On 24 January 2014, the LMIP hosted a policy roundtable at the Southern Sun Pretoria hotel on the topic Skills Shortages in the Economy: A Conversation with the Demand Side. The empirical foundation of the event was an LMIP report by Professor Haroon Bhorat entitled ‘Occupational Shifts and Shortages: Skills Challenges Facing the South African Economy’ which set out the nature and causes of employment shifts in key sectors of the South African economy.
Keynote presentation: Haroon Bhorat (UCT)
This roundtable aimed to spark conversation between the private sector and policy-makers on the demand-side dynamics to support the creation of a responsive skills planning mechanism. A panel discussion, composed of representatives from the National Business Initiative, the Chamber of Mines, Volkswagen South Africa and the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of South Africa, highlighted a range of issues that impact on skills development and provisioning in South African industry.
Panel discussion, L to R: Leslie Lee (VWSA), Vusi Mabena (Chamber of Mines), Mike Morris (UCT, Chair), Henk Langenhoven (SEIFSA) and Makano Morojele (National Business Initiative)
These issues extended beyond education and training, to include socio-political constraints as well as industry’s adaptation and responsiveness to global competitive pressures. The rich discussion that took place gave rise to a number of considerations that are critical to skills planning in South Africa. To guide policy-makers across the political landscape, a policy brief is being developed and will be circulated to all key stakeholders.
