Western Cape Business 2017 edition

Skills development
A number of investors are driving skills development in the province.
The Western Cape has two problems relating to
employment: not enough work for unskilled
workers, and not enough skilled workers to take
up available jobs. This double-sided challenge
is a legacy of apartheid and it exists throughout
South Africa.
Although the province has higher overall ratios of
highly skilled and skilled workers than the national
averages, less than 20% of the construction industry’s
workforce in the Western Cape is categorised
as skilled or highly skilled (Quantec, 2013). According
to a national business conditions survey conducted
in early 2016, a skills deficit is hampering the
construction industry.
Construction has been one of the best performing
sectors in the Western Cape economy for a number
of years, so improvement in this sphere is vital.
The food sector is the other important area where
work has to be done to impart skills to the workforce.
The Western Cape Provincial Government has
listed skills development as one of four key “enablers”
of the regional economy. A specific intervention
relevant to the construction industry is offered by
the provincial Department of Transport and Public
Works. Targeted training for emerging contractors
is presented in regional centres like Riversdale and
Worcester, and in Piketberg and Saldanha. The fourweek,
modular course, which covers issues such as
site management, safety and enterprise development,
allows contractors to continue running their
businesses while they study. The course supports
the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP).
Another provincial initiative was launched in
October 2016: the Western Cape’s Apprenticeship
Game Changer. Announced at the annual meeting
of the Premier’s Council on Skills, the Game Changer
aims to introduce 32 500 qualified apprentices into
the labour market by 2019. R1-billion has been allocated
over a three-year time frame. Businesses
have been asked to identify the specific skills they
need, so for example the oil and gas sector needs
welders certified to a certain level.
A range of interventions at national and regional
level have been launched to tackle the problem in
the public and private sphere:
• Six of South Africa’s biggest construction
companies have established a R1.25-billion
skills fund
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