SOUTH AFRICA’S

C. TALENT: Boost employability
through enhanced connections between
the worlds of school and work.
The high rate of unemployment stands out as
the most significant challenge in the Gauteng
City-Region, and expanding employment undergirds
both requirements of our definition of a competitive
region. Firms will be able to compete globally in
the city-region to the extent they can find a skilled
workforce. And rising standards of living for residents
relies upon widespread labor market opportunities.
The full slate of reforms and actions needed to
expand employment opportunity is beyond the scope
of this report. In a recent synopsis, Bhorat and colleagues
suggest that addressing labor market rigidities,
instituting public employment schemes, easing
job creation in the informal sector, pursuing laborintensive
industry growth, improving basic education
through increased educational expenditures per
learner, streamlined management of basic education
systems, and improved teacher quality all could make
dents in the unemployment rate. 112 While many of
these reforms require central government action, the
Gauteng province’s education budget echoes many of
the recommendations aimed at sub-national governments,
with an added emphasis on the role that
technology can play a role in overcoming disparate
teacher quality and school management. 113
Nonetheless, the labor market skills mismatches and
high rates of youth unemployment documented in
this report suggest that improving basic education on
its own may not be enough to smooth the pathway
from the education system to gainful employment.
Nationwide, approximately four in ten youth aged
15–24 that hold a matric qualification (U.S. high school
degree equivalent) are not in education, training, or
work. 114 In an effort to provide more work-relevant
skills, South Africa has reformed the nation’s network
of technical and vocational education training (TVET)
colleges. Following reforms to the system, enrollment
in TVET colleges doubled between 2010 and 2013. 115
Yet, the quality of TVET colleges remains highly
varied and often not well-aligned with the needs of
local employers and industries, partly due to the fact
that employers must do a better job of defining their
skills needs. Empowering sector-focused workforce
intermediaries such as Sector Education and Training
Authorities and the Human Resources Development
Council to help bridge the gap between employers and
educators on skills demands, curriculum development,
and job placement would help address this coordination
failure. 116 Similar efforts are underway in states
and provinces around the world.
“In metropolitan areas across the world, regional
competitiveness is becoming an increasingly
shared agenda. Formal and informal networks
of public, private and civic leaders are coming together
to design and implement economic strate gies.”
BROOKINGS
METROPOLITAN
POLICY
PROGRAM
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