Tag: B-BBEE scorecard

Emerging technologies must be integrated into learnerships to equip our youth for the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR). Equipping our youth with tech-based skills is non-negotiable, and educators must integrate the emerging 4IR technologies into their training programmes. This is the only way that we can prepare our future workforce and ensure that businesses can access the skills they require for global relevance.

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).

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.

In the landscape of South Africa's corporate engagement within rural and peri-urban communities, a recurring narrative persists: a bias towards non-core Enterprise and Supplier Development (ESD) programmes and interventions overshadows the essential need for holistic, forward-thinking ESD strategies to boost small business growth.

There is a serious skills gap in South Africa regarding IT talent, which is only growing as technology evolves. A lack of skilled resources can be a significant obstacle in achieving organisational objectives, and without sufficient IT skills, South Africa will fall behind on a global stage.

Earlier this year, President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Employment Equity Amendment Act into law. While the proclamation of the implementation date is still pending, the Minister of Employment and Labour can establish equity targets for various economic sectors as well as prescribe demographic targets for designated employers (companies with 50+ employees).

When we think about the human right to education, we often think about it as relating to children. We imagine children starting their school career at a young age and being supported as they progress through the years. Ultimately emerging from the system as young adults who have the capacity either to study further or to find employment. This is their right. It’s enshrined in the constitution.

Change, like death and taxes, is inevitable, and the last couple of years of the COVID-19 pandemic have brought global changes inconceivable before. Meeting clients, friends and family online for a quick Zoom catch-up (I don’t think I’d ever attended a virtual meeting before COVID-19), working remotely (previously, that was almost unheard of, and only for the lucky few), and having to, if you’ll excuse the cliché, pivot to make yourself and your business relevant in this new world are just a few examples of change many of us have had to cope with.

When the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Act was introduced in 2003, the goal was to meet specific economic transformation goals by creating an environment where more black persons could be part of the ownership, management, procurement, and skills development process to drive socio-economic development.

Many South African businesses have been struggling since the initial COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020. While the economy has seen slight improvements from last year, conditions remain uncertain and unstable. Many businesses are struggling to balance the need to stay afloat with the desire not to retrench any further staff.