Need to develop skills for digitally driven future in Nelson Mandela Bay

The Herald

2 days ago

It was estimated as far back as 2017 that 85% of the jobs that will exist in 2030 have not even been invented yet.
The clock is ticking towards 2030 — are we prepared with the skills to fill new digitally driven jobs for which we don't even have job descriptions yet, in industries that don't exist yet?
We already know that SA has a severe shortage of high-level technical skills, particularly in IT-related and engineering fields.
The extent of the skills mismatch has been estimated at 50% — in other words, half of work-seekers don't have the skills needed in today's job market.
The challenge of preparing for a job that doesn't yet exist is heightened by the rapid pace of digital disruption.
The reality is that a student who entered a degree programme this year in engineering, for example, may not have the skills needed in industry when they graduate in four years' time.
This is not to say that the tertiary qualification in which the graduate invested serves no purpose.
They will be schooled in the science and principles of the discipline they plan to enter and will have been exposed to workplace learning experiences and industry experts.
However, they may lack the hands-on technical skills required in a job that has developed faster than curriculum development in the education system can keep pace with.
The report by the Institute for the Future and Dell Technologies referred to in the introduction forecasts that the rapid pace of change means employees of the future will be continuously exposed to skills training and retraining, not in the institutional sense as we know it, but real time, 'in the moment' learning driven by technologies such as virtual reality and tailored AI-assisted content.
The ability to learn and acquire new knowledge will be more valuable than the knowledge itself, the report says.
While a tertiary qualification provides an essential foundation, we see the future in industry-led skills development, where companies and industry bodies collaborate in developing the real time on-the-job training that develops the skills they need to keep pace with rapidly advancing production technology.
It makes no sense that industry regularly reports struggling to fill vacancies for technically skilled positions, while we have an unemployment crisis and a particularly severe youth unemployment rate of over 50%.
The Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator, our partner in the Business Chamber Skills Desk, points out that despite economic growth over the past 16 years, there are fewer young people employed now than there were in 2008.
The availability of an appropriately skilled talent pool is a key factor for new investors, and we need to be attracting new investment to drive job creation.
Beyond investment to drive economic growth, we need youth-specific interventions and demand-led skills development if we are to fill the gaps in critical skills shortages and the mismatch between qualifications and industry needs.
It has thus been exciting to see the rollout over the past few weeks of one of the first initiatives of the Skills Development Desk to support industry-led skills development.
The business chamber is managing the Eastern Cape Youth Empowerment Programme which is training 50 unemployed youth as digital process technicians — a job that did not exist a year ago.
The initiative is supported by auto manufacturer Stellantis, which is developing a new assembly plant at Coega and will be establishing the very jobs that these new skills will be trained to fill in an increasingly digital and automated global manufacturing sector.
Industrial automation specialists Jendamark are providing the training on their cutting-edge automation technology, and the participants are now in their fourth week of hands-on training in the year-long programme.
The training in virtual systems maintenance is complemented by mentorship and the chamber's Entrepreneurship Desk is supporting the development of entrepreneurial skills, as well as the 'soft skills' that are essential in industry alongside technical skills — qualities such as adaptability, working collaboratively, leadership and emotional intelligence.
The critical end goal is employment, and a number of local manufacturers have signed on to recruit the participants for workplace experience once they have completed their training.
This is the kind of partnership we need to drive meaningful change and equip young people with in-demand skills and direct access to the job market.
It's a first of its kind, and we plan for it to be the first of many as we upskill people to meet the investment potential of the Bay of Opportunity. Denise van Huyssteen is chief executive officer of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber
The Herald