research programme, as derived from the White Paper for Post-School Education and Training, is the production of Sector Briefs which provide economy-wide, sector-comparative data and analysis that SETAs can draw on in the preparation of their SSPs. The intention is not to replace the research that SETAs would ordinarily undertake for the preparation of their SSPs – rather, the briefs are meant to complement a range of inputs that SETAs may draw on as they develop their SSPs. As explained in the White Paper for Post-School Education and Training, SETAs provide important workplace data, and will continue to conduct sector research and ensure that the sectoral implications of economy-wide analysis are explored.
The sector briefs, which will include information about skills needs across the economy in terms of long-term trends and medium-term scenarios, will be subjected to SETA and stakeholder feedback. In consultation with key industry role players and other stakeholders, discussions will assess whether the economy-wide and sectoral skills needs set out in the draft scenarios resonate with their understanding of the sector, or whether there are gaps. The purpose of the sector briefs is to avail a standard set of data and analysis, both at national and sectoral levels to SETAs to support the development of their SSPs.
The aim of this workshop is to obtain SETAs’ and other stakeholder inputs and feedback on the draft proposal for the development of sector briefs. It is expected that SETAs and stakeholders will confirm the value of sector briefs at the workshop and will provide specific inputs on definitions, indicators, methodologies, and data sources for the briefs.
