Skills struggle continues

Johannesburg, 03 Sept 2007

The spirit that drove the anti-apartheid struggle internationally should inform the drive to address SA`s skills shortage.

This is according to president Thabo Mbeki, speaking at his recent thanksgiving dinner for those involved in the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative (Asgisa) and the Joint Initiative on Priority Skills Acquisition.

"The global struggle against apartheid was a global struggle for peace and a non-racial, prosperous society."

He said the skills issue should be seen as a continuation of the global drive "to ensure the success of this country. The post-apartheid society was meant to be a better society. Why don`t we come together again to address what is a common national challenge?"

International perspective

According to Virender Aggarwal, VP of Indian company Satyam Computers, South African students perform better than their Indian counterparts in the company`s testing process. "They are more enthusiastic, more diligent and more expressive."

Also speaking at the president`s thanksgiving dinner, he said India has about a billion people and produces 300 000 graduates a year "and we`re still running out of them".

He noted India is looking for countries to deliver high-end ICT specialists and has approached China, Hungary, Brazil and SA.

Aggarwal said the organisation puts students through three months` theoretical training and nine months` practical. After this, they are "absorbed" into the organisation if they perform as required. If the success the company has been achieving with South African graduates continues, it might establish a learning institute in this country, he noted.

He pointed to the contradiction of high levels of unemployment in SA versus the skills shortage. The South African graduates Satyam has taken on are on par with the rest of the world, he said. "Why don`t you employ them and use them out here?"

Aggarwal strongly recommended SA employ its own people "rather than paying foreigners". He suggested a mix of experienced individuals and new graduates, in order to create the skills needed. Meanwhile, Satyam is "happy to employ larger numbers [of graduates] and re-deploy them here [in SA]".

According to Aggarwal, IT companies in India will hire thousands of ICT specialists, given the chance. "We are looking for ways and means to take on the right skills at the right costs that can do the job for us."

Dr Cheick Diarra, chairman of Microsoft Africa, said: "The ICT sector in SA must become independent." For this to happen, companies need to move away from "training for the sake of training", to a mindset of "training and employment". According to Diarra, the skills shortage in SA is "a matter of national importance".

Second-in-command

Deputy president Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, speaking at the same event, said there are 19 000 people in government`s job placement programmes. This includes unemployed and "displaced" graduates who are not employed in the fields they studied.

She said government finds corporates "pinch" graduates from the Umsobomvu Youth Fund database before they can be officially placed. "But that`s okay, pinch them," said the deputy president, "we know what kind of pinching we are talking about."

Mlambo-Ngcuka noted "there is an ICT spring in SA", with many good offers coming from big business. According to her, 10% of all international student placements for training purposes are currently South African, with the government target being 20%. In order to achieve this goal, she and minister of education Naledi Pandor are considering creating a programme where ICT students can study overseas, "funded by government".

Speaking earlier in the day at the graduation of learners from Business Connexion`s skills development programme, Mlambo-Ngcuka echoed Aggarwal`s sentiments.

"Skills are a binding constraint on our ability to grow SA`s economy. We don`t know the exact number of the shortage of ICT skills, but whatever the number is, it`s big. Nevertheless, we have a large community of graduates who are unable to find employment. Our inability to help these unemployed graduates is a tragedy for our democracy," she said.

"We have two choices. We can either leave these graduates to become a burden to our society, or we can use this as an investment opportunity to turn these young people into our competitive advantage. Which one is it going to be?"

The deputy president said there is still a challenge with regards to the absorption rates of people going through job placement programmes with big corporations. "Thus far, it [the absorption rate] has been 80%, but this will be harder going forward."

She noted the uptake of Asgisa under business has been so good that "my faith in capitalism has been restored".