Education & Training

In the wake of COVID-19 and the accelerated digitisation of financial services, the gap between South Africans who have highly developed financial literacy and those with little or none has not just widened – it has taken on new dimensions.  The consequences for South African society are dire.

The rush to enrol at universities and colleges is just about over. But by December, about 60% of the students who enrolled this year will drop out. With the dropout rate will go the career dreams of many, hard-earned savings, and the realisation that student loans will now have to be repaid.

The South African skills development landscape is undergoing a significant transformation with the enrolment end-date of “legacy” qualifications “scheduled for 30 June 2024. Employers will no longer be able to registers learners on legacy qualifications not yet aligned to the Occupational Qualifications Sub-Framework (OQSF).

South Africa is at a crossroads of a significant educational and vocational transition as it shifts from the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) to the Occupational Qualifications Sub Framework (OQSF) managed by the Quality Council for trades and Occupations (QCTO).

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been comprehensively embraced in the private sector in South Africa in less than a year, but more must be done to ensure that the public sector – and especially students in public schools and universities – are also empowered and prepared for the future world of work.

Spare a thought for educators. Artificial intelligence (AI) has made their jobs harder, particularly when spotting plagiarism and corner-cutting among learners. Yet, AI also offers new opportunities for educators to do more with less and create new engagement within their classes.

For most South African businesses, the skills development component of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) scorecard is one of the most challenging and costly elements to deliver on. However, by strategically combining employed and unemployed learnerships, businesses can secure the most points for the least money spent, while achieving the best return on their training and skills development investment.

Strategic business planning in South Africa needs a forward-thinking approach so when it comes to cultivating a skilled workforce, there is one action that repeatedly delivers - the inclusion of learnerships into Workplace Skills Programmes (WSP) and Annual Training Reports (ATR).

Gender inequality is still rampant throughout society and in the workplace, it can take on many forms -  disparity in promotions, unequal pay and less leadership roles. While this is often the case in big corporations and civil society, we should also be turning a lens towards the education sector, where gender inequality is even more pronounced.

The world is in a permanent state of change amid technology, economy, consumer and climate change demands. Although there have been remarkable leaps in automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI), company leaders will continue to need highly skilled talent to meet their business needs.