Is there anything that has not yet been said or contested about skills shortages? Most literate South Africans are aware of the shortage of teachers, engineers, ICT professionals and artisans. Almost as many have some insight into strategies like Jipsa (through Asgisa), and the recapitalisation of the further education and training colleges. And while our opinions about the extent and cause of the skills situation may differ, there is a general consensus that the generation of skills is fundamental to economic growth.
The large pool of unemployed graduates is a frequently cited anomaly that some suggest demonstrates there is an ample supply of skills. Others, however, argue that the skills of graduates do not always match workforce demands.
No one will dispute that education empowers people, giving rise to raised standards of living, reduced violence and improved health. Given the proliferation of people and organisations already involved in education and training, we probably have more power in our hands than we realise. And because that power is right on our doorsteps, there should be little stopping us from leveraging it to make a tangible difference. Certainly, national skills and education programmes are required. However, making a meaningful difference is not dependent on these national initiatives. Indeed, it may be the more individual efforts that drive the development.
If each education provider held itself accountable for ensuring that it delivered on its promises, and ensured that registered students would be equipped with, inter alia, numeracy, language and technology literacy, they would drive this change without the need for any new programmes or initiatives. And if these providers ensured that each student understood the demands of the workplace, they would produce more employable graduates. Again, no new initiatives would be required.
Compulsory work-readiness programmes, from life skills to simulations or workplace exposure to computer literacy would not stretch the budgets of most existing post-school education providers. Such interventions may require redirection of time and skill and some clever choices about what to do with existing resources and curriculum. Clearly this is a win-win solution.
The question is: if it is relatively easy to do and not particularly expensive, why is it not happening? On the one hand, it is the individual responsibility of anyone claiming to train and educate to get the ball rolling. At the same time, it also points to the need for the public to exercise its rights and responsibilities to only accept education and training that genuinely equips people to make a valuable contribution to the economy and to society.
Dr Felicity Coughlan is the director of The Independent Institute of Education (IIE) — the overarching academic body for Varsity College, Rosebank College, College Campus and Vega The Brand Communications School. The IIE assumes ultimate responsibility for academic leadership and governance of all programmes offered. This includes programme development and review, monitoring of quality and individual site capacity, quality assurance and continuous assessment of all programmes, as well as final certification