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/ 24 April 2007

Tapping into the tourism trade

Tourism is a top economic performer in South Africa, but there are growing concerns that the country will not be able to deliver the necessary skills to further boost the industry, especially with the 2010 Soccer World Cup approaching. According to South African Tourism CEO Moeketsi Mosola, the skills shortage is the biggest challenge facing the sector.

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/ 24 April 2007

Is South Africa ready to produce biofuels?

While South Africa is planning to increase biofuels production, some experts warn the move may hurt subsistence farmers and cause more hunger in impoverished areas of the country. Proponents in the United States and Brazil say biofuels such as maize-based ethanol is a clean energy alternative that comes from resources that are renewable.

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/ 24 April 2007

Creating new opportunities

The government’s Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa has identified skilled artisans and vocational skills as critical for sustained economic growth. The new curriculum for further education and training colleges that will lead to National Certificate (Vocational) qualifications is a comprehensive and coordinated response to this skills development agenda.

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/ 24 April 2007

Passing the buck, not the Bill

Business Unity South Africa has voiced grave concerns about the delays in passing the Immigration Bill, warning that this could derail government’s multimillion-rand infrastructure programmes. Changes to the Immigration Amendment Bill, aimed at easing obstacles in the importation of scarce skills to deal with the increasing demand on the country’s infrastructure development, were approved by the National Assembly in November last year.

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/ 24 April 2007

Focusing on further education

One million further education and training (FET) college students by 2014 — this is the target of the department of education in its quest to create skills in South Africa. FET colleges have become a major thrust in the government’s plans for skills development since 2004.

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/ 24 April 2007

Mismanagement of funds plagues many of SA’s Setas

A skills shortage in South Africa has been identified as one of the critical constraints to economic growth and employment creation. In its effort to address the problem, the government established the sector education and training authorities in 2000 with the aim to assist in fighting poverty, boosting job creation and fulfilling equity employment targets.