The Services Sector Education and Training Authorities (Seta) and South Africa's largest online retailer Takealot have launched an ambitious three-year R103-million initiative to train 20,000 young people in e-commerce and the digital economy.
Services Seta, which is currently under administration, has committed the money, which will see participants being exposed to different ways of earning a living including personal shopping, driver development, marketplace selling and workplace learning.
At the launch of the initiative at the Ekurhuleni West College’s Katlehong campus, Higher Education and Training Minister Buti Manamela said the government has been mandated by President Cyril Ramaphosa to drive the skills revolution.
“That essentially means every training must lead to employment or entrepreneurship and we cannot do that outside partnerships with industry, people who should open up their workplaces so that we place students to get the experience,” Manamela said.
He added: “One of the things young people get told is that ‘yes, you went university or TVET College but you don’t have the experience’. This gives experiential learning and as it goes on it will have to expand”.
Manamela said while it was a drop in the ocean, it is part of many other interventions.
“Collectively, Setas have put together up to R4 billion and the ultimate target is more than 200,000 young people who are going to be part of these programmes and this will not just be in e-commerce and digital skills,” he explained.
Manamela promised that the programmes will also be in a range of skills, green jobs, artisans, apprentices and young people who are at TVET Colleges should be able to take this advantage.
He pleaded with employers to open their workplaces.
“If you say you are going to train someone in engineering, let’s not find them making tea for you. If you want someone to make tea, ask for someone to make tea, there are also learnerships and programmes for that,” Manamela said.
He also called on employers to employ the learners that are placed as this is the only measure of success.
“We are going to be doing many more of these programmes and we are quite happy with some of the employers who have come on board and we want to call on more of them to join these types of programmes because this is the skills revolution that the president spoke about,” added Manamela.
He said Services Seta and Takealot have designed the programme in order for participants to obtain various skills as well as post-training support such as placements and business opportunities.
Services Seta administrator Lehlogonolo Masoga said the entity saw the partnership with Takealot as a pilot project.
“If it succeeds over the next 12 to 36 months, we’ll then find a way of increasing those resources that we have allocated to Takealot so that we create many more opportunities for our young people,” he said.
According to Masoga, the programme will be constantly monitored and evaluated.
One of Manamela’s deputies, Yusuf Cassim, said the department signed a strategic memorandum of understanding with Takealot aimed at strengthening the connection between education, skills development, workplace experience and employment.
He praised the efforts of his predecessor, former DA MP Dr Mimmy Gondwe, for creating an important foundation for the partnership with Takealot.
Gondwe was removed after the DA federal congress in April triggered a reshuffle of its ministers and deputy ministers serving in the Government of National Unity in June.
“There is a famous quote that says that ‘a society grows great when people plant trees under whose shade they won’t sit’ and I would like us to recognise the efforts of Dr Mimmy Gondwe, who had initially brought Takealot to the table by giving her a round of applause,” Cassim said.