While the current skills development legislation is, in theory, laudable and necessary, it is in real danger of drowning in red tape, which is having an extremely debilitating affect on the stimulation of economical development.
This is the opinion of Org Geldenhuys, a director of leading Pretoria-based IT consultancy, Abacus Recruitment. Geldenhuys said that while the country needs to significantly improve the levels of skills in the country, drowning any incentive in red tape is "going to kill it before it can get off the ground".
"The country`s rate of human development, or skills development, is, I believe, far lower than it was a decade ago - despite the current government`s move to introduce skills development legislation. The problem is," said Geldenhuys, "that most companies are reluctant to pay the skills levy and this is an indication of the mindset of corporate SA.
"In addition, to get training approved by the government is very difficult. The training has to be done via a government-approved training institution and the companies that do arrange training often battle to claim back the portion of the costs that they are entitled to in terms of the act."
Geldenhuys added that businesses don`t have a good track record when it comes to investing in training. At the moment, training is taking an even bigger "back seat" due to the world economic slowdown, which is seemingly starting to have an affect on the local economy.
"Companies the world over are in the process of shedding staff. This trend is picking up locally. Having a job right now is a luxury, not a right. This situation - which is already bad in SA - is naturally going to be compounded by the fact that there is a worldwide trend towards downsizing. The skills set is also shifting dramatically and the tried-and-tested skills of yesteryear are no longer required. As we move deeper into the digital economy, staff are required to be far more flexible, to improve their skills as the business demands change - including the advent of the much-spoken-about e-business model.
And yet, while staff are expected to be more flexible - and to add additional value in the workplace without really being prompted or pushed - in-house training is really not a huge concern with employers. The onus is too often on the employee. And the reality is that those who don`t make sure that they have the right skills set are often the ones that are among those who are discarded as companies downsize. Employees need to insist that their employers empower them by providing them with ongoing training, be it to provide skills that embrace the burgeoning e-business world, or simply skills that enable low-level employees to do their current jobs properly, to hone additional skills, and to move up the corporate ladder."
Geldenhuys said those employees with the right training, breeding and wherewithal are getting increasingly frustrated with the corporate mindset in SA. Coupled to the troubled economic and political situation, these more sought-after workers are simply packing their bags for greener pastures.
"We are continually losing our top-flight people to overseas employers. The ones we should really be retaining we are losing. And the ones we don`t really want are staying. We can either sit with this problem - of ill-equipped workers - or we rise to the challenge and ensure that they get adequate training. We can`t always look to government for leadership. Corporate SA should stop complaining about the low level of skills in SA and should start putting more money back into nurturing skills."
One of the problems, he pointed out, is that corporate SA often reports to its shareholders. And shareholders just want to see profits. "If they see training costs making a noticeable dent in the balance sheet and they don`t see any tangible benefits, they start crying into their coffee - often before they even give this training the chance to make a positive affect on the balance sheet. But this, unfortunately, is often not a short-term occurrence. Meanwhile, while some balance sheets might escape the burden of additional training costs, SA as a whole faces an uncertain future in terms of building up the required workplace skills that are required to take its place in the new global economy."
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