Tag: education

“Supporting an unemployed person with a public works job far outweighs its cost” according to ex-deputy director-general of National Treasury, Andrew Donaldson. Experts with a deep understanding of economics, our country and its policy history, from Andrew Donaldson to Kate Philip, the lead on the Presidential Employment Stimulus, are calling for an expansion of socially and economically productive public works programmes.

We live in a time of great change, fuelled by rapid growth and unprecedented access to technology. Even Artificial Intelligence (AI), which seemed like science fiction just a couple decades ago, is now accessible in the palm of your hand through applications like ChatGPT for content creation, or Midjourney for image generation.

The book explores how declining fertility rates globally will lead to a shrinking workforce, and more importantly, to a reduced number of “essential workers”, which could massively disrupt everyday lives. Essential jobs maintain the structure that upholds society – think of plumbers, truck drivers, healthcare workers and farmworkers – and when these workers are in short supply, society could start to fray.

Emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) are changing every industry and sector, including education. If students are to take advantage of AI, it’s essential they are exposed to it early and taught how to harness it. The changing educational landscape, accelerated by the pandemic, offers an opportunity to enhance inclusion and accessibility through AI technology.

The book provides a synthesis of the model that was used to launch the National Education Collaboration Trust (NECT) – a multi-stakeholder collaboration model and the role of enabling instruments like social capital, national heritage, and networking in operationalising partnerships between public and private sector role players – with the aim to drive education improvement.

As more people choose vaping as an alternative to smoking, discussions surrounding its regulation and taxation have become hot-button issues worldwide, and South Africa is no exception. One prevalent topic is the idea of raising taxes on vaping products.

At the current rate of progress, the World Economic Forum says it will take 102 years to close the gender gap in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is therefore vital to ensure girls have equal opportunities not only in the workplace but in school to accelerate closing the gender gap.

As we celebrate Women’s Month in South Africa, it is essential to reflect on the incredible women who have been trailblazers in breaking barriers and attaining leadership positions across various industries. Women have defied societal norms, shattered glass ceilings, and proven time and again that they are a force to be reckoned with.

We are working towards developing a new breed of entrepreneurs, one that’s future fit, disruptive, and geared to solving the challenges of an increasingly complex world. As South Africa considers the challenges and opportunities facing our youth, there has never been a greater need for inclusive entrepreneurship.

Despite getting a bad rap in the past, millennials – defined as those born between 1981 – 1986 – are now all grown up. And, for an age group that was once unfairly dubbed the most narcissistic generation of all time, they’re actually pretty good parents.