SSACI:A Public-Private

Partnership in SkillsDevelopmentDevelopment

inSouth Africa

The SSACI Partnership

Founded in 2001 byFounded in 2001 bySDC & SwissSDC & Swiss

corporates in SAcorporates in SA

TacklesTacklesunemploymentunemploymentby improvingby improvingskills trainingskills training

systemsystem

Focus onFocus onintermediateintermediate--levellevel

technical skillstechnical skillssystemsystem

WorksWorksthroughthrough

partnershipspartnershipsbetweenbetweenpublic &public &

private sectorprivate sector

Funded byFunded bycorporatecorporate

donors, SDCdonors, SDC& SA& SA govmtgovmt

Initiates &Initiates &managesmanages

projects thatprojects that“prime the“prime the

pump”pump”

SSACI as a "system enabler":

Inform policydevelopment

Who we work with:

SpecialisedAgencies

GovmtDepts

“The system”SSACI

Co- implementors

Service-providers

SETAs Institutions

Publicprogrammes

“The system”SSACIService-providers

Funders

The national skills training system

Apprenticeships

Universities ofTechnology

(formerly technikons)

Universities

General education (up to Gr 9)

Apprenticeships&

LearnershipsTVET Colleges,

(Up to NQF Level 4)Academic High Schools

(up to Gr 12)

Education & the labour market

Of vacant jobs in the country in 2011:

• 48% required a HE qualification

• 20% required a vocational qualification

• 15% required a Grade 12 certificate

There is therefore a strong correlationbetween education and employment:

• completing secondary school almost doublesthe likelihood of finding a job

• completing tertiary qualification more thantrebles it

Some characteristics of SA education

• High levels of enrolment:

o 93% of all children enrol for Gr 1; 68% of all children reach Gr 9(first official exit-point)

o Equal enrolment of boys and girls in all grades

• High level of public spending:• High level of public spending:

o 20% of total state expenditure (OECD average = 13%)

o 7% of GDP (OECD average = 5.8%)

o 70% of all pupils (Gr 0-12) pay no fees

• Low through-put and quality

o After Gr 9, pass-rates fall steeply

o 2012 World Competitiveness Index rated SA 84th out of 142countries on HE and training, and 132nd on primary education

System throughputOf 1’240’000 learners whostarted Grade 1 in publicschools in 1999:

• 40% (496’000) wrote ‘matric’(Gr12) exams in 2011

• 28% (348’000) passed

Of students who start the 3-year national vocationalcertificate in public FETcolleges:

• 4% passed in 2009

• 8% passed in 2010

• 10% (121’000) qualified forhigher education

• 12% passed in 2011

• 25% passed in 2012

The average throughputrate in higher education is50%

The average throughputrate in apprenticeships andoccupational trainingcourses is 50%

A cluttered institutional landscape

DHET

VCET SkillsHigher

Education

50 x publicTVET

17 xUniversities

SAQA NSA

Umalusi

CHE

NSF

21 x Sector Education &Training Authorities

(SETAs)

SACPO

TVETColleges

CET Colleges

Universities

6 x UTs

CHE

QCTO

NAMB

NBFET HRDCSA

SAAoC

SAIVCET?

6 xMinisterial

TaskTeams

9 x TaskTeams

Systemic chellenges

Confused objectives

Incoherent policies

Dismantledsystems

Weakadministration

The youth unemployment problem

Lack of marketable skillsToo few jobToo few job

opportuntitiesbeing created

[±500’000 p.a.]

Large numbers entering job market (±800’000 p.a.]

Unemployment Rates Compared

[Figures represent averages for 2011 & 2012from EuroStat & ILOStat websites]

What’s government doing?

• National Skills Development Strategy, 2011-2016:

o Overhaul of processes within VET system

o Strong emphasis on TVET colleges & SETAs

• National Skills Accord (July 2011):• National Skills Accord (July 2011):

o Agreement by govmt & private sector on joint actiontowards specific targets for apprenticeships & otherworkplace-based training

• Green Paper on Post-School Education &Training (January 2012)

o Systemic overhaul of DHET structures & functions

SSACI’s Current interventionsStudent work

experience (includingintegrated

assessment)

Lecturer workplaceexposure

Internships forcollege graduates

s

TVET CollegeSystem

SwissCham“College(s) ofExcellence”

college graduates

AcceleratedApprenticeships

Dual-Systemapprenticeships

Engineering Trade Skills forEmployment

ApprenticeshipSystem

Excellence”

WIL is central to SSACI projectsIntegration of formallearning into workplaceactivities…

incorporating:

• Incremental, productive• Incremental, productivetasks

• Within normal companyprocesses

• Under “real-life”conditions

• To profitable ends

Current Project: workplace experience forcollege students & lecturers

SSACIprogrammemandatory

for all publiccolleges

New nationalframeworkwritten by

SSACI

Current Project: Internships for college graduates

New nationalprogramme

developed bySSACI adopted

by MerSETA

Current Project: New models of artisan apprenticeships

New ‘fast-track’

programmefor SMEs

Pilot of Swiss‘Dual system’

National Skills Accord refers to 6 types:

1. Apprenticeships

2. Learnerships

3. Skills programmes

How companies can promote WIL

3. Skills programmes

4. Internships*

5. Workplace experience for university and FETcollege students*

6. Workplace exposure for FET college lecturers*

[*Non-standardised types]

What’s in it for employers?

Potential source of future trainees, apprentices& employees

SETA grants

Tax breaks Tax breaks

Points on BBBEE scorecard

PR value

Expresses good corporate citizenship for “triplebottom line” sustainability reporting

What are the problems with CIPs?

Traditional college-industry relationshipsdeclined with apprenticeships, so:

Few college staff have industry experience

Company managers know little about colleges ortheir curricula

Curricula insufficiently aligned with industry Curricula insufficiently aligned with industry

Complex college administrations (multi-campuses & departments)

Cultural differences between colleges &industry (e.g. calendar, work-day, management)

No central DHET support for partnerships

Learners crave practical experience & riseto opportunities

WBE very demanding of time, organisation& resources

WBE needs to be structured & integrated

Lessons for Colleges

WBE needs to be structured & integratedinto core curriculum (timetabling, tasks,assessment)

Need to make business case to companies

College staff need to be more informedabout demands of industry, flexible indelivery & attuned to business culture

Address core business and core curriculum

Have clearly-defined objectives

Start small but grow annually

Be long-term (>3yrs)

Partnerships with colleges should:

Be long-term (>3yrs)

Be developed at management and workshoplevel

Involve exchanges of information, personnel &capacity (not just transfer of money or equipment)

Be documented, for institutional memory &learning

Colleges need help (manual/training?) toinitiate & manage partnerships with industry,esp. regarding objectives, roles,responsibilities & expectations

Legal liability needs to be resolved urgently

Lessons for DHET

Legal liability needs to be resolved urgently

College staff require much more exposureto current industry practice

College staff need to be encouraged toundertake development of NCV

FETCs & NCV need to be marketed toindustry (& some college staff)

NCV can deliver much-needed skills

Will do so if teachers & learners get WBE

Partnerships with colleges should:

Lessons for Companies

be long-term (>3yrs)

involve INSET & exchange of information (not justtransfer of equipment)

be built at workshop and management level

Partnerships work best when aimed atcommon good rather than individual interest

email: shanita@ssaci.org.za or visit www.ssaci.org.za

Thank you!