Appendix 1 ICT Sector SWOT
Note: This document has been set up for double-sided printing
The Media, Information and
Communication Technologies
Sector Education and Training
Authority
Draft Sector Skills Plan
2012 –2017
September 2011
Version 2.0
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Other Strategic Considerations
Purpose of the Sector Skills Plan
The MICT Seta SSP Target Audience
The MICT Sector Company Profile
The MICT Sector Employment Profile
MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011 Page i
Labour Market Trends and Projections
Sector Specific Skills Development Needs 59
Trends in the Demand for ICT Skills 70
Formal Qualifications and Providers
Assessment of Graduate Skills from Formal Education Institutions
Simplification of the MICT Seta Processes and Information
The MICT Seta Employee Database
Trends in the Supply of ICT Skills
Supply of ICT Skills versus Demand for ICT Skills
Page ii MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011
FOREWORD
South Africa has moved into the third phase of its National Skills Development Strategy, known as NSDS III. It is with confidence that the MICT Seta feels that it will continue to service its stakeholders as well as it has in the past.
Notwithstanding the hurdles that must be cleared as we move forward, the MICT Seta Sector Skills Plan (SSP) for
2012-2017 provides the indicators against which our efforts will be evaluated. The need for technical, professional and management skills is clearly identified and we will work together with employers, providers, government and the community to channel appropriate resources into creating the pool of talent that will meet the need. Integrating this skills plan into our own business plan and those of our partners will provide the formula for success.
The combined efforts from all stakeholders to produce this document are gratefully acknowledged. The following deserves special reference:
Department of Communication on behalf of Government;
The Ministerial representatives on the MICT Seta’s Board;
Industry, via representation on the MICT Seta’s Board;
Organised Labour, also through representation on the MICT Seta’s Board.
Our thanks go to all the stakeholders whose collective wisdom has been incorporated into this document. This sharing of knowledge is the catalyst for reaching South Africa’s potential.
…………………………..
………………………………
Oupa Mopaki
CEO: The MICT Seta
Zandile Mbele
Chairperson of the MICT Seta Board
MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011 Page iii
Abbreviations Used in this Document
NEPAD
NGO
NQF
NSA
NSDS
NSF
OECD
OFO
OGS
PC
PDI
QCTO
SARB
SAQA
GDP
HEMIS
HET
HIV/AIDS
HRD
HSRC
ICASA
ICT
ISOE
IT
ITA
ITAC
JCSE
MICT
NAIRU
CSSA
CWU
DoC
DHET
DoL dti
DTT
DVB-T
EASSy
EE
EIF
ETQA
FET
FOSS
Abbreviation
ABET
ATR
BBBEE
BEE
BER
BITF
BPO
BRIC
CAGR
DBE
CRASA
CSIR
SDF
SDL
Seta
SIC
SME
SMMEs
SSP
Statssa
STB the dti
Description
Adult Basic Education and Training
Annual Training Report
Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment
Black Economic Empowerment
Bureau for Economic Research
Black Information Technology Forum
Business Process Outsourcing
Brazil, Russia, India and China
Compound Annual Growth Rate
Department of Basic Education
Communication Regulators' Association of Southern Africa
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research
Computer Society South Africa
Communication Workers Union
The Department of Communications
The Department of Higher Education and Training
The Department of Labour
Department of Trade and Industry
Digital Terrestrial Television
Digital Video Broadcasting - Terrestrial
Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System
Employment Equity
Electronics Industry Federation
Education and Training Quality Assurance
Further Education and Training (Institution)
Free and Open-Source Software
Gross Domestic Product
Higher Education Management Information System
Higher Education and Training (Institution)
Human Immune Virus / Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
Human Resource Development
Human Sciences Research Council
Independent Communications Authority of South Africa
Information and Communications Technology
Institute of Sectoral Occupational Excellence
Information Technology
The Information Technology Association
Information Technology Acquisition Centre
Joburg Centre for Software Engineering
Media and Information Communications Technologies
Non-Accelerating-Inflation Rate of Unemployment
New Partnership for Africa's Development
Non-Governmental Organisation
National Qualifications Framework
National Skills Agency
National Skills Development Strategies
National Skills Fund
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Organising Framework for Occupations
On-line Grant System (the MICT Seta system for electronic capturing of WSP and ATR data)
Personal Computer
Previously Disadvantaged Individual
Quality Council for Trades and Occupations
South Africa Reserve Bank
South African Qualifications Authority
Skills Development Facilitator
Skills Development Levy
Sector Education Training Authority
Standard Industrial Classification
Small and Micro Enterprises (less than 50 employees in the MICT Seta
’s context)
Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (less than 150 employees in the MICT Seta
’s context)
Sector Skills Plan
Statistics South Africa
Set Top Box
The Department of Trade and Industry
MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011 Page 1
Abbreviation
USAASA
USD
WITSA
WSP
Description
Universal Services and Access Agency of South Africa
United States Dollar
World Information Technology and Services Alliance
Workplace Skills Plan
Page 2 MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011
Layout of this Document
Annexure A in the Document “STRATEGIC PLAN FRAMEWORK FOR THE MTEF PERIOD 2011/12 – 2013/14”, provided to the MICT Seta by DHET, was used as the basis for the layout of this Sector Skills Plan.
This document comprises eight Chapters and six Appendices. The eight Chapters are:
Chapter 1 is the Executive Summary presented below.
Chapter 2 provides the perspective used in developing this SSP.
Chapter 3 focuses primarily on an overview of the national economy and of the MICT Sector. This chapter looks at the size of the MICT Sector in terms of the number of organisations in the sector and the number of employees in the sector segmented by equity factors. Finally, the drivers of change are reviewed.
Chapter 4 presents the sector specific economic performance and outlook, with the emphasis on trends in the MICT Sector. Trends are presented regarding levy contributions and employment in the sector, trends in equity concerns.
Chapter 5 provides insight into sectoral skills development needs. An assessment of stakeholder opinion on the issues facing the MICT Sector is presented.
Chapter 6 provides insight into sectoral skills supply. Qualifications managed by the MICT Seta are presented, and the number of training providers per qualification is presented. In addition, further input of stakeholder opinion regarding skills supply is presented.
Chapter 7 reviews the areas where the MICT Seta can provide contributions to the strategic areas of focus to the NSDS III. Consideration of other government documents, such as the Human Resource
Development Strategy of South Africa, is also taken into account.
Chapter 8 looks at a summary of the sectoral contribution to the Pre sident’s outcomes approach to planning government’s work, based on a review of the DHET’s five year strategy.
Appendices 1 to 5: DHET placed several requirements on the Setas, as specified in their document
“Framework for the National Skills Development Strategy, 2011/12 – 2015/16, First Draft for
Consultation, 29th April 2010 ”. In particular, the Setas were referred to several national policy, strategy and framework documents, the purpose being that the Setas determine where they can contribute to the objectives of these documents. The details of the DHET’s five year strategy review are also provided. As evidence that the review of these documents took place, and to provide an indication of where the MICT Seta feels it can contribute, these findings are presented in the Appendices rather than including that detail in the main body of the SSP.
Appendix 6 presents the full detailed list of scarce and critical skills as required by the Department of
Higher Education and Training (DHET).
MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011 Page 3
1 Executive Summary
The primary purpose of this executive summary is to summarise the main points in this document that need to be considered for the development of the MICT Seta’s strategy for the forthcoming five years.
1.1 Overview of the MICT Sector
1.1.1 Number of Employees in the MICT Sector
The MICT Seta serves five subsectors in its sector. In terms of establishing a baseline for the number of employees in the MICT Sector in 2011, this is estimated at 182 433. The following graph presents the Subsector segmentation of the MICT Sector, segmented by number of employees.
Figure 1: Number of Employees by Subsector, as at 31 st March 2011
Source: The MICT Seta OGS
1.1.2 Equity Considerations
The following table shows that, while the Advertising subsector is ahead in terms of female equity, and the
Electronic Media and Film subsector is close to target, while the remaining subsectors are lagging. All subsectors are severely lagging regarding people with disability.
Table 1: Equity Situation in 2011
Subsector
Advertising
Electronic Media and Film
Electronics
Information Technology
Telecommunications
Grand Total
Source: The MICT Seta OGS
Male Female
Ideal No of
Females
(54%)
3 952 5 295
6 793 6 023
4 993
6 921
18 196 9 131 14 757
51 089 28 716 43 095
33 879 19 359 28 749
Number of People with
Disability
44
125
114
359
202
Ideal No of People with
Disability
(4%)
370
White
4 746
Black
4 501
Ideal No of Black
People
(85%)
7 860
513 3 422 9 394 10 894
1 093 12 848 14 479 23 228
3 192 40 867 38 938 67 834
2 130 18 193 35 045 45 252
113 909 68 524 98 514 844 7 297 80 076 102 357 182 433
The Electronic Media and Film subsector is the closest in terms of achieving equity with Black people, but the remaining subsectors are lagging quite significantly.
The table above provides a snapshot of equity for 2011, while the table below provides insight as to whether there has been any progress toward equity since 2009. Bearing the above comments in mind, from the table below, it can be observed that:
Page 4 MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011
Female equity has been growing/improving in the Advertising, Electronic Media and Film, Electronics and
Telecommunications subsectors, but has declined in the Information Technology subsector due to the growth in Males.
Black people equity has improved in the Electronic Media and Film, Electronics, Information Technology and Telecommunications subsectors, while it has reduced in the Advertising subsector.
Table 2: Change in Gender and Race Equity from 2009 to 2011
Electronic Media and
Film
Subsector
Advertising
Electronics
Gender/
Race 2009
Male
Female
Black
White
4 484
2009 to
2011
CAGR
-6.1%
2011
Change in Equity from 2009 to 2011
3 952 The number of Females decreased but
5 558 -2.4% 5 295 at a lower rate than Males
5 199 -7.0% 4 501 The number of Black people decreased
4 843 -1.0% 4 746 and at a higher rate than Whites
Male
Female
Black
White
Male
Female
Black
White
8 257
9 555
-9.3%
-0.8%
6 793 The number of Females decreased but
6 211 -1.5% 6 023
4 913 -16.5% 3 422 at a lower rate than Males
9 394 The number of Black people decreased but at a much lower rate than Whites
17 851
8 674
1.0% 18 196 The number of Females increased and
2.6% 9 131 at a faster rate than Males
13 193 4.8% 14 479 The number of Black people increased
13 332 -1.8% 12 848 while the number of Whites decreased
Information
Technology
Telecommunications
Male
Black
White
48 520
Female 28 293
36 649
40 164
2.6% 51 089 The number of Females increased but at
0.7% 28 716 a slower rate than Males
3.1% 38 938 The number of Black people increased
0.9% 40 867 and at a higher rate than Whites
Male
Female
34 238 -0.5% 33 879 The number of Females increased and
17 915 4.0% 19 359 at a faster rate than Males
Black
White
34 226
17 927
1.2% 35 045 The number of Black people increased
0.7% 18 193 and at a higher rate than Whites
Sector
Male
Female
Black
White
113 350
66 651
0.2% 113 909 The number of Females increased and
1.4% 68 524 at a faster rate than Males
98 822 1.8% 102 357 The number of Black people increased
81 179 -0.7% 80 076 while the number of Whites decreased
Source: The MICT Seta OGS
The following figure presents the Major Group number of employees in the MICT Sector, segmented by gender.
As may be observed, the sector is very male dominant at the Managerial, Professional and Technician occupational levels.
Figure 2: Major Group by Gender, 2011
Source: The MICT Seta OGS
MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011 Page 5
The following figure presents the Major Group number of employees in the MICT Sector, segmented by race.
Figure 3: Major Group by Race, 2011
Source: The MICT Seta OGS
White people are dominant in the managerial and professional categories.
The trend data received for people with disability is viewed as not being reliable.
The following table shows the percentage of employees under the age of 35 years to total number of employees in each subsector for 2009 and 2011, and the last column shows the compound annual growth rate across the three years, providing an indication of the aging of each subsector. Based on the compound annual growth rate for each subsector, it can be observed that the fastest aging subsector is the Advertising subsector, followed by the
Telecommunications subsector. The Telecommunications and Electronics subsectors comprise the least youth.
Table 3: Ageing in Each Subsector
Subsector
Advertising
Electronic Media and Film
Electronics
Information Technology
Telecommunications
Sector
Source: The MICT Seta OGS
% Under 35
Years Old to Total,
2009
% Under
35 Years
Old to
Total, 2011
60.1%
53.1%
53.5%
51.3%
2009 to
2011 CAGR
-5.6%
-1.8%
42.7%
50.2%
41.9%
47.5%
43.1%
51.3%
39.1%
46.6%
0.4%
1.1%
-3.4%
-0.9%
The following figure presents the Major Group number of employees in the MICT Sector, segmented by age. At the Managerial level, the 35 to 55 year olds strongly outweigh the other two age categories, whereas there is a more equal balance at the Professional and Technician levels.
Page 6 MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011
Figure 4: Major Group by Age, 2011
Source: The MICT Seta OGS
1.1.3 Provincial Considerations
The following figure presents the provincial distribution of employees. This figure provides an indication of how the
MICT Sector employees are distributed around the country.
Figure 5: Provincial Distribution of Employees, 2011
Source: The MICT Seta OGS
In terms of the number of employees, about two-thirds of the employees are employed within Gauteng, followed by the Western Cape at 16%, KwaZulu-Natal at 8% and the Eastern Cape at 3%. The MICT Seta has offices in all four of these provinces.
MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011 Page 7
1.1.4 HIV/AIDS
It is estimated that there are 2 176 employees with HIV/AIDS in the MICT Sector, representing 1.2% of total employment.
1.1.5 Company Participation Target
The DHET requires (by size of stakeholder company measured in terms of number of employees) the MICT Seta to encourage these companies to participate in the skills development process. “Participation” is defined as those levy contributing companies that submit their Annual Training Reports (ATRs) and Workplace Skills Plans (WSPs) to an acceptable standard such that these companies receive their Mandatory Grant payment from the Seta. The following table defines the baseline number of companies, and the target of the number of companies that need to be encouraged to participate, by size of company. This latter criterion will be the target that needs to be addressed in the MICT Seta’s strategy for the forthcoming year 2011/12. These targets will be updated on an annual basis.
Table 4: MICT Company Participation Target for 2011/12
Company Size
Large (150+ Employees)
Medium (50-149 Employees)
Small (1-49 Employees)
Grand Total
Source: The MICT Seta OGS
No of Levy
Paying
Companies
-
Baseline
160
342
2 785
3 287
DHET
Participation
Target
(%)
80%
60%
40%
MICT
Participation
Target
(Number)
128
205
1 114
1 447
1.1.6 Forecast Growth of Skills Development Levies
The MICT Seta will base its 5-year forecasts using the following projections:
Table 5: Forecast Growth within the MICT Sector of Skills Development Levies, and in Employment
Forecast
2011 -
2016
CAGR
2010
(Actual)
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Forecast Real Skills Development Levy (Rands x 1,000)
Forecast CPI (%)
Forecast Skills Development Levy (Current Rands x 1,000)
3.1% 367 508 378 756 390 349 402 297 414 610 427 300 440 379
5.0% 7.4% 7.1% 4.3% 4.3% 4.3%
397 694 440 197 485 881 522 284 561 416 603 479
Forecast Employment 0.4% 182 433 183 251 184 073 184 898 185 727 186 560 187 396
** This data is 70% of the total skills levy contribution made by companies, and represents the amount of mandatory and discretionary funds that can be placed back into skills development by the MICT Seta.
1.2 Drivers of Change
1.2.1 ICT Charter
The perceived implications of the recently drafted ICT Charter are:
Increased involvement of Previously Disadvantaged Individuals (PDIs) in the ICT Sector.
Opportunities for stake holding by PDIs in established businesses.
Improved access to ICT and thus stimulation of economic growth.
However, the concerns are:
Ownership Scorecard: Clause 6 – Point 6.5.
It does not address job creation despite this being a significant national requirement.
It creates favourable conditions for large companies and is anti-transformation.
It creates legal uncertainty. For example, what happens to voting rights if the effective voting rights in the hands of Black people are say 10% and the “deemed voting rights” are now 30%? Are these legal principles of effective ownership now ignored? Do those that have voting rights of say 10% now have an effective voting right of 30%? Could they legally exercise this voting right or are they effectively disempowered in this respect as well? The 25.1% requirement rests on a legal principle that BBBEE shareholders have protection yet no protection seems to be offered here.
It assumes that no matter what the investment, once the cap of R7.5 billion is exceeded then full points in this section are awarded. The motivation that not enough money exists to effect these larger empowerment deals is questionable since larger deals such as SASOL have already happened in South Africa. SASOL is reported to be double the size of the R7.5 Billion we cap here. Other large empowerment deals will be
Page 8 MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011
necessary for other large listed companies. Once this clause is accepted by the dti, all other large deals empowerment will seek similar favourable terms, setting back empowerment in South Africa.
Skills Development Scorecard: Clause 2 – Points 2.1.1
No provision has been made in the scorecard for skills development expenditure within a company that complies with international requirements and standards which do not comply with SAQA requirements.
Large vendors in the IT industry supply sector specific skills via specific international qualifications.
No provision has been made for any elearning programmes that would help develop employees’ skill base.
No provision has been made for unemployed graduates.
Recommendations include:
International certification and qualifications should be recognized by the Charter and contribute towards the
Scorecard. Most of these are delivered through e-learning.
In the ICT Sector, e-learning programmes or certifications, being the dominant form of technical training, should be counted towards the Scorecard.
Internships should be encouraged with the enhanced 1.25 multiple to encourage job creation. To ensure high level skills are being created, bursars with firm employment offers after graduation should also count towards the multiple. This will encourage the correct and desired behaviour.
Include elearning under sections “B” and “F” institutional based theoretical instruction and occupationally directed informal instructional programmes respectively in the delivery mode.
1.2.2 The National e-Skills Plan of Action
The National e-Skills Plan of Action covers a wide range of e-Skilling; the document comes up with five (5) areas of actions highlighted below:
Completing the NeSPA in ways that build on the collaborative multi-stakeholder processes used thus far.
Developing a research network that is locally, nationally, continentally and internationally relevant to policy development, service delivery, HRD and socio-economic needs within the context of a development state.
Establishing a pilot of 9 (one per province) e-Skills Knowledge Centre Network hubs in association with
HET Institutions. These pilots need to provide a space for a multi-stakeholder (Government, Business,
Education and Civil Society/Labour) based approach to HRD for Knowledge Societies that can develop equitable prosperity and global competiveness in the emerging dynamics of a developmental state in South
Africa.
Developing a transfer pricing mechanism that provides useful access to the benefits of ICTs across the socio-economic divide cf. electricity and water charging policies.
Developing a sectoral approach to e-skilling that not only enhances capacity within the existing labour market but also builds opportunity for efficacy within existing systems and develops new paradigms suited to the needs of a modern world. The experiences of South Korea and the Basque region of Spain provide examples of immediately implementable processes.
1.2.3 The Department of Communications (DoC)
As recently stated by the Minister o f Communications, “ Since 2007, the ICT market has grown by over R131 billion to R179 billion in 2010. It is estimated that the sector will grow to R187 billion in 2011, with an estimated figure of
R250 billion by 2020 ”.
The DoC will be proceeding with:
A new digital broadcasting landscape and a review of the current broadcasting policy landscape.
Continued expansion of community broadcasting.
Acceleration of broadband infrastructure spending.
Optimising the frequency spectrum.
Support to state owned entities.
1.3 Scarce and Critical Skills
The following table summarises the top ten scarce skill requirements for each subsector for the next three years.
MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011 Page 9
Table 6: Top Ten Scarce Skill Requirements for Each Subsector
Advertising
Sales Representative (Business Services)
Copywriter
Advertising Specialist
Graphic Pre-press Trades Worker
Art Director (Film, Television or Stage)
Multimedia Designer
Advertising and Public Relations Manager
Sales and Marketing Manager
Artistic Director
Multimedia Specialist
Need - 1st April
2011 to 31st
March 2014
352
53
49
48
33
32
25
17
17
13
13
Electronics
Electronics Engineer
Developer Programmer
Electrical Engineer
ICT Project Manager
Computer Network and Systems Engineer
Mechanical Engineer
Telecommunications Network Engineer
ICT Customer Support Officer
Software Engineer
Marketing Practitioner
Need - 1st April
2011 to 31st
March 2014
751
92
68
68
68
52
50
35
30
24
23
Electronic Media and Film
Radio Presenter
Radio Journalist
Accountant (General)
Film and Television Production Manager
Media Producer
Sound Technician
Corporate General Manager
Finance Manager
Senior Government Manager
Advertising Specialist
Need - 1st April
2011 to 31st
March 2014
398
75
37
36
28
27
21
19
16
14
13
Information Technology
Developer Programmer
ICT Business Analyst
ICT Sales Representative
ICT Customer Support Officer
Analyst Programmer
Outbound Contact Centre Consultant
ICT Systems Test Engineer
Software Engineer
Data Entry Operator
Database Administrator
Need - 1st April
2011 to 31st
March 2014
4058
1099
291
201
198
173
159
158
156
124
112
Telecommunications
Electronic Instrument Trades Worker (General)
Computer Network and Systems Engineer
ICT Customer Support Officer
Sales Representative (Business Services)
Telecommunications Network Engineer
IT Teacher (Grades 10 - 12)
ICT Business Analyst
Developer Programmer
ICT Project Manager
Accountant (General)
Source: The MICT Seta OGS
Need - 1st April
2011 to 31st
March 2014
1387
214
207
129
101
82
70
58
52
50
46
The following table summarises the top ten critical skill requirements for each subsector for the next three years.
Table 7: Top Ten Critical Skill Requirements for Each Subsector
Advertising
Specialised advertising computer training
MAC Indesign, Illustrator, Photoshop
Soft Skills (Presentations, Problem Solving, Time
Management, Communication)
ICT Technical Skills
Copy writing
Art Directing
Advertising
Finance (Knowledge, Management, Modelling, Strategy)
Flash CS4, Action Script 2.0, 3.1
Unspecified
Need - 1st
April 2011 to 31st
March 2014
255
65
43
43
20
13
13
11
11
10
8
Electronic Media and Film
Internal mentoring; international exposure
Photographic techniques, lighting techniques.
Video and Sound Recording; Social Media
Specific Process Knowledge
Direct Sales
Business Development, Sales, Marketing
Leadership/Management
HR (Job Descriptions, Matching Pay to Performance,
Performance Management
Social Media
Soft Skills (Presentations, Problem Solving, Time
Management, Communication)
Need - 1st
April 2011 to 31st
March 2014
304
65
28
24
21
21
21
15
11
10
10
Page 10 MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011
Need - 1st
April 2011 to 31st
March 2014
969 Electronics
Electronics (Altium FPGA, Electronic Warfare,
Embedded Design, zSmartfusion FPGA)
Electrical Engineering (Embedded C Programming,
Security Solutions, Electrical Reticulation)
Specific Product Knowledge
Java, .Net, C#, WCF, Silverlight, Progress, Multi Media,
Informix 4GL
ICT Technical Skills
Sales, Business Acumen
Chemical Engineering
Voice & data communication
ICT Skills, End User Computing (Excel)
79
75
69
Software Development 27
Information Technology
CCNA, CCNP, Cisco, Citrix, Linux, Novel, Windows 7,
Windows Server 2007/8, MS Exchange Server 2010,
MCITP, MySQL, VMWare, X-Layer, Tibco, Zachman,
Solutions Architecture (Alfresco, Documentum, MS
SharePoint, Pentaho), Telecomms Converged Skills
Advanced ABAP, Advanced WebDynpro, Business
Objects and Tuxedo, c#, Flash,Testing, C++, Visual
Borland, Perl, CAMMS, Apps, Database and Web
Interface, Delphi, ASP, E-Commerce, GIS, Java, Object
Oriented, CACHE, PHP, PRINCE2, .Net, MCSD, Python,
QA, ISTQB-ISEB, RPG, SAP, SharePoint (with C#),
Silverlight, Architecture, Telspace Web Application
Security, Voice and Data Comms, Webshere, Joomla,
Networking
Business Acumen, Business Analysis, Project
Management, BI, Business Process Models, Negotiation,
Faciltation, Business Writing, Communication, Stress
Management
Need - 1st
April 2011 to 31st
March 2014
4 112
552
497
326
66
55
54
53
42
38
Java, .Net, C#, WCF, Silverlight, Progress, Multi Media,
Informix 4GL
ICT Technical Skills
Soft Skills (Presentations, Problem Solving, Time
Management, Communication)
Proposals, purchase orders, quotations, requisitions, customer service, conflict resolution, report writing, supplier management
ICT Skills, End User Computing (Excel)
ICT Technical Skills, Testing
Sales, Business Acumen
321
219
214
200
145
132
104
Telecommunications
Leadership/Management
Data and voice telecommunications
Networking
CCNA, CCNP, Cisco, Citrix, Linux, Novel, Windows 7,
Windows Server 2007/8, MS Exchange Server 2010,
MCITP, MySQL, VMWare, X-Layer, Tibco, Zachman,
Solutions Architecture (Alfresco, Documentum, MS
SharePoint, Pentaho), Telecomms Converged Skills
Altiris, FileNet, IP Network Architecture, Solutions
Architecture, Mainframe Engineering Technical Support,
Siebel Support, OSS/BSS, Tivoli, VMWare, Mctip, Right
Fax, Server Virtualisation, Windows XP
ICT Technical Skills
Prince 2, PMBOK, PMI certification, Anaysis, Teamwork,
Communication, Scrum and Agile Development, Data
Management, Management, Customer Service
International Microsoft certification
Telecommunications Engineering
Digital Terrestrial Television
Need - 1st
April 2011 to 31st
March 2014
1 397
219
102
100
100
97
90
83
75
70
69
1.4 Other Strategic Considerations
1.4.1 Training Interventions
The Seta can play a role in developing relevant training intervention qualifications and programmes.
Where the MICT Seta may be able to contribute to skills development, without Sector stakeholders necessarily assisting, is:
By encouraging institutions of learning to achieve a sufficient balance of technical / theoretical knowledge with practical application to ensure readiness for technical roles in the MICT Sector.
By increasing the uptake and usage of ICTs and intensifying skills development programs amongst unemployed, with a view also on youth in the rural areas.
Changes in technology need to be addressed. Since not all qualifications are obtainable locally, this hinders skills development due to costs of sending people abroad. Peripheral areas around the ICT environment such as
Information and Knowledge Management need attention.
MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011 Page 11
With regard to the content of training interventions, CV writing, presentation skills, mathematical skills, communication skills, technical ability, interview techniques and etiquette, covering letters, time-keeping, dress code, and language and grammar skills need to be addressed.
Some of the more specific skills are copywriting skills, art direction and design, media skills, Customer Relations
Management, digital skills, IT Security, ESM specialists or security specialists, and off shoring, with a focus on
Service Desk skills.
Many of these issues could be addressed at school in the Life Orientation learning subject. Since it is evident that employers see this as a need, this could be included in workplace learning programmes.
1.4.2 Access into the MICT Sector
Youngsters, and in particular women, do not appear to be attracted to the ICT Sector. The Sector and the MICT
Seta need to embark on an awareness programme, inclusive of rural areas, that will inform potential candidates on the opportunities in the sector. The MICT Seta produces an annual Career Opportunities Guide, based on the
Scarce and Critical Skills in the Sector, and distributes this guide to secondary schools and tertiary institutions, as well as exhibiting at exhibitions when the occasion arises. It is suggested that sector stakeholders also become involved in more exhibitions to make scholars aware of career choices.
Several suggestions include:
Provision of bursaries.
Sponsored placement for work experience.
Training in technology and computer skills.
Sponsored learnerships in the industry.
Funding an upliftment programme.
Determine the correct entry level requirement that fits the job. There must be an entry level standard.
Provide more funding for employers to host learners , as it is getting expensive to pay learners’ salaries, transport and food without them being fully productive.
Bridging programmes.
Stricter control of quality of education and training at grass roots level (especially in rural areas). The MICT
Seta does make some contribution in this area, but this is an issue that needs to be addressed by the formal education institutions.
1.4.3 Success and Progression in the MICT Sector
Several additional suggestions were presented by respondents which could assist candidate success in the sector, many requiring stakeholder/MICT Seta interaction. These are:
Continued up-skilling, courses and re-fresher courses in new technologies. Access to forums where learners can pose questions/problems. Constant reinforcement.
Above-average language and writing skills; excellent presentation skills and good CV-writing abilities.
Workplace experience and bridging programmes.
Careful selection, continued encouragement and suitable mentoring.
Mentorship and coaching of learners from experts within the sponsor company.
Seta could consider sponsoring further training in the workplace where on an alternating method, the employer is responsible for paying for 1 training intervention / qualification and when the employer proves to the MICT Seta they have paid for one session, Seta could then sponsor the next training session for a further qualification, this should not be restricted to Black employees. On this point of equity, it should be noted that the MICT Seta has set equity criteria for training interventions that it sponsors, which are 85%
Black, 15% White, 54% Female and 4% People with Disability.
Employers providing proper career path and succession planning, followed by required training and coaching.
Manage expectations of entry-level learners.
Business acumen, coaching and fast track programs for specialist and managerial roles.
With regard to progression, suggestions presented, over and above those presented above and many again requiring stakeholder/MICT Seta interactions include:
Constant reskilling.
Provision of general business, communication and management skills.
Sponsorship for further studies in the chosen field of expertise e.g. Marketing, Creative Design,
Entertainment Management, Content Management, etc.
The Seta should cooperate with and promote awareness of professional bodies to provide a series of professional qualifications for the working practitioner.
Page 12 MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011
Mentoring and coaching programmes. This should focus both on the personal development through career advice but also incorporate the rewarding of companies and individuals for studying further with Seta grants and possibly tax incentives for the individual.
Career and development frameworks that span the industry.
Seta-registered skills programmes for senior management and specialists, particularly for equity transformation.
1.4.4 New Ventures
Suggestions by respondents as to what areas the MICT Seta could note and perhaps embark upon include:
Increase rural presence and development.
Work with incubators such as Bandwidth Barn, the Innovation Hub, SmartXchange and JCSE. The MICT
Seta has in the past collaborated with these organisations.
Assist to develop capacity in FET Colleges.
Publish a notice in the press or other media inviting those embarking on new ventures to come forward.
Then assess and determine ways in which Seta can assist to develop the new ventures.
Fund the education, facilitation of being mentored to be an entrepreneur and companies can identify small businesses that need support and fund them.
Request companies to identify their retrenchees who are interested in running their own small businesses and fund them.
Partner with the professional organisations to promote Continued Professional Development.
Multimedia training in FET Colleges.
Film development.
Production of content.
“Green jobs” initiative to create a “Learnership” and job opportunities in the Sector.
Develop learning programmes for Open Source Software to support the FOSS Policy and the ecosystem.
This can be achieved by directly supporting skills programmes at FET colleges as well as supporting the creation of FOSS curricula for both FET Colleges and high schools.
Create/support a body in SA to accredit FOSS-related courses.
1.4.5 Capacity Building
It was suggested that the MICT Seta encourage formal educational institutions and training providers to include strong workplace experience components into educational institution qualifications. The Seta should also consider providing grants for research projects and funding for relevant conferences, study tours, seminars and workshops, overseas secondments, attendance of film markets and other industry exhibitions. It was also suggested that the
Seta increase its rural presence in order to provide skilled resources in outlying areas. Software development learnerships should become a focus. In addition, the following tactiocs should be considered:
FETs, HETs
Inform private and public FET and HET institutions, learners and the broader MICT Sector of skills demands via Career Guide.
The MICT Seta to forge partnerships with HETs.
Support unemployed College, University and University of Technology learners in Learning Programmes.
These learning programmes are to be influenced by the top scarce skills in each subsector. At least 70% employment in the MICT Sector will be targeted (Pivotal).
Partner FETs with ISOEs.
Partner with DBE and DHET for train-the-trainer learning programmes.
Partner with and support FETs and HETs and the broader MICT Sector with regards to internships and learnerships.
Support FET and HET institutions through Train-the-Trainer.
The MICT Seta will encourage larger numbers of graduates with tertiary ICT skills through partnering with industry HET institutions, through the awarding of conditional bursaries for high-end degrees.
The MICT Seta will partner with DHET’s Foundation Programme in the way of Pivotal programmes to assist potential tertiary institution entrants who require additional assistance with maths and science.
The MICT Seta will promote learning programmes (including New Venture Creation) to FETs and rural educational institutions, which will have the long-term effect of making our population more ICT literate, providing them with better access to the world of the Internet and to job and new venture opportunities.
Train installers and maintainers.
Industry
Address the top scarce and critical skills for the employed and unemployed in each subsector as indicated by the MICT Sector.
Encourage stakeholders to continue with skills development utilising the discretionary funds.
MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011 Page 13
Identify the MICT Seta stakeholders that are involved in developments against ICT related crime and sponsor ICT security learning programmes.
The MICT Seta will insist on AIDS awareness being included in its Learnerships and Internships.
Develop and implement Learning Programmes in the Electronics Sector. Pivotal and non-Pivotal.
Obtain Telkom’s rural telecommunications development plan and sponsor rural End User Computing/Call
Centre Learnership and telecommunications learnerships through Telkom on the basis that the rural telecommunications infrastructure is to be provided/improved by Telkom. This type of partnership could also be formed with Neotel and the cellular operators.
Support SMEs through learning programmes and new venture creation.
The MICT Seta will identify companies with R&D capability within the MICT Sector and assist with skills development in those companies to boost this capability.
The MICT Seta will identify export companies within the MICT Sector and assist with skills development in those companies to boost exports.
Rural
Support rural FET and HET institution learners via sponsorship of EUC learning programmes (will assist to develop the ICT Sector to stimulate in job creation).
Communicate with provincial governments and skills development fora.
Conduct learning programmes in rural communities.
Set up co-ops.
Sponsor learners on the End User Computing/Call Centre Learnership, particularly in rural areas.
The MICT Seta will promote learning programmes (including New Venture Creation) on a national basis to
FETs and rural educational institutions, which will have the long-term effect of making our population more
ICT literate, providing them with better access to the world of the Internet and to job and new venture opportunities.
Work with local community, NGOs, skills development fora and training institutions, provincial government and municipalities.
The MICT Seta
The MICT Seta will partner with the National Youth Development Agency.
Maintain a strong Seta Management System.
Cross-Sectoral
Attempt to assist potential retrenchees in the traditional sectors with ABET and End User Computing training to improve their prospects of re-employment in other sectors, utilising NSF funding. Challenges will involve an interim living allowance and poor English skills. This will require cross-sectoral partnering.
ISOEs
Encourage development of more ISOEs.
The MICT Seta will partner with the CSIR, universities and ISOEs.
Partner FETs with ISOEs.
Work with incubators such as Bandwidth Barn, SmartXchange and JCSE.
New Ventures
Sponsor 3- to 5-year new ventures and incubators/ISOEs.
The MICT Seta will look at the possibility of encouraging people to enter new ventures with a view on lower-energy technologies and green jobs, for example training of installers of solar powered equipment.
QCTO/ETQA
Assist QCTO with learnership/qualification development.
Develop End User Computing/Call Centre Qualification and Learnership.
Government
Communicate with provincial governments and skills development fora.
Partner with government institutions and PSeta to sponsor End-User Computing and ICT learning programmes.
Page 14 MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011
1.4.6 ICT Skills: Supply versus Demand
Table 8: Estimation of Supply versus Demand for ICT Skills within South Africa, 2009 - 2012
Degree Level Supply
Degree Level Demand
Estimated National Bachelor Degree Oversupply
Diploma Level Supply
Diploma Level Demand
Estimated National Diploma Oversupply
The
MICT
Seta
Other
Setas RSA
5,239
%MICT to
Total
1,996 3,752 5,748 34.7%
-506
7,224
720 1,221 1,941 37.1%
5,283
From the table above, it can be estimated that there is an anticipated undersupply of about 500 University graduates over the three-year period 2009 to 2012, whereas there is an anticipated oversupply of about 5,000
University of Technology graduates for the same period.
MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011 Page 15
2 Introduction
2.1 Background
On the 1 st April 2011, South Africa moved into the third phase of the National Skills Development Strategy, (NSDS
III), covering the period 1 st April 2011 to 31 st March 2016. In order to successfully develop the skills required by stakeholder companies in the Media, Information and Communication Technologies Sector Education and Training
Authority (the MICT Seta) Sector, the MICT Seta is required to develop and present its five-year strategy, now covering the period 2012-2017.
2.2 Purpose of the Sector Skills Plan
The purpose of the Sector Skills Plan is to:
Review national skills development imperatives to determine how the MICT Seta can contribute to these imperatives. These imperatives include the National Industrial Policy Framework and Industrial Policy
Action Plan; the Land Restitution and Rural Development Strategies; the Anti-Poverty Strategy; the
Technology and Innovations Strategy; new sector-specific plans that emerge; and the HRD Strategy for the
Public Sector, as well as the Medium Term Strategic Framework’s strategic priorities.
Provide an overview of the trends in employment and other factors in the MICT Sector, so that the MICT
Seta can forecast trends that will impact on what it will be able to achieve over the next five years.
Understand the supply of skills into the MICT Sector so that the MICT Seta can further identify those areas to which it needs to focus its training intervention attention. In this regard, the MICT Seta needs to develop a national understanding of the supply and demand of ICT skills, since these skills are also in demand in other sectors outside of the MICT Sector.
Determine the scarce and critical skills demand of the MICT Sector, at 6-digit Organising Framework for
Occupations (OFO) level, so that the MICT Seta can direct resources to assist in satisfying this demand.
Based on a synthesis of the above information, the MICT Seta must then develop and present its five-year strategy for the period 1 st April 2012 to 31 st March 2017, within which it will identify a set of sector specific priorities that will meet sector needs, including the scarce and critical skills in the sector.
2.3 Methodology
With regard to the economic profile and drivers of change sections of this document, the MICT Seta used the following methodology in deriving its inputs:
Desk Research for information from: o The Department of Communications (DoC) website o Government Gazettes o Human Resource Development Strategy of South Africa (HRDSSA) 2010 – 2030, as approved on
18 March 2009. o Medium Term Strategic Framework, (2004-2014) Minister in the Office of the Presidency: Planning,
July 2009. o Industrial Policy Action Plan, the dti, August 2007. o Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Strategy (ISRDS), November 2000. o National Industrial Policy Framework (NIPF), the dti. o Department of Higher Education and Training Strategic Plan 2010 to 2015 o Other sources as referenced in this document
Desk Research for data from: o Statistics South Africa (Statssa) o The South Africa Reserve Bank (SARB) o Past MICT Seta Annual Reports o BMI-TechKnowledge o World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA) o Other sources as referenced in this document
Focus groups held with representatives of the Electronic Media and Film, Advertising, and Information and Communication Technologies (including Electronics) Subsectors.
Personal interview with the E-Skills Institute
In DHET’s “Framework for the National Skills Development Strategy, 2011/12 – 2015/16, First Draft for
Consultation, 29th April 2010”, it was requested that the Setas obtain inputs from stakeholders. In
Page 16 MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011
order to obtain inputs on several topics from the MICT Seta stakeholders, the MICT Seta developed and distributed a questionnaire to MICT Seta companies. The MICT Seta would like to thank the following organisations for the valuable and comprehensive responses they returned to the MICT Seta:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Bytes Managed Solutions
Bytes Outsource Services
Computer Society of South Africa (CSSA)
Derivco
Department of Communications
Ericsson Sub Saharan Africa
Helios Copier
8.
9.
The Information Technology Association (ITA)
Joburg Centre for Software Engineering (JCSE)
10. Mobile Telephone Networks (MTN)
11. MWeb Connect
12. Nashua Mobile
13. Nokia Siemens
14. State Information Technology Agency (SITA)
15. T-Systems
16. Lindsay Smithers FCB
17. The Hardy Boys
18. Ogilvy & Mather Rightford
19. Hero Design & Advertising
20. Ochre Media
21. Nu Metro Entertainment
22. Filmair Camera & Grip Rental
23. The Bomb
24. Urban Brew Studios
The Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), HEMIS Division for national qualification supply data. DHET provided the MICT Seta with about 800 Megs of data in 680 files. This data was collated into one database in order to analyse the supply side of people entering and achieving tertiary qualifications, and allowing a comparison of the supply of ICT graduates against the demand for such graduates on a national basis.
The Scarce and Critical Skills reports of the other Setas to assess the demand for ICT personnel across the whole of South Africa. These reports were either downloaded from the various Seta websites, or received directly from Setas via email.
2010 National ICT Skills Survey, a partnership between the MICT Seta, Joburg Centre for Software
Engineering (JCSE) and IT Web.
Annual Training Report (ATR) and Workplace Skills Plan (WSP) data received from the MICT Seta stakeholder companies.
In order to obtain the best possible and most accurate data from Skills Development Facilitators
(SDFs), the MICT Seta has over the years taken the following actions:
1. Over the years, the MICT Seta has built up a strong relationship with its SDFs, the intention being to understand the challenges facing SDFs. In this regard, the MICT Seta has adopted the approach of attempting to make the SDFs task as easy as possible. This has been achieved through:
The development of a comprehensive SDF Reference Manual which assists SDFs with the methodology of data collection and data capture into the MICT Seta ’s Internet based On-Line
Grant System (OGS).
The provision of templates to assist with data collection.
Conducting annual workshops where the SDFs are taken through the OGS in detail. Over 400 out of about 650 MICT Seta SDFs attended in 2011.
The provision of strong query support to SDFs from the MICT Seta administrators.
2. For the last three years of submissions, the MICT Seta built into their system various checks and balances that check for inconsistencies and possible errors that may occur, requesting the SDFs in real time to recheck their data. These checks and balances are pointed out in the ATR/WSP template that is available to the SDFs, so that the SDFs know ahead of time what to expect when they capture their data into the OGS. In many instances, these checks require the SDF to perform
MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011 Page 17
additional calculations to confirm that the data entered agrees with their collected data, thereby dramatically reducing the possibility of incorrect data entry.
3. The new data provided by SDFs is further analysed by the MICT Seta ’s researchers to look for inconsistencies. If any are found, the stakeholder is contacted for clarification. For example, a jump in employment could indicate a buy-out or merger.
4. The MICT Seta has informed SDFs that random audits of their inputs will take place to verify the data they provide. This further emphasises to SDFs that they need to take care with the data they provide to the Seta.
5. SDFs are informed that the MICT Seta uses the Scarce and Critical Skills data provided by SDFs to indicate whom the MICT Seta should partner with on learning programmes in order to achieve its own goals. When applying to the MICT Seta for funding assistance on learning programmes, the stakeholder completes a Letter of Intent, motivating their need for learners to be trained, and indicating how many learners need to be trained. On submission of this Letter of Intent to the MICT
Seta, the MICT Seta checks this request against what the organisation reflected in its WSP. If there are discrepancies, the stakeholder is requested to explain the difference.
6. SDFs are requested to indicate why their WSP forecast of the previous year differs from the ATR actual.
7. Once the SDF is ready to submit this data, it is first signed off for accuracy by a senior manager in the organisation, the employee representative within the organisation (where the organisation has
50+ employees), and the SDF.
SDFs are requested to provide the following data:
Past and future spend (separately) and number of training interventions, by type of training intervention and by occupation by race, gender and disability. Types of training interventions include Learnerships
(Employed and Unemployed), Internships, Skills Programmes, Short Courses, and Bursaries.
Employment Profile of the company, as at 31 March, by occupation by race, gender and disability.
Provincial Profile of the company, as at 31 March, by occupation by race, gender and disability.
Scarce and Critical Skills, by occupation with a three year forecast, including suggested training interventions that will assist in acquiring these skills.
Reasons, where applicable, why the training interventions that were planned in the previous year did not occur as originally planned.
As may be appreciated, the MICT Seta SDFs provide extensive and detailed data, requiring a lot of effort on the
SDFs part, and, in many stakeholder companies, this can consume several weeks of the SDF’s time. Although some may suggest that the collection of this data should be outsourced, it is unlikely that collecting this detail of data within a one or two hour interview would be achievable. It is also unlikely that outsourced researchers will cover the number of organisations from which the MICT Seta receives ATR/WSP data.
The following table shows the submission percentage return results of the methodology described above. It should be noted that only organisations that have a total annual payroll exceeding R 500,000 per annum and only organisations contributing SDL to the MICT Seta are included in this table.
Page 18 MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011
Table 9: Assessment of ATR/WSP Data Submission versus Number of Levy-Contributing Companies
2011 1,2
Advertising
Large
Medium
Small
Electronic Media and Film
Large
Medium
Small
Electronics
Large
Number of Levy-Contributing
Companies
380
6
45
329
233
10
32
191
469
37
Medium
Small
Information Technology
Large
Medium
Small
Telecommunications
50
382
1 779
79
162
1 538
426
Large
Medium
Small
Grand Total
28
53
345
3 287
Source: DHET Levy Contribution Data, the MICT Seta ATR/WSP submission data
Number of WSP Useable
Submissions of Data
90
6
26
58
67
9
21
37
169
36
42
91
651
69
143
439
151
28
34
89
1 128
Percentage
Return
23.7%
100.0%
57.8%
17.6%
28.8%
90.0%
65.6%
19.4%
36.0%
97.3%
84.0%
23.8%
36.6%
87.3%
88.3%
28.5%
35.4%
100.0%
64.2%
25.8%
34.3%
The table above shows that a very high percentage of Large Companies (those companies with 150+ employees) provided data to this Seta via their WSP submission. This percentage is in fact 92.5%. About 77.8% of Medium
Companies (those companies with 50 to 149 employees) submitted their WSP data and 25.6% of Small
Companies (those companies with 49 or fewer employees) submitted their WSP data. In terms of the NSDS III requirements, the 25.6% should be 40% participation. The MICT Seta will address this in its strategy.
Once this data has been collected, it is analysed for input into the SSP. Using regression analysis on known levy contributions for all MICT Seta stakeholder companies, as provided by SARS via DHET, and known employment data as provided by WSPs, the number of employees in the non-submitting companies is estimated. This forms the basis for the analysis of all other data, as presented in this document.
2.4 Defining the MICT Sector
The Government Notice, No. 33756, published in the Government Gazette, dated 11 th November 2010, defines the
MICT Seta SIC Codes as being those presented in Table 10 below.
SIC
Code
35791 Manufacture of Alarm Systems
75200 Telecommunication
Table 10: The MICT Seta SIC Code List 3
Description
75201 Wired Telecommunication Carriers Telegraph
75202 Television Broadcasting, Television and Radio Signal Distribution Television and Radio Signal Distribution
75203 Cable Networks and Programme Distribution Cable TV Services
75204 Telephone
75205 Wireless Telecommunication Carriers except Satellite Radiotelephone
75205 Wireless Telecommunication Carriers except Satellite
75209 Television Broadcasting
75211 Telecommunications and Wired Telecommunication Carriers
75212 Paging
75213 Cellular and Other Wireless Telecommunications
75214 Satellite Telecommunications
75215 Other Telecommunications
75216 Security Systems Services except Locksmiths
75217 Office Automation, Office Machinery and Equipment Rental Leasing including Installation and Maintenance
1 DHET Levy Contribution Data
2 MICT ATR/WSP submission data
3 Government Notice, No. 33756, Government Gazette, 11 th November 2010
MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011 Page 19
SIC
Code
86001 Software Publishers Prepacked Software
Description
86002 Computer Systems Design and Related Services Computer Integrated Design
86003 Computer Facilities Management Services
86004 Electronic and Precision Equipment Repair and Maintenance Computer Maintenance and Repairs
86005 Computer Rental and Leasing
86006 Computer Programming Services
86007 Other Computer Related Activities
86008 Call Center Systems Development and Installations Activities Call Centre and Customer Relationship Management
System Development
86009 Computer System Design Services and Integrated Solutions
86010 Consumer Electronics Repair and Maintenance
86011 Computer and Office Machine Repair, Maintenance and Support Services
86012 Communication Equipment Repair and Maintenance
86013 Other Electronic and Precision Equipment Repair and Maintenance
86014 Repair and Maintenance of Electronic Marine Equipment
87142 Research and Development of Electronic Equipment and Systems
87143 Import and Product Integration of Pre-Manufactured Electronic It and Telecommunications Equipment
87146 Research and Development In The Physical and Engineering Sciences
87147 Electronics Importation and Product Integration of Pre-Manufactured Electronics It and Telecommunications
Equipment
87148 Telecommunications Importation and Product Integration of Pre-Manufactured Electronics It and Telecommunications
Equipment
88310 Advertising
88311 Activities of Advertising Agents
88313 Commercial Design
88940 Photographic Activities
96110 Motion Picture and Video Production and Distribution
96112 Related Activities - Film and Tape Renting To Other Industries, Booking, Delivery and Storage
96113 Film and Video Reproduction
96123 Bioscope Cafes
96131 Providing Radio and Television Transmission Signals
96132 Production and Broadcast of Radio and Television Broadcast Content
96133 Installation, Maintenance and Repair of Tracking Devices For Cars
96200 News Agency Activities
Source: Government Notice, No. 33756, Government Gazette, 11 th November 2010
2.5 Caveats
It is important to note that the MICT Sector does not comprise all organisations in the Information and
Communication Technologies (ICT) Sector because there are companies that have defined themselves to be in other sectors, such as professional services, despite these companies being recognised as ICT companies. There are also organisations, such as the banks, which have a large ICT skill component but which belong to other industry sectors and Setas. The MICT Sector should therefore be viewed as a sub-sector of the whole ICT Sector.
It is therefore important to note that, since the MICT Seta must address the skills needs of the MICT Seta stakeholder companies, unless stated otherwise, this Sector Skills Plan addresses the MICT Sector specifically, not the ICT Sector, hence the exclusion of ICT skills demands of other Seta sectors.
2.6 The MICT Seta SSP Target Audience
In order to keep this SSP correctly focussed, we need to define who the audience is that will make use of the SSP.
The MICT Seta sees three audiences that will make use of the information presented in this SSP. These are:
The MICT Seta itself, the SSP being seen as the foundation material required for consideration to produce its strategy for the next five years.
The DHET which will monitor the achievements of the MICT Seta against the MICT Seta stakeholder demands for skills development as presented in this document. In this regard, the DHET placed several requirements on the Setas, as specified in their document “Framework for the National Skills Development
Strategy ” 4 , and subsequently in the “Proposed Guidelines for Terms of Reference for the Development of
Secto r Skills Plan” 5 . The MICT Seta made extensive use of the content of these documents in preparing
4 Framework for the National Skills Development Strategy, 2011/12 – 2015/16, First Draft for Consultation, 29th April 2010
5 Proposed Guidelines for Terms of Reference for the Development of Sector Skills Plans”, made available by the DHET at Indlela on the 14 th
June 2011
Page 20 MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011
this SSP, and in order to satisfy the needs of the DHET, rather than present this detail in the main body of the document, it has been decided to present this detail in the Appendices.
The MICT Seta stakeholder companies who may wish to use the information herein for their own strategic planning. In July 2010, a survey was conducted across 505 Skills Development Facilitators
(SDFs), of which 73 (14%) responses were received. With regard to determining the usefulness of the
SSP to stakeholders, four questions were posed to the SDFs. The responses to these questions are presented below:
Questions posed
Have you heard of or seen the MICT Seta's Sector Skills Plan?
Are you aware that we publish this document every year on our website?
Have you referred at all to this document?
Have you used it for research purposes?
Yes No
74% 26%
74% 25%
52% 47%
18% 82%
No
Response
0%
1%
2%
0%
The results reflected in this table indicate that: o Almost three-quarters of our stakeholders are aware of the SSP and that it is published on its website. o While three-quarters of our stakeholders are aware of the SSP, about half of these stakeholders have referred to this document, and about 20% have used it for research purposes.
MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011 Page 21
3 The MICT Sector Profile
3.1 Economic Profile
3.1.1 Introduction
In this section, the economic outlook of the country is reviewed and more specifically the MICT Sector; with a view to forecasting annual growth to April 2017. The information will be used as the basis for forecasting employment and training growth rates that will be utilised in developing the MICT Seta’s 5-year Sector Skills Plan.
3.1.2 Global Perspective
According to the OECD Economic Report 6 , global economic growth in 2004-7 was generally above its long-term trend of around 3.1% per annum, but then fell sharply in 2008 and early 2009 as a result of the global financial crisis.
Reports 7 suggest that emerging economies such as China, India and Brazil have outpaced the main advanced economies by a significant margin in 2009-10 and this looks set to continue in 2011 and 2012. South Africa is a member state to the Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC) countries, but South Africa’s high unemployment rate is at 25.3% compared to theirs. For example, Brazil`s, unemployment rate is at 6.20%, Russia`s, unemployment rate is at 6.10%, India`s, unemployment rate is at 9.40% and China`s, unemployment rate is at 4.10% respectively.
South Africa shares the similar socio-economic conditions with BRIC countries terms of history, inequalities, resources etc. Therefore, there are lessons to be learnt from these countries in terms of macroeconomic environment. For example, China is one of the most populous countries in the world with a population of
1 341 million people and has a 4.10% unemployment rate. In contrast, South Africa has a 25% unemployment rate and a population of 50 million people. Russia, a country that went through massive transformation after the fall of
Berlin Wall in 1991, has a 6.10% unemployment rate compared to South Africa after undergoing a similar transformation process, namely the end of Apartheid in 1994.
South Africa and Malaysia share the same socio-economic features. For example, both countries have mediumsize economies with deep racial divide, in which the majority of the people control political power and the minority controls economic power. Both countries have two economic structures (the first and second economies).
This can be better appreciated using Rodrik’s comparison of the two countries 8 . Rodrik argues that the most striking differences between the two countries are that: in the 1980s, Malaysia began the process of industrialisation, while South Africa began the process of de-industrialisation. According to Rodrik, as of mid-
1980s, South Africa still had a larger manufacturing base with roughly 12 % of the total labour force employed in manufacturing, compared to Malaysia with less than 8% employed in manufacturing. A decade later, Malaysia had industrialised which doubled the number of the labour force, reaching 16%, while South Africa had de-industrialised to less than 7% of the total labour force employed in manufacturing. As to why South Africa de-industrialised prematurely remains the question that has not been properly answered. One thing is certain though that the
Malaysian economy far out-weighs the South African. Another example is the unemployment rate in Malaysia is at
3% in 2011 compared to South Africa ’s unemployment rate at 25% in 2011. This data is presented in the table below.
Table 2: Global perspective – Brazil, Russia, India, China (BRIC), South Africa and Malaysia
Country
China
Brazil
India
Russia
South Africa
GDP
Billions
US$
GDP
Growth
Interest Inflation rate rate
Jobless rate
4909 9.50% 6.56% 6.40% 4.10%
1572 1.30% 12.25% 6.71% 6.20%
1296 7.80% 7.00% 8.72% 9.40%
1231
286
4.10% 8.25%
4.80% 5.50%
9.40% 6.10%
5.00% 25.00%
Gov.
Budget
-2.50
2.20
-5.10
Debt to
GDP
17.70
72.30
69.20
-3.90
9.90
-5.00 35.70
Current
Account
5.20
-2.30
-3.20
4.90
-2.80
Malaysia 192 -3.20% 3.00% 3.50% 3.00% -5.60 54.20 11.80
(Source: TradingEconomics.com, 2011; Stats S.A. 2011; IMF World economy report, 2011)
Exchange Population rate
(to USD)
6.44
1.56
44.08
27.57
6.73
2.94
1341.00
190.73
1210.20
142.90
49.99
28.50
China ’s economy started very strongly in 2011, with GDP growth accelerating at an annualised year-on-year rate of
11.9% in Q1 2011, then dropping to 9.5% in Q2 2011 after strong growth of 10.3% in 2010. Fixed asset investment growth remained very strong in the first quarter, driven by continued government spending. As the Chinese
6 Organisation for Economic Co-operation Development, Economic Survey South Africa, Volume 2010/11, July 2010
7 Global Economic Research 2011, www.scotiabank.com
8 D. Rodrik, Understanding South Africa’s Economic Puzzles, 2006
Page 22 MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011
economy continues its rapid growth, inflationary pressures continue to exert themselves, which led the Chinese authorities to raise interest rates and tighten controls on bank credit growth.
India ’s economy grew by a weaker than expected 7.8% in Q1 2011 compared to the same period in 2010. India’s main scenario is for growth to average around 8% in 2011 and 8.2% in 2012. Inflationary pressures have been a concern, which led to an increase in the official interest rate by the Indian Central Bank in July to 8.72%, as compared to 5.25% in December 2010 and 3.5% in March 2010. This represents the ninth rate hike in India during the past 15 months.
Despite these inflationary concerns, China and India are expected to continue to lead the global recovery in 2011-
12, reinforcing the longer term shift in the global economic centre of gravity towards these two emerging giants.
The Brazilian economy recovered strongly following the financial crisis, experiencing only a relatively brief recession. GDP growth remained strong 1.30% in Q1 2011; expanding at an annualised rate of 4.2% in Q3, slightly less from previous 5.00% in Q3 2010. Commodity exports to China and other Asian markets have also recovered strongly since mid-2009. However, concerns remain over rising inflation, driven by increases in commodity prices and a credit boom. Leading international economists predict that Brazil`s monitory tightening will lead to a fall in the growth from the 2011 figure of 7.5 % to an average around 4.4 % in 2011 and 4.6 % in 2012. Brazil remains one of the strongest economies in the world with its large and growing agricultural, mining, manufacturing and services sectors.
3.1.3 National Outlook
The Africa Economic Outlook 9 reports predict that the economy will achieve 3.5% GDP growth rate in 2011 and possibly slightly higher in 2012. However, the biggest concern to the current outlook for 2011 and 2012 is the uncertainty on the global economy.
The International Labour Office 10 projects a global economic growth of 4.2 per cent in 2011, down from 4.8 per cent in 2010. On the basis of the current global macroeconomic forecasts, the global unemployment rate is projected at
6.1 per cent which corresponds to about 203.3 million being out work globally, but this is better compared to 2010 levels.
Business Monitor International 11 predicts that the world economic crisis is already looming. In this report, Business
Monitor International suggests that in the next 6-12 months the crisis will have major impacts on global and financial markets. These predictions have a direct impact on the South African economy because South Africa is part of the global village; the challenges ahead are quite vast and complex.
Leading South African economists suggest that in order to get our economic growth to outperform the 3.5% GDP growth, we need to adopt a new export stimulus approach, or a much larger state intervention in infrastructure development. It is believe this will convince the private sector that higher growth rates lie ahead and that they can safely plan to also participate in such prospects by expanding their own businesses at a faster pace. Already, over
ZAR 800 billion has been budgeted for fixed investments towards infrastructure development between 2011 and
2013, reflecting a 40% increase in annual infrastructure expenditures in this period relative to 2008 12 .
The following is an extract and empirical analysis, quoted in the African Economic Outlook 13 website by the African
Development Bank in June 2011 and summarises the country`s economic outlook:
“Real GDP grew year-on-year by 2.8% in 2010, recovering from the low base of a 1.7% contraction in 2009. GDP growth was primarily driven by steady recovery in consumer spending. Real GDP growth is expected to increase to
3.6% by 2011, still held back by sluggish domestic investment and tighter fiscal spending. In 2012, real GDP growth is expected to increase to 4.3%. …… Private investment did not recover to the expected levels, growing only at 0.5% in 2010. Robust growth in private investment is not expected before 2012, with its growth rate projected to pick up to 7.5% and 10.5% in 2011 and 2012. In some sub-sectors, the observed trend is explained in part by a return to trend growth. The contraction in the construction industry, for example, came after years of double digit growth prior to the economic recession. It was mostly fuelled by excess demand on the local market, but also got a boost from the FIFA World Cup. The moderation in housing prices in 2010, despite improvements in mortgage borrowing, is a sign of increased supply…. Gross fixed capital formation was positive overall at 4.0% in
2010 with public investment continuing to grow in 2010 at an 8.5% rate, refle cting both the government’s expansionary fiscal policy, and adherence to on-going infrastructure expansion programmes. Public spending fell off following the completion of projects undertaken for the football tournament and generally lower capital outlays by all levels of government in the recovery period”.
9
Africa Economic Outlook, www.africaeconomicoutlook.org.za
10 ILO Global Employment Trend Report, 2011
11 Business Monitor International Report, July 2011
12 Ibid.
13 Ibid.
MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011 Page 23
The problem with economic growth forecasting is that economists differ on the definitions and measurements. As a result, it is difficult to find precise economic growth estimation or projections. A broadly consensus view has been taken based on various economic reports taken most notably from SARB, National Treasury and Statistics South
Africa Reports of 2011.
With regards to unemployment, unemployment in South Africa remains alarmingly high by international standards as it can be seen in the above analysis in 2010 even though it declined marginally in the fourth quarter of 2010 to
24% from 25.3% in the previous quarter. Perhaps the following article, published on the web 14 by Bruggeman is worth noting:
“ A 3.0%-3.5% growth rate does not look good. It is only capable of generating about 2% formal employment gains
(at most 180 000 new formal jobs annually); together with annual replacement of another 100 000 retirees this makes for a total of 280 000 job additions annually.
This is a country in which over one million youngsters hit the labour market annually (excluding African migrants), of which newly minted matrics are 360 000 and university and technikon graduates another 70 000.
Thus barely two out of three youngsters of those successfully matriculating and graduating (in other words the most promising ones) can be absorbed. The other three-quarters youngsters of the annual age cohort have to look after themselves.
And this is in good times when labour unions are behaving themselves and specific labour skills are not in extreme shortage. But when, as recently, labour is demanding wage adjustments of triple to four times the inflation rate, new employment gains slow to a standstill ”.
Effectively, argues Bruggeman, it means that the economy created only some 7 000 jobs in 2Q2011 and only
65 000 jobs this past year on a 13 million deployed labour force (a gain of barely 0.5%) at which level it has held ever since mid-2009.
According to Bruggeman ’s article “ even more disconcerting, 121 000 jobs were gained in the public sector while
56 000 were still lost in the private sector for a net gain of 65 000 overall ”.
The article says, out of a total of 110 000 formal jobs gained this past year, 101 000 were in the public sector and only 9 000 in the private sector.
Bruggeman argues that the prognosis for the next year or two is unfortunately equally discouraging. Growth is likely to remain slow near 3.5%, private job gains are expected to remain slow even as real wage gains remain high, and the Rand is expected to remain firm as both Dollar and Euro probably shed some more ground.
The OECD Economic Survey report on South Africa 15 argued along similar lines that given steady population growth (and the likelihood that actual population growth is understated as a result of the influx of unregistered immigrants), South Africa’s per capita income growth has been lacklustre at about 2% a year over the last decade, lower than most emerging market economies. Clearly, the current economic growth rate is too weak to absorb the rapidly growing labour force in South Africa. A big storm is already brewing on the labour front and poses a major challenge for the economy. Many economists are already predicting that the private sector will begin the process of job shedding after the salary negotiations have been reached and add to the ranks of the unemployed. This simply means in addition to the economy’s tepid growth, the private sector might not generate enough jobs to sustain what growth there is.
The unemployment rate will climb much higher in the next few months and possibly trend downward at year-end.
This is because people who lost their jobs are likely to grow discouraged and stop looking. As hiring increases, they try again to find work and that drives up the number of active job seekers, keeping the jobless rate elevated even as new jobs are being created 16 .
Due to the abrupt slowdown in job growth during Q1:2011 and Q2:2011, a snap analysis from Stats SA is worth noting. According to Stats SA 17 , formal employment fell by 21 000 (but at 9.2m was still +110 000 year-on-year).
Informal employment gained 28 000 (but at 4m was -45 000 year-on-year).
The report says unemployment has also shown a marked increase amongst population groups in South Africa:
“Between Q1:2011 and Q2:2011, the unemployment rate increased among the Black African (1.0 percentage point) and Coloured (0,5 of a percentage point) populations, while it decreased among the Indian/Asian and White populations (0,9 of a percentage point each). The year-on-year comparisons show that the unemployment rate
14 First National Bank, www.fnb.co.za/economics
15 Ibid.
16 Careers Junction Index June Monthly Report, 2011
17 Stats SA Labour Force Survey Report, Quarter 2, 2011
Page 24 MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011
increased among the Black African, Indian/Asian and Coloured populations and decreased among the White population” . This can be evidenced in the following figure.
Figure 6: Unemployment Rate by Population Group
Source: Stats SA Quarterly Labour Force Survey Report Q2, 2011.
Rodrik 18 , Altman 19 and the OECD state that one of the main problems over the past decade or two is that there has been shift in South Africa from the primary sectors (agriculture and mining) to the secondary sectors
(manufacturing) and now to the tertiary sectors, that is to say, the services sectors. The OECD Economic Survey
Report (2011) on South Africa suggests that much of the unemployment appears to be structural. The report says that, when applying the OECD standard methodology of estimating structural unemployment rate, i.e. the nonaccelerating-inflation rate of unemployment (NAIRU), very little of the high unemployment rates seen in South
Africa over the past fifteen years have been cyclical or frictional 20 . In addition to this, Bhorat et al. state that technological changes have played a big part in increasing structural unemployment. They argue that technological changes might require workers to re-train 21 . They argued that with the shift to information technology, South Africa adopted information technology based production which led to an increase in demand for more skilled labour to develop, operate and maintain information technology systems.
To address structural unemployment problems in South Africa as eluded above, some of the most leading international economists and international institutions have provided a number of solutions to the problem. For example, The Harvard Group 22 recommends:
A wage subsidy for all young workers.
A special budget for structural transformation.
Incentives to boost labour absorbing sectors like the mining, farming and manufacturing sectors.
Active steps taken to retain skilled workers and encourage skilled immigrants and skilled black economic empowerment fitted with a sell-by dated and exemption for start-up companies.
Reserve Bank intervention to ensure that the currency does not strengthen too much.
Exchange controls scrapped, government spending trimmed even more than it is now; and inflation targeting maintained.
Tariffs are cut to lower the cost of goods.
On the other hand, the World Bank 23 suggests that:
We must focus on export oriented path to create employment.
We must reduce tariffs in order to have a positive effect on unemployment.
We must focus on the development of small to medium business to create employment.
18 Ibid.
19 M Altman, State of Employment in SA, www.hsrcpress.ac.za
20
Ibid.
21 H.Bhorat et al., The Impact of Structural and Production Method Changes on Employment Growth of Occupational Groups in South Africa,
2006, www.hsrcpress.ac.za
22 South Africa National Treasury Harvard Report, 2006
23 World Bank Report, 2006
MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011 Page 25
We must adopt more labour - intensive practices in the formal sector.
In response, the government has outlined a number of measures including but not limited to investment in infrastructure development, skills enhancement in the public service and regional economic ties.
The Business Confidence Index measures the level of optimism that senior executives in the companies have about current and expected developments regarding sales, orders, employment, inventories, selling prices etc.
According to Bureau for Economic Research 24 , business confidence in South Africa has deteriorated to 48 in the second quarter of 2011 from 55 in the first quarter of 2011. The BER measures business confidence on a scale of
0 to 100, where 0 indicates an extreme lack of confidence, 50 neutrality and 100 extreme confidence. These are worrying trends. One might assume that the deterioration is c aused by the government’s intervention in the economy. For example, the Walmart deal recently of which the government has set stringent conditions and the uncertainty over the anti-nationalisation of mines and banks in the country. In the recent 13th Annual Global CEO
Survey 25 , South African CEOs continue to be troubled by threats to their businesses. The survey found that they are either ‘somewhat’ or ‘extremely concerned’ about the threats posed by the following:
Exchange rate vitality (77%)
Over-regulation (76 %)
The skills shortage (73%)
Energy costs (70%)
Lack of Infrastructure (63%)
Capital market instability (60%)
The key features of our economic forecast are:
Real GDP will remain modest at around 3.5% before picking up in 2014. The level of real GDP will not return to its pre-recession levels of 2004-2007 until the end of 2016.
Real private consumption will increase to 4.8% in 2011; private consumption then shrinks by 4.5 % in 2014, but still faster than overall GDP growth.
Given the sharp decrease in investment during the last quarter in 2010, fixed investment will increase to only 2.0% in 2011, and will pick up to as much as 10.0% in 2014.
Historically, from 1993 until 2011, South Africa's average quarterly GDP Growth was 3.32% reaching an historical high of 7.60% in December of 1994 and a record low of -5.90% in March of 2009
Table 11: Main Forecast for the South African Economy
Real GDP and its spending composition ( % Change )
Forecast 2010 2011
GDP
Private Consumption
Government Consumption
Gross Fixed Investment
Export Goods & Services
2.8
4.6
4.6
-3.6
5.4
3.5
4.8
4.0
2.0
7.0
Import Goods & Services
Change in Stocks
Domestic Demand
10.4
-0.5
4.1
11.0
1.0
4.5
Inflation Rates 3.2
Source: SARB; National Treasury; Stats SA Reports, 2011
5.0
2012
3.7
4.5
4.0
5.0
5.0
10.0
1.0
4.6
7.4
2013
3.9
4.2
4.0
7.0
6.0
10.0
0.5
4.7
7.1
2014
4.0
4.5
5.0
10.0
5.0
10.0
0.5
5.0
4.3
With regards to inflation rates, the most well- known measures of inflation are the CPI which measures consumer prices, and the GDP deflator, which measures inflation in the whole of the domestic economy.
According to financial expert reports, the inflation rate was last reported at 5 per cent in June of 2011. From 1981 until 2010, the average inflation rate in was 10.00 per cent reaching an historical high of 20.80 per cent in January of 1986 and a record low of 0.10 per cent in January of 2004.
Financial experts 26 have predicted a growth of 4 per cent next year. Experts say this is quite high and needs to be curbed to boost GDP growth rate. The experts of the country as well as the government have adopted several measures for curbing the internal causes of inflation, but there is general consensus that the inflation rate in 2011 will not drop down any time soon. Economists argue that South Africa is not alone in this dilemma as leading
24 Bureau for Economic Research, BER Macroeconomics Annual Report, 2011
25 PriceWaterhouseCoopers SA, 13th Annual Global CEO Survey, 2011
26 Ibid.
Page 26 MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011
financial experts predict that the condition will become stable only when the inflationary rate of the world economy drops down and situations become stable across the world 27 .
The national indicators do not provide sufficient insight into the dynamics of the MICT Sector. The National GDP
the economic activity by sector. It will be observed in the table that there is no defined MICT industry. The challenge is that media as well as software developers, for example, may reside in several of these industries; and in South Africa, it is not easy to get a precise data of changes on the use of information technology.
A study conducted by Bhorat et al 28 found that the overall penetration level for business in South Africa was relatively low at 15.7 PCs per 100 employees. At sector level, more industries have adopted IT faster than the others because of the nature of their industries. For example, finance, real estates and business services sectors have been leading in terms of information technology systems at 74 PCs per 100 employees, followed by wholesale and retail trade and hotels sectors at 24 PCs per 100 employees.
According to Bhorat et al, manufacturing is at 17 PCs per 100 employees which is still a long way to go to give better performance. The poor performing sectors, the study found, are Construction and Mining Sectors at 2.1 and
5.5 PCs per 100 employees respectively. According Bhorat el al, these two sectors cannot be taken into much account because of the nature of their business these being labour-intensive oriented sectors. Based on this premise, Government and Transport (majority owned by Government, for example, rail, harbour, etc.) are the worst performing sectors at 7 PCs per 100 employees.
Table 12: GDP by Sector (percentage)
Primary sector
Agriculture, forestry, fishing & hunting
Mining and quarrying
Secondary sector
Manufacturing
Electricity, gas and water
Construction
Tertiary sector
Wholesale and retail trade, hotels and restaurants
Transport, storage and communication
Finance, real estate and business services
Period 2005
10.3
2.7
7.6
23.7
18.5
2.4
2.8
66.2
13.9
10
21.1
2010
12.1
2.5
9.6
21.2
14.6
2.8
3.8
66.6
13.9
9.1
21.2
General government services
Other services
14.9
6.3
16.1
6.3
Gross domestic product at basic prices / factor cost 100 100
Source: AfDB Statistics Department based on data from Statistics South Africa, 2011.
Since the advent of democracy, the South African economy has been led by two opposing contending views; namely “Orthodox” and “Structuralist” both of them coming up with recommendations and solutions to the South
African economic growth and employment trajectory. The “Orthodox” supporters believe that methods such as cutting government spending, cutting taxes, liquidating bad investment and allowing wage rates to fall will solve the country ’s growth and unemployment problems. On the other hand, “Structuralist” supporters believe that South
Africa must change the structure of production through the use of trade barriers and exchange controls in order to protect our industries against competition.
Rodrik 29 warns that had the South African Manufacturing Sector expanded rapidly, economic growth would have been higher and far more jobs would have been created for the unskilled labour force, the majority of which is currently unemployed. He concludes by saying, the health and the vitality of the formal manufacturing sector has to be at the centre of any skills development strategy moving forward.
Surprisingly, as important as it is, what Rodrik has raised with regards to boosting the Manufacturing Sector in order to create jobs; we have observed in various economic reports that jobs for unskilled labour force had been lost in the United States and Europe due to international competition, and that what helped the United States over the years was housing construction driven by low interests rates.
Therefore, it is suggested that the road to economic growth lies in upgraded skills, increased export and government investment in infrastructure development.
27 South African Reserve Bank Quarterly Bulletin, March 2011
28 Ibid.
29 Ibid.
MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011 Page 27
3.1.4 The MICT Sector Economic Outlook
As mentioned in previous section, the national indicators do not provide sufficient insight into the dynamics of the
MICT Sector. As a result, other sources providing more relevant information on the subsectors of the MICT Sector have been researched.
Below is an extract from PricewaterhouseCoopers SA 2010 which represents an interesting analysis on the Media and Advertising Sector for the forecast period 2010-2014:
“Across the world, it is evident that the speed with which consumers are transitioning to digital has been accelerating beyond the industry’s expectations. In South Africa, while the spend on digital media is expected to grow significantly, it is unlikely that it will dominate in the forecast period. Non-digital revenue streams are expected to continue to be much larger and will still account for 69.1% of total South African spending in 2014. This suggests that the way forward for E&M companies lies in using digital technologies to generate revenues from on-going changes in consumer behaviour, while also maintaining and supporting their non-digital offerings as a valuable source of cash and customers.
While industry-specific factors will affect the spending pattern for each segment during the next five years, the economic cycle will be an important driver. In 2009, South Africa experienced its first recession in years, although it appears to be on the path to recovery in 2010”
Although underlying economic challenges persist – primarily the continuing weakness in unemployment rate at
25%, the absence of a meaningful pick-up in the overall economy and constrained deployments of capital among businesses of all kinds – we continue to expect South African Media and Advertising industry spent to grow in
2011-2014.
Table 13: Forecast of the South African Media Sector
South African Media Spend in
Rand Millions
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Filmed entertainment
% change
Television
% change
Radio
% change
Consumer magazine publishing
% change
1 046
3.5
1 104
5.5
19 809 21 277
14.9
7.4
2 532
3.8
3 737
6.0
2 747
8.5
3 624
-3.0
1 165
5.5
1 234
5.9
1 309
6.1
23 259 25 215 27 547
9.3
8.4
9.2
2 970
8.1
3 793
4.7
3 256
9.6
3 984
5.0
3 599
10.5
4 200
5.4
Newspaper publishing
% change
Total
9 570
-1.2
9 612
0.4
36 694 38 364
9 955
3.6
41 142
Sources: PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Wilkofsky Gruen Associates
10 497
5.4
44 186
11 151
6.2
47 806
2010
–14
CAGR
(%)
5.3
9.8
8.1
3.6
2.9
media in 2010. This rose to R 21,277 million (7.4%) in 2011 and is expected that it will rose again to R 23, 259 million (9.3%) in 2012.
Advertising will once again prove to be the fastest growing medium during 2010 at 30% in End-user spending. But this figure fell to record low of -10.5% in 2011.
Table 14: Forecast of the South African Advertising Sector
2010 –14
CAGR
(%)
South African
Advertising Spend in
Rand Millions
Advertising
2010 2011 2012
21 924 22 769 24 780
2013
27 024
2014
29 830
% change
End-user spending
% change
Total
8.3
59 266
30.3
81 190
3.9
53 044
-10.5
75 813
8.8
59 476
12.1
84 256
9.1
66 360
% change 23.5
-6.6
11.1
10.8
Sources: PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Wilkofsky Gruen Associates
10.4
74 537
11.6
12.3
93 384 104 367
11.8
8.1
10.4
9.7
According to BMI-TechKnowledge, “Despite the global recession, the South African IT market did register some small growth in 2009. The research group says local IT market revenue grew 2.5% from R60.36-billion in 2008 to reach R61.85-billion in 2009. And it expects a similar growth pattern this year with 2.5% growth to R63.41-billion, and at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.3% to reach R83.97-billion in 2014.
Page 28 MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011
The hardware market declined by 3.8% in 2009, from R21.91-billion in 2008 to R21.1-billion in 2009. Hardware accounts for 34.1% of the total IT market and is expected to see a CAGR of 3.3% over the forecast period.
Storage will be a category that should outperform other hardware areas due to continued server virtualisation.
The South African IT Services market is estimated to have reached R28.9-billion in 2009, showing a year-on-year growth of 7.2%, and accounted for 46.8% of the total IT expenditure in South Africa. The IT services market value is forecast to grow to R41.39-billion by 2014. This reflects a CAGR of 7.4% over the forecast period. Hosting is the standout category, looking forward, in the IT services arena considering the drive towards cloud computing.
The packaged software market grew by 3.5% in 2009 to R11.86-billion, and is expected to show growth of 8% in
2010. Packaged software accounted for 19.2% of the IT spend in 2009. The packaged software market value is forecast to grow to R17.76-billion by 2014. This reflects a CAGR of 8.4% over the forecast period. Adoption of
Software as a Service (SaaS) and Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) are areas that will drive growth in the
Software market.
”
30
Based on the information provided above by BMI-TechKnowledge, the following table has been constructed. In terms of future projections, the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) forecasts CPI to be about 5.3% to end-
2012.
31 . To convert from Current Rands to Real Rands, this projected CPI of 5.3% per year was utilised and extended to 2014 for lack of further data.
Table 15: The South African IT Market
2012 2013 2014 2008 2009 2010
The South African IT Market Revenue (Current Rands - R bn)
IT Hardware
IT Services
IT Packaged software
Total
21.91
26.97
11.46
60.36
21.10
28.90
11.86
61.86
21.80
31.05
12.81
63.41
2011
22.52
33.35
13.90
68.02
The South African IT Market Annual Growth (Based on Current Rands)
IT Hardware -3.7% 3.3%
IT Services
IT Packaged software
7.1%
3.5%
7.4%
8.0%
Total 2.5% 2.5%
The South African IT Market Revenue (Constant 2009 Rands - R bn)
National CPI
IT Hardware
IT Services
23.27
28.64
6.2
21.10
28.90
5.3
20.70
29.48
3.3%
7.4%
8.5%
7.3%
5.3
20.31
30.08
IT Packaged software
Total
12.18
64.09
11.86
61.86
12.16
62.35
12.54
62.92
The South African IT Market Annual Growth (Based on Constant 2009 Rands)
IT Hardware -9.3% -1.9% -1.9%
IT Services
IT Packaged software
Total
0.9%
-2.6%
-3.5%
2.0%
2.6%
0.8%
2.0%
3.1%
0.9%
Source: BMI-TechKnowledge
23.26
35.83
15.08
72.97
3.3%
7.4%
8.5%
7.3%
5.3
19.92
30.69
12.92
63.53
-1.9%
2.0%
3.1%
1.0%
24.03
38.49
16.37
78.28
3.3%
7.4%
8.5%
7.3%
5.3
19.54
31.31
13.31
64.17
-1.9%
2.0%
3.1%
1.0%
24.82
41.39
17.76
83.97
3.3%
7.5%
8.5%
7.3%
5.3
19.17
31.97
13.72
64.86
-1.9%
2.1%
3.0%
1.1%
As will be observed in the table above, the South Africa IT market experienced negative real growth in 2009, and IT
Hardware is also likely to experience negative real growth over the next five years. In real terms, the market is seen to be growing at only about 1% per annum for the next five years. This does not bode well for employment in the IT Sector.
The above data reviews only the IT market, to the exclusion of telecommunications. Data published by World
Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA) covers the whole ICT market, which includes the
“Communications” Sector, as presented in the table below. The data is presented in USD.
30 BMI-Techknowledge press release, 1 st June 2010.
31 Ibid.
MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011 Page 29
Table 16: South Africa's ICT Spend
2008
South Africa's ICT Spend (Current USDm)
Computer Hardware 3,096.70
Computer Software
Computer Services
Communications
Total
2,263.30
4,432.50
18,708.70
28,501.20
Growth in South Africa's ICT Spend
Computer Hardware
Computer Software
9.3%
13.6%
2009
3,048.20
2,296.10
4,520.50
2,492.00
4,901.20
20,097.50 24,258.30
29,962.30 34,898.40
-1.6%
1.4%
2010
3,246.90
6.5%
8.5%
Computer Services
Communications
Total
14.6%
2.9%
6.0%
2.0%
7.4%
5.1%
8.4%
20.7%
16.5%
2011
3,617.00
2,843.50
5,573.80
25,489.00
37,523.40
11.4%
14.1%
13.7%
5.1%
7.5%
2012
3,924.20
3,129.00
6,125.50
26,350.20
39,528.80
8.5%
10.0%
9.9%
3.4%
5.3%
2013
4,260.20
3,417.60
6,685.20
27,180.50
41,543.60
8.6%
9.2%
9.1%
3.2%
5.1%
Source: World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA)
The data in this table cannot be compared with the data in the previous table because of the inclusion now of
“Communications” in the table above, which quite likely includes consumer spend on cellular and landline communications. Hence, telecommunications is seen to play an important role in the growth of the ICT Market.
Note that this table forecasts large growth for 2010. This growth comes from the “Communications” sub-sector, and it is suspected that WITSA took into account the magnitude of communications in South Africa as a result of the 2010 Soccer World Cup. It should be noted though that the 2010 growth needs to be discounted when one forecasts growth for the MICT Sector. Furthermore, it is suspected that the growth reflected in this table is based on current Rands (converted to US$), so one has to reduce the annual growth by an anticipated CPI of about 5% per year. This results in a low (negligible) real growth rate for 2012 and 2013.
3.2 The MICT Sector Company Profile
The total number of Levy-Paying companies in the MICT Sector, as at 31 st March 2011, is 3 287. The following graph presents the subsector segmentation of the MICT Sector, segmented by number of companies.
Figure 7: Percentage Number of Companies in the MICT Sector, as at 31 st March 2011
Source: The MICT Seta OGS
As may be observed in the figure above, in terms of number of companies, the Information Technology Subsector is the largest of the subsectors, and Electronic Media and Film the smallest.
The following table presents the segmentation based on size of company.
Page 30 MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011
Table 17: Number of Levy-Paying Companies in the MICT Sector, by Subsector and by Company Size, as at 31 st March 2011
Subsector by Company Size
Advertising
Large, 150+ employees
Medium, 50 to 149 employees
Small, 1 to 49 employees
Electronic Media and Film
Large, 150+ employees
Medium, 50 to 149 employees
Small, 1 to 49 employees
Electronics
Large, 150+ employees
Medium, 50 to 149 employees
Small, 1 to 49 employees
Information Technology
Large, 150+ employees
Medium, 50 to 149 employees
Small, 1 to 49 employees
Telecommunications
Large, 150+ employees
Medium, 50 to 149 employees
Small, 1 to 49 employees
Grand Total
Source: The MICT Seta OGS
Number of
Companies
380
6
45
329
233
10
32
191
469
37
50
382
1 779
79
162
1 538
426
28
53
345
3 287
% of
Subsector
% of
Sector
11.6%
1.6%
11.8%
86.6%
4.3%
13.7%
82.0%
7.9%
10.7%
81.4%
4.4%
9.1%
86.5%
6.6%
12.4%
81.0%
7.1%
14.3%
54.1%
13.0%
100.0%
3.3 The MICT Sector Employment Profile
3.3.1 Number of Employees in the MICT Sector
The number of employees in 2011 is estimated at 182 433. The following graph presents the Subsector segmentation of the MICT Sector, segmented by number of employees.
Figure 8: Number of Employees by Subsector, as at 31 st March 2011
Source: The MICT Seta OGS
As may be observed in the figure above, in terms of the number of employees within the subsectors, the
Information Technology Subsector is the largest of the subsectors with 44% of employees, and Advertising the smallest with 5% of employees.
MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011 Page 31
Figure 9: Number of Employees by Size of Company, as at 31 st March 2011
Source: The MICT Seta OGS
As evidenced above, large companies in the MICT Sector cater for 60% of all employees in the sector.
The following table presents the employee segmentation based on size of company.
Table 18: Segmentation of the MICT Sector by Subsector and Number of Employees, as at 31 st March 2011
Subsector by Company Size
Advertising
Large, 150+ employees
Medium, 50 to 149 employees
Small, 1 to 49 employees
Electronic Media and Film
Large, 150+ employees
Medium, 50 to 149 employees
Small, 1 to 49 employees
Electronics
Large, 150+ employees
Medium, 50 to 149 employees
Small, 1 to 49 employees
Information Technology
Large, 150+ employees
Medium, 50 to 149 employees
Small, 1 to 49 employees
Telecommunications
Large, 150+ employees
Medium, 50 to 149 employees
Small, 1 to 49 employees
Grand Total
Source: The MICT Seta OGS
Number of
Employees
9 247
1 293
3 822
4 132
12 816
7 585
2 554
2 677
27 327
16 457
4 896
5 974
79 805
41 438
13 475
24 892
53 238
43 199
4 230
5 809
182 433
% of
Subsector
14.0%
41.3%
44.7%
59.2%
19.9%
20.9%
60.2%
17.9%
21.9%
51.9%
16.9%
31.2%
81.1%
7.9%
10.9%
% of
Sector
5.1%
7.0%
15.0%
43.7%
29.2%
100.0%
The following figure presents the number of employees per subsector for the three years, 2009, 2010 and 2011.
From this figure, it can be observed that the Advertising and Electronic Media and Film Subsectors have shown a slight decline in the number of employees over this period, whereas the Electronics, Information Technology and
Telecommunications Subsectors show a slight increase.
Page 32 MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011
Figure 10: Number of Employees by Subsector,
2009 to 2011
Source: The MICT Seta OGS
3.3.2 Race Segmentation of Employees in the Sector
The following figure presents the race distribution of employees in the MICT Sector, by subsector.
Figure 11: Race Distribution of Employees, 2011
Source: The MICT Seta OGS
In terms of race equity, the DoL is striving for a target of 85% Black (African, Coloured and Indian). The following figure shows that the Electronic Media and Film Subsector and the Telecommunications Subsector are progressing well in this regard.
MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011 Page 33
Figure 12: Race Distribution of Employees, 2011
Source: The MICT Seta OGS
3.3.3 Gender Segmentation of Employees in the Sector
The following figure presents the gender distribution of employees in the MICT Sector. The figure shows that the
Advertising subsector in particular and the Electronic Media and Film subsectors both appear to be favoured by women.
Figure 13: Gender Distribution of Employees, 2011
Source: The MICT Seta OGS
In terms of gender equity, the DoL is striving for a target of 54% of employees to be female. Within the MICT
Sector, 37.6% of all employees are female.
3.3.4 Disability Segmentation of Employees in the Sector
There are only an estimated 844 people with disability employed within the MICT Sector, representing a mere 0.5% of total employment. The following table presents the people with disability distribution of employees by subsector.
Page 34 MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011
Table 19: Number and Percentage of People with Disability Employed in the MICT Sector, by Subsector as at 31 st March 2011
Advertising
Electronic Media and Film
Electronics
Information Technology
Telecommunications
Grand Total
Source: The MICT Seta OGS
Number of
People with
Disability
44
125
114
359
202
844
Total
Employment
9 247
12 816
27 327
79 805
53 238
182 433
% People with
Disability
0.5%
1.0%
0.4%
0.4%
0.4%
0.5%
In terms of disability equity, the DoL is striving for a target of 4% people with disability to be employed within the country.
3.3.5 Class Segmentation of Employees in the Sector
The MICT Seta, for the first time in 2011, started collecting data on Class from its stakeholders.
There is no formal definition on how to measure Class, hence the MICT Seta, in collaboration with some of its stakeholders, established the following definition, based on a measure of total cost to company:
“The Total Annual Cost to Company of an employee must include the Cash Component, Car Allowance,
Petrol Allowance, Subsistence Allowance, Commission Paid, Bonus, Overtime, Incentive, Provident Fund,
Medical Contribution, UIF, WCA, and Skills Levy.
”
Published below is the resulting assessment of Class, by OFO Sub-Major grouping, for 2011. Data is only presented where at least ten responses where received by OFO Sub-Major and size of company.
Table 20: Assessment of Class, using Total Cost to Company, by OFO Sub-Major grouping, for 2011
Sub-Major Description
11 Chief Executives, General Managers and Legislators
Large (150+ Employees)
Medium (50-149 Employees)
Small (1-49 Employees)
13 Specialist Managers
Large (150+ Employees)
Medium (50-149 Employees)
Small (1-49 Employees)
14 Events, Hospitality, Retail and Service Managers
Large (150+ Employees)
Medium (50-149 Employees)
Small (1-49 Employees)
21 Arts and Media Professional
Large (150+ Employees)
Medium (50-149 Employees)
Small (1-49 Employees)
22 Business, Human Resource, Marketing and Communication Management Professionals
Large (150+ Employees)
Medium (50-149 Employees)
Small (1-49 Employees)
23 Design, Engineering, Science and Transport Professionals
Large (150+ Employees)
Medium (50-149 Employees)
Small (1-49 Employees)
24 Education Professionals
25 Health Professionals
Large (150+ Employees)
26 ICT Professionals
Large (150+ Employees)
Medium (50-149 Employees)
Small (1-49 Employees)
27 Legal, Social Science and Social Services Professionals
Large (150+ Employees)
31 Engineering, ICT and Science Technicians
Large (150+ Employees)
Medium (50-149 Employees)
Small (1-49 Employees)
32 Automotive and Engineering Technicians and Trades Workers
Large (150+ Employees)
Medium (50-149 Employees)
Average Cost to Company
791 766
882 288
773 461
649 843
487 981
513 212
477 719
393 609
319 669
343 784
235 413
208 880
276 029
298 627
236 896
230 685
356 139
377 930
327 563
267 122
365 967
391 411
345 965
249 921
162 033
322 565
325 290
333 969
334 167
356 956
298 397
452 673
445 885
237 658
244 118
255 322
164 975
227 191
251 554
130 172
MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011 Page 35
Page 36
Sub-Major Description
33 Construction Trades Workers
Large (150+ Employees)
34 Electrotechnology and Telecommunications Trades Workers
Large (150+ Employees)
Medium (50-149 Employees)
Small (1-49 Employees)
35 Food Trades Workers
36 Animal Attendants and Trainers
39 Other Technicians and Trades Workers
Large (150+ Employees)
Medium (50-149 Employees)
Small (1-49 Employees)
43 Hospitality Workers
44 Protective Service Workers
Large (150+ Employees)
Medium (50-149 Employees)
51 Office and Program Administrators
Large (150+ Employees)
Medium (50-149 Employees)
Small (1-49 Employees)
52 Personal Assistants and Secretaries
Large (150+ Employees)
Medium (50-149 Employees)
Small (1-49 Employees)
53 General Clerical Workers
Large (150+ Employees)
Medium (50-149 Employees)
Small (1-49 Employees)
54 Inquiry Clerks and Receptionists
Large (150+ Employees)
Medium (50-149 Employees)
Small (1-49 Employees)
55 Numerical Clerks
Large (150+ Employees)
Medium (50-149 Employees)
Small (1-49 Employees)
56 Clerical and Office Support Workers
Large (150+ Employees)
Medium (50-149 Employees)
Small (1-49 Employees)
59 Other Administrative Workers
Large (150+ Employees)
Medium (50-149 Employees)
Small (1-49 Employees)
61 Sales Representatives and Agents
Large (150+ Employees)
Medium (50-149 Employees)
Small (1-49 Employees)
62 Sales Assistants and Salespersons
Large (150+ Employees)
Medium (50-149 Employees)
Small (1-49 Employees)
63 Sales Support Workers
Large (150+ Employees)
Medium (50-149 Employees)
Small (1-49 Employees)
71 Machine and Stationary Plant Operators
Large (150+ Employees)
Medium (50-149 Employees)
Small (1-49 Employees)
72 Mobile Plant Operators
73 Road and Rail Drivers
Large (150+ Employees)
Medium (50-149 Employees)
Small (1-49 Employees)
74 Store Persons
Large (150+ Employees)
Medium (50-149 Employees)
Small (1-49 Employees)
81 Cleaners
Large (150+ Employees)
Medium (50-149 Employees)
Small (1-49 Employees)
MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011
Average Cost to Company
158 959
208 406
245 947
284 656
181 429
124 086
126 788
22 909
186 240
241 243
91 316
124 444
118 126
112 311
126 009
148 712
135 195
137 832
134 159
113 524
247 852
272 356
224 452
194 003
235 953
279 262
145 234
186 972
88 142
71 748
152 163
203 922
92 256
70 690
103 873
192 821
124 568
82 043
84 048
86 515
68 057
63 971
63 387
59 684
77 911
45 436
48 001
46 054
38 822
125 931
197 619
222 809
85 556
179 871
187 766
168 277
145 436
184 090
188 137
185 937
156 354
105 901
109 926
88 214
103 720
97 252
98 933
96 177
78 763
151 240
147 735
163 612
156 494
Sub-Major Description
82 Construction and Mining Workers
Large (150+ Employees)
83 Factory Process Workers
Large (150+ Employees)
Medium (50-149 Employees)
Small (1-49 Employees)
84 Farm, Forestry and Garden Workers
Small (1-49 Employees)
85 Food Preparation Assistants
Large (150+ Employees)
Medium (50-149 Employees)
Small (1-49 Employees)
89 Other Elementary Workers
Large (150+ Employees)
Medium (50-149 Employees)
Small (1-49 Employees)
Average Cost to Company
105 197
109 811
101 352
105 011
63 285
95 458
43 270
37 090
60 433
70 214
43 321
47 043
78 580
89 883
68 829
49 946
3.3.6 HIV/AIDS Segmentation of Employees in the Sector
The MICT Seta, for the first time in 2011, started collecting data on HIV/AIDS from its stakeholders.
Respondents were requested to indicate how many employees in their companies have HIV/AIDS, and 540 companies responded. Of these, 164 companies responded with zero, supporting this with the comments provided in the following figure.
Figure 14: Comments Associated with Companies Reporting Zero Employees with HIV/AIDS
About one-third of these respondents indicated that their company views this data as being confidential, with some companies stating that this type of data is not a legal requirement. On this same basis, a further 5% of companies indicated that they do not know this data, but even if they did, their company would not disclose it.
About 60% of the respondents stated that they do not know. Several of these companies mentioned that they do have wellness programmes which include employees going for voluntary testing, the results of which are not revealed back to the employer.
Finally, only 2% of the companies responded that they have the data and none of their employees have HIV/AIDS.
Based on the remaining 376 responses received (540-164), it is estimated that there are 2 176 employees in the
MICT Sector that have HIV/AIDS, as presented in the following table. It must be stressed though that this is not an accurate perspective.
MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011 Page 37
Table 21: Employees with HIV/AIDS, by Company Size and as a Percentage of Total
Company Size
Large (150+ Employees)
Medium (50-149 Employees)
Small (1-49 Employees)
Grand Total
No of
Employees with
HIV/AIDS
1 923
135
118
2 176
Percentage of Total
Employees
1.7%
0.5%
0.3%
1.2%
The table shows that Large companies have a larger percentage of their employees as having HIV/AIDS compared to Medium and Small companies. Overall, it is estimated that some 1.2% of employees in the MICT Sector have
HIV/AIDS.
3.3.7 OFO Major Group Segmentation of Employees in the Sector
The following figure presents the Major Group number of employees in the MICT Sector, segmented by gender.
As may be observed, the sector is very male dominant at the managerial, professional and technical occupational levels.
Figure 15: Major Group by Gender, 2011
Source: The MICT Seta OGS
The following figure presents the Major Group number of employees in the MICT Sector, segmented by race.
Page 38 MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011
Figure 16: Major Group by Race, 2011
Source: The MICT Seta OGS
Whites are dominant in the managerial and professional categories.
The following figure presents the Major Group number of employees in the MICT Sector, segmented by age. At the Managerial level, the 35 to 55 year olds strongly outweigh the other two age categories, whereas there is a more equal balance at the Professional and Technician levels.
Figure 17: Major Group by Age, 2011
Source: The MICT Seta OGS
MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011 Page 39
3.3.8 Provincial Distribution of Employees and Sites
The following figure presents the provincial distribution of employees. These figures provide an indication of how the MICT Sector employees and company sites are distributed around the country.
Figure 18: Provincial Distribution of Employees, 2011
Source: The MICT Seta OGS
In terms of the number of employees, about two-thirds of the employees are employed within Gauteng, followed by the Western Cape at 16%, KwaZulu-Natal at 8% and the Eastern Cape at 3%. The MICT Seta has offices in all four of these provinces.
The following figure presents the distribution of the number of sites (head offices and branches) around the country. Once again, the MICT Seta has offices in the four provinces having the greatest stakeholder site presence.
Page 40 MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011
Figure 19: Provincial Distribution, Number of Sites (Head Offices plus Branches), 2011
Source: The MICT Seta OGS
3.4 Drivers of Change
3.4.1
The SA Government’s Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF)
The MICT Seta has, as suggested in the “Framework for the National Skills Development Strategy” 32 , reviewed the
MTSF 33 with a view to assess what contribution it can make over the next five years to the MTSF. This review is
presented in Appendix 1, the findings of which are summarised in Chapter 7.
3.4.2 The Human Resource Development Strategy of South Africa (HRDSSA)
As stated in the HRDSSA 34 , “ Thus, human resources development (HRD) is critically important in South Africa’s development agenda. The importance of HRD demands a response that has a sense of urgency.
”
The MICT Seta has, as suggested in the “Framework for the National Skills Development Strategy” 35 , reviewed the
HRDSSA with a view to assess what contribution it can make over the next five years to the HRDSSA. This review
is presented in Appendix 2, the findings of which are summarised in Chapter 7.
3.4.3 The Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP)
Having reviewed the Industrial Policy Action Plan, 2011/12 – 2013/14 (IPAP 2), produced by the dti, the MICT Seta can contribute to the following areas of the dti’s Key Action Programmes:
Table 22: Suggested MICT Seta Contribution to the dti IPAP Key Action Programmes the dti’s Key Action Programme
10.1.2 Streamline the skills delivery system through SOE-Skills Delivery Fora and dedicated Industry-Skills Partnerships for artisans, technicians and engineers in growth and new or ‘emerging’ sectors
10.1.3 Support of the National Centres of
Excellence to integrate sector competitiveness and skills needs
13.1.7 Facilitate the upgrade of manufacturing facilities and capabilities to
Purpose
Ensure that there is greater coherence in the delivery of specialised intermediate and high level skills
Ensure the financial and operational sustainability of the Centres of Excellence
Help to increase productivity, volumes and efficiencies
Suggested MICT Seta Contribution
Co-operate with SOEs and strategic partners to develop skills for technicians in the MICT
Sector
Where appropriate, the MICT Seta will consider adopting the Centre of Excellence(s)
Provide support to the Electrotechnical Export
Council. Engage with Productivity SA.
32 Ibid.
33 Medium Term Strategic Framework, (2004-2014) Minister in the Office of the Presidency: Planning, July 2009.
34 Human Resource Development Strategy of South Africa (HRDSSA) 2010 – 2030, as approved on 18 March 2009.
35 Ibid.
MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011 Page 41
increase domestic production and growth of exports
13.3 Green industries
13.9.5 Innovation and technology
13.14.2 Skills development and training for the BPS sector
13.15 Advanced Manufacturing: Aerospace and Defence sector, Set-Top Box (STB) sector
Address significant opportunities to develop new ‘green’ and energy-efficient industries and
The MICT Seta to identify and support skills development in Green industry stakeholder related services
Distinct technologies will be identified, and companies.
CSIR will be supported where possible where commercialisation is possible, this will be undertaken with relevant partners. The technologies to be pursued will include the establishment of a South African garment sizing data base using three-dimensional (3-D) body-scanner technology, computer-aided design using 3-D scanner data.
Monyetla Work-Readiness Programme, a dedicated investor friendly set-up process, and
The MICT Seta to identify and support BPS stakeholders in skills development. a programme to improve industry service standards, requisite skills from entry level to supervisory level, in order to position South
Africa as a preferred off shoring destination for
BPS operations
Sector development The MICT Seta to identify and support
Aerospace and STB stakeholders in skills development.
3.4.4 The Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Strategy (ISRDS)
The MICT Seta has, as suggested in the “Framework for the National Skills Development Strategy” 36 , reviewed the
ISRDS 37 with a view to assess what contribution it can make over the next five years to the ISRDS. This review is
presented in Appendix 4, the findings of which are summarised in Chapter 7.
3.4.5 National Industrial Policy Framework (NIPF)
The MICT Seta has, as suggested in the “Framework for the National Skills Development Strategy” 38 , reviewed the
NIPF with a view to assess what contribution it can make over the next five years to the NIPF 39 . This review is
presented in Appendix 4, the findings of which are summarised in Chapter 7.
3.4.6 Economic Growth and Globalisation
Economic growth in South Africa is a key uncertainty over the next 5-10 years. This will have substantial effects on the employment and skills landscape. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) for example, in its 2011 employment global assessment, predicts that the economic crisis could push more than 100 million people worldwide into poverty.
Technology and a knowledge economy may lead to a polarisation of jobs between the highly skilled and low skilled.
And the digital divide between the urban and rural will widen at an unprecedented rate in the next 10-20 years.
Replacement and enhancement of infrastructure will be a big driver of employment and therefore skills, and its rate of introduction is highly dependent on future economic conditions.
New industries and new jobs will best be stimulated by Government, for example, the August 2011 announcement by the Minister of Communications, Mr Padayachie, of the creation of 1 million jobs by 2020. This will occur through the development of new technologies, methods and materials requiring training on their adoption.
According to South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) reports during their announcement on ICT job creation, over 4-million South Africans are unemployed - a statistic that has government worried. But a collaborative effort between the Department of Communications and the ICT industry aims to reduce this number.
According to SABC News, more than 30 ICT companies signed on the dotted line declaring their commitment to creating jobs.
Most South Africans do not have access to information technology. In 2008, the country ranked 92 on the world
ICT development index. According to press reports released recently, the target is 100% internet and broadband coverage countrywide by 2020 40 .
This is a noble cause and needs to be supported. The Minister of Finance announced during his budget speech on the 23rd February, 2011 “ Real GDP growth is projected to reach 3.4% in 2011, 4.1% in 2012 and 4.4% in 2013 ”.
36 Ibid.
37 Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Strategy (ISRDS), November 2000.
38 Ibid.
39 National Industrial Policy Framework (NIPF), the dti.
40 SABC News, 31-07-2011, 7:18:00
Page 42 MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011
This is significant compared to last year ’s 2.8%. If the government believes that the annual growth rate of 7% is achievable, then this should also reflect in the government budget proposal. As things stand, this is not the case.
The growth of African markets and the liberalisation of international trade are important drivers of growth and will impact on the MICT Sector landscape. For example, the Department of Communication participates in the New
Partnership for Africa`s Development (NEPAD) ICT Broadband Infrastructure Network for Africa, which includes the
Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System (EASSy) Project. According to the South Africa Yearbook 2010/11 report, the 9 900-km long EASSy cable will link South Africa to Sudan and provide for landing stations in countries along the coast of Africa. The cable will be connected to adjacent landlocked countries and will have a lifespan of 25 years. Last year, August 2010, with an upgraded design, the cable entered commercial operation ahead of schedule and about 10% below its budgeted cost of $300 million. The EASSy cable landing is at Mtunzini in Kwa-
Zulu Natal 41 .
3.4.7 Demographic Imperatives
The main demographic issue is an ageing workforce. People may work longer, and they will need lifelong training to help them meet the new challenge. According to the Journal of Management 42 , the ageing population will deplete government resources in pensions and other services as result of ageing population. Commenting in the same journal, Shedia et al stated “Demographic trends are always at work within individual countries, shaping societies, economies, and the environment. But today the world as a whole is being shaped by a demographic megatrend: increasing aging and dependency. After decades of accelerating population growth, in which the global population zoomed from 2 billion to 6 billion in 70 years, growth is slowing down as fertility rates decline. As a result, aged citizens will become a larger percentage of populations and their dependency on slower-growing working populations will have serious economic consequences. In short, the next 50 years will look much different from the previous 50.”
The World Bank 43 describes youth as the most “abundant asset” the continent has at its disposal. The report argues that to benefit from this asset, strong, visionary and transformational leadership is required. Such leadership will have to seriously consider the social ramifications of high rates of youth unemployment and underemployment and craft viable strategies to mitigate them. Additionally, leaders will have to create conducive environments and direct the re-engineering of their education and training systems for responsive, relevant and sustainable youth skills development not only to avert disaster, but also for robust socio-economic development.
At the Fifth African Development Forum 44 , the forum describes Africa as a continent of the young, with more than
60% of the total population below the age of 25. This finding means that Africa has an economic advantage over
Europe with its Ageing Society. In economic terms, youth provides dynamism in the supply of labour required for faster economic growth.
3.4.8 ICT Charter
Introduction
The revised Draft ICT Charter was gazetted on 14 June 2011 after many years of deliberation between government
(Department of Communications and the Department of Trade and Industry) and ICT industry sectors. According to
DoC 45 , the revised Draft ICT Charter is an industry-driven document put together by various ICT associations like the Black IT Forum (BITF), the SA Communications Forum (SACF), the Computer Society of South Africa (CSSA), the Electronic Industries Federation (EIF), Information Industry South Africa (IISA), Information Technology
Association (ITA) and the South African Chamber of Business (SACOB). However, DoC acknowledges the fact that
“the ICT sector differs widely in terms of its stakeholders and its interest”; hence it has consulted as many players as possible and given opportunity for comments into the Charter.
The revised Draft ICT Charter covers a wide range of areas for transformation. These areas include skills development, employment equity, procurement, ownership, enterprise development, and socio-economic development initiatives. The Charter specifies mechanisms and targets for human resources development. The
Setas interest is on implication it has on the skills development imperatives within the MICT Sector. Below is a comparison between the revised gazetted Draft ICT Charter of June, 2011 and the DTI government gazette of 9
February 2007, No 29617, which is the document the industry has been using to-date.
The revised Draft ICT Charter addresses the ten-year period 2006 to 2015. It contains seven elements; three of these elements have a direct impact on the skills development which is the mandate of the MICT Seta; and are highlighted below:
41
S.A. Yearbook 2010/11
42 University of Michigan, USA, Implications of an Ageing Workforce, Volume 35, No 5, 2011
43 World Bank, Youth and Unemployment in Africa: The Potential, The Problem, The Promise, 2008
44 Fifth African Development Forum, Ethiopia, Youth and Leadership in the 21st Century, 2008
45 Department of Communications website, www.doc.gov.za
MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011 Page 43
Management Control Scorecard
Skills Development Scorecard
Employment Equity Scorecard
Background
The ICT Charter was developed to address issues such as employment equity, skills development and socioeconomic development, but also to develop a framework for working with multinational companies; the Charter serves as a Code of Good Practice for the ICT Sector in South Africa. It is a well-known fact that a vast majority of the Black Africans were denied access and control to the South African economy. The ICT Charter was drafted with the South African history and challenges in mind as pointed out in the main objectives below:
To support the objectives of the BBBEE Act and to promote its effective implementation in the ICT Sector;
To b ridge the “digital divide” by actively promoting access to ICTs; stimulate and support growth in the ICT
Sector;
To advance economic and social transformation in the ICT Sector;
To contribute towards the reduction of unemployment and poverty alleviation;
To support skills development and training initiatives;
To foster equity and address the legitimate economic aspiration of all South Africans; and
To provide an enabling environment conducive to transparency, fairness, and consistency when adjudicating on matters related to BEE in the ICT Sector.
Implications
Increased involvement of Previously Disadvantaged Individuals (PDIs) in the ICT Sector.
Opportunities for stake holding by PDIs in established businesses.
Improved access to ICT and thus stimulation of economic growth.
MICT Seta Assessment
The following is a comparison between the dti government gazette of 7 February, 2007 and the recently gazetted revised Draft ICT Charter of June 2011.
The Weighting points have increased from 15 points in the government gazette, 9 February, 2007 to 17 points in the new gazetted Draft ICT Charter of June, 2011.
The Learning Programme Matrix is attached as Annexure 400A on the 9 February 2007 government gazette, whereas it is not attached in the gazetted Draft ICT Charter of June 2011.
Annexure 400B – calculating the Adjusted Recognition for Gender & Measurement of Skills Development
Facilitator is attached on the 9 February, 2007; whereas in the gazetted Draft ICT Charter of June 2011 both are not attached except the calculation for Adjusted Recognition for Gender which appears in Clause
4: 57-60, point 4.3 which may be confusing.
Comments
In general, the gazetted Draft ICT Charter has received overwhelming support from the MICT Sector. However, there are still areas of concern that the MICT Sector would like to see effected. According to the President of the
ITA, Chose Choeu 46 , the ITA has made many recommendations to government concerning all aspects of the proposed industry codes. Many of these recommendations are positive for the sector. For example, in skills development, the ITA has proposed far-reaching changes, which will align the sector to international best practices and e-learning concepts.
The following issues of concern have been raised by representatives of the MICT Sector regarding the revised
Draft ICT Charter:
Ownership Scorecard: Clause 6 – Point 6.5.
It does not address job creation despite this being a significant national requirement.
It creates favourable conditions for large companies and is anti-transformation.
It creates legal uncertainty. For example, what happens to voting rights if the effective voting rights in the hands of Black people are say 10% and the “deemed voting rights” are now 30%? Are these legal principles of effective ownership now ignored? Do those that have voting rights of say 10% now have an effective voting right of 30%? Could they legally exercise this voting right or are they effectively disempowered in this respect as well? The 25.1% requirement rests on a legal principle that BBBEE shareholders have protection yet no protection seems to be offered here.
46 Choeu, 2011: ITA Press release, 12 August 2011
Page 44 MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011
It assumes that no matter what the investment, once the cap of R7.5 billion is exceeded then full points in this section are awarded. The motivation that not enough money exists to effect these larger empowerment deals is questionable since larger deals such as SASOL have already happened in South Africa. SASOL is reported to be double the size of the R7.5 Billion we cap here. Other large empowerment deals will be necessary for other large listed companies. Once this clause is accepted by the dti, all other large deals empowerment will seek similar favourable terms, setting back empowerment in South Africa.
Skills Development Scorecard: Clause 2 – Points 2.1.1
No provision has been made in the scorecard for skills development expenditure within a company that complies with international requirements and standards which do not comply with SAQA requirements.
Large vendors in the IT industry supply sector specific skills via specific international qualifications.
No provision has been made for any elearning programmes that would help develop employees’ skill base.
No provision has been made for unemployed graduates.
Recommendations and Conclusions:
International certification and qualifications should be recognized by the Charter and contribute towards the
Scorecard. Most of these are delivered through e-learning.
In the ICT Sector, e-learning programmes or certifications, being the dominant form of technical training, should be counted towards the Scorecard.
Internships should be encouraged with the enhanced 1.25 multiple to encourage job creation. To ensure high level skills are being created, bursars with firm employment offers after graduation should also count towards the multiple. This will encourage the correct and desired behaviour.
Include elearning under sections “B” and “F” institutional based theoretical instruction and occupationally directed informal instructional programmes respectively in the delivery mode.
One thing is clear, the MICT Sector is transforming, but perhaps not at the speed the government wishes it should.
The gazetting of the Charter clearly shows that there is an urgent need to change the racial profile of the MICT
Seta, and the demand for Black African professionals is very high. There is evidence that there are very few black people, especially women in the high-level occupations and professionals to an extent that many of the large companies are finding it difficult to resolve the skills challenges as well as meeting employment equity targets.
3.4.9 The South African e-Skills Council
The South African e-Skills Council is a partnership between government, the private sector, educators and other established government institutions that provide strategic advice on ICT-related skills issues. The e-Skills Council is to provide advice on programmes and services that can have a measurable impact on ICT related skills development in the South Africa. Additionally, the e-Skills Council will ensure that there is a coordinated plan to enhance government’s vision of addressing skills shortage that is a major constrain to the country’s economic growth.
To achieve the above outlined purpose, e-Skills Council has to:
Give effect to the vision as set out by President Mbeki.
Inform the strategic direction of plans that address the skills shortage drawing on international best practices.
Set targets for the ICT Institute in terms of the production of skills for job opportunities and industry needs.
Provide direction on policy and regulatory impediments to achieving progress on the acceleration of skills development in South Africa and make recommendations to the Inter-
Ministerial Committee on ISAD.
Advise the President on mechanisms to accelerate the building of a strong skills base in the ICT sector and the retention thereof.
Explore and recommend means of ensuring that the existing public institutions in South Africa are strengthened to become the quality centre of excellence in respect of ICT skills.
The e-Skills Council will be supported by the e-Skills Working Group. The Working Group is comprised of representatives from South African stakeholders, namely government, ICT sector, academia, researchers and civil society. The MICT Seta is a member of this working group.
The e-Skills Council through its e-Skill Institute is mandated to 47 :
47 National e-Skills Plan of Action, 2010
MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011 Page 45
Employment readiness: aimed at improvement of the employment figures for graduates from tertiary institutions and shortened time from employment to productivity. This refers to two aspects of employment readiness: ability to get the job or to start small business, and skills to do the work.
Effective e-governance and service delivery : aimed at effective use of ICT for service delivery that is developmental, agile, competent, and citizen-centric. This will result in government having better communication with the people of South Africa thus focusing service delivery on real needs.
Business development : aimed at providing skills needed within corporates, small, medium businesses and micro-enterprises (SMMEs) to exploit opportunities provided by ICT, notably the Internet and emerging cell phone technologies, to ensure more efficient and effective performance, to explore possibilities for new ways of conducting business and organisational processes, and to establish new businesses.
Socio-economic development : aimed at an increased national productivity and competitiveness (more competitive workforce), which inter alia should increase return on ICT investments. The further aim is to increase the uptake of online (e-government) services as well as to support the creation of relevant (local) content by more educated and cohesive citizens.
Research and development : aimed at informing policy and curriculum development, defining applications and evaluating progress. The research should be collaboratively useful across government departments and the stakeholders’ array and presented in a user friendly, accessible way.
The National e-Skills Plan of Action
As a consequence of establishing the National Skills Council due to lack of coordinated and integrated strategy approach in addressing ICT skills shortages in the country , the National e-Skills Plan of Action was developed for the ICT Sector in July 2010 and – after an intense consultation process with Government, business and organised labour – accepted as a programme of action. The MICT Seta also took part in the deliberation.
The national importance of the National e-Skills Institute is captured in the Minister of Communications, Mr
Padayachie`s, budget speech delivered in May 2011:
“ICT skills and the capacity to use new technologies remain a pre-requisite for effective participation of citizens in the Information Society and knowledge-based economy. This will create opportunities for employment and wealth creation by using new electronic communications services.
Notwithstanding the on-going efforts of various stakeholders, we remain challenged by an alarming skills deficit across society. To address the e-skills deficit, the department is currently incubating the e-Skills Institute which will act as a clearing house for e-skills initiatives in the country, in partnership with other stakeholders, including universities. Our medium term plan is to establish a standalone e-Skills Institute (e-SI).
We have established five (5) Provincial e-Skills Knowledge Production Hubs at partnering universities which will better coordinate and invigorate all e-skill related activities. We have also established a National e-Skills Research
Network (ReSNES) to ensure that the e-skills interventions are based on sound evaluative principles. We have also developed a National e-Skills Plan, adopted at the first e-Skills Summit held in July 2010. The e-SI shall, through the roll-out of its programmes, deliver e-Skilled practitioners, u sers and information society knowledge workers.”
The five (5) Provincial eSkills Knowledge Productions Hubs as alluded above by the Minister of Communication’s budgets speech that have already established by DoC in partnership with the universities. These are in Gauteng, in partnership with the University of Pretoria, in Eastern Cape, in partnership with Walter Sisulu University, in Kwa-
Zulu Natal, in partnership with Durban University of Technology, in the Western Cape, in partnership with the
University of Western Cape, and in the Northern Cape, in partnership with Vaal University of Technology.
The programmes that the e-Skills Institute intends rolling-out in the five provinces in partnership with the abovementioned universities includes the following e-Skills Sets 48 :
e-Literacy Skills; aimed at employment readiness, particularly targeting unemployed and unskilled youth and rural society (including starting own small business).
e-Participation and e-Democracy Skills: focusing on enhancing citizen interactive engagement with communities, local, provincial and national governance processes to increase participation, self-reliance and e-Government Skills: focus on increasing efficiency and productivity interactive bimodal approaches to service delivery of governments and its agencies across all ICT platforms including new cell phone technology, community radio and the like.
e-Business Skills: aimed at increasing organisational efficiency productivity.
e-User Skills: focus on efficiency equity of public and private sector knowledge workers.
48 National Skills Institute, National e-Skills Plan of Action (NeSPA), 2010
Page 46 MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011
e-Practitioner Skills: aimed at enhancing efficiency of public and private sector to manage, support and service ICT.
e-Community Skills: aimed at increasing self-reliance, participation and community support in a socioeconomic setting to build social cohesion in ways that can better build local solutions to societal matters such as crime, health, education and the like.
However, there are no set time-frames and targets. There is still an enormous work that lies ahead. For example, the relevant curricula must still be developed and accredited, required funding must still be secured, and the
Provincial Hubs still need to be capacitated to perform the required training, etc.
The National e-Skills Plan of Action covers a wide range of e-Skilling; the document comes up with five (5) areas of actions highlighted below:
Completing the NeSPA in ways that build on the collaborative multi-stakeholder processes used thus far.
Developing a research network that is locally, nationally, continentally and internationally relevant to policy development, service delivery, HRD and socio-economic needs within the context of a development state.
Establishing a pilot of 9 (one per province) e-Skills Knowledge Centre Network hubs in association with
HET Institutions. These pilots need to provide a space for a multi-stakeholder (Government, Business,
Education and Civil Society/Labour) based approach to HRD for Knowledge Societies that can develop equitable prosperity and global competiveness in the emerging dynamics of a developmental state in South
Africa.
Developing a transfer pricing mechanism that provides useful access to the benefits of ICTs across the socio-economic divide cf. electricity and water charging policies.
Developing a sectoral approach to e-skilling that not only enhances capacity within the existing labour market but also builds opportunity for efficacy within existing systems and develops new paradigms suited to the needs of a modern world. The experiences of South Korea and the Basque region of Spain provide examples of immediately implementable processes.
The Department of Communications budget reaffirms the role that e-Skills can play in the economic growth and job creation.
The Minister of Finance allocated the following baseline capital for ICT programmes over the next three years from
2011 to 2014.
Table 7: Budget from 2011 to 2014
Programmes
Governance and Administration
ICT International Affairs and Trade
Allocated Amount
R 471 619 million
R 119 506 million
ICT Policy development
ICT Enterprise Development
R 287 050 million
R 3 467 629 million
ICT Infrastructure Development R 1 013 762 million
Presidential National Commission R 102 932 million
Source: Department of Communication Medium – Term Strategy, 2011-2014
The information presented in Table 7 above shows that the South African government is committed to up-skilling the nation in order to become globally competitive; and that ICT has a leading important role to play in this regard.
But more importantly, it is the bridging of the digital divide (the gap between the first and second economy) as alluded by President Mbeki in his state of the nation address in 2002.
The challenge that the ICT sector is facing is the shortage of high-level technical skills to support the new information and knowledge-driven society. The majority of the current workforce will have to be re-skilled and upskilled to meet the demands of these sectors.
Comment
In line with government commitment to e-skilling the nation as contained in the National e-Skills Plan of Action and
Minister of Communications, Mr Roy Padayachie`s, 2011 Budget speech, the MICT Seta`s focus is the development of structured training strategies in support of these initiatives by:
Promoting ICT practitioner education in a long term perspective and an innovative and worldwide environment and improving the integration of industry-based ICT curricula and certifications
Promoting science, math and ICT, role models, ICT job profiles and career perspectives with a special emphasis on young people.
Improving career advice and guidance opportunities in and around schools and provide better and more frequent training to career service provider.
Develop pragmatic approaches to reducing the e-skills gap between larger organisations and SMEs; as well as the urban and rural periphery.
Analysing regularly the evolution of the supply and demand of e-skills in South Africa and provide common statistics and foresight analyses relating to e-skills;
MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011 Page 47
3.4.10 The Department of Communications
The Department of Communications is one of the MICT Seta ’s primary stakeholders. Because this organisation plays an extremely important role within the MICT Sector, the following extracts from the budget vote speech by the
Communications Minister, Mr Roy Padayachie, in his address to the National Assembly, 31/05/2011:
“In the future we will in time make it possible for every South African to access and use Information and
Communication Technologies as we shape our country towards an inclusive, people-centred information society.
A few days before the local government elections, I launched various service delivery projects in several rural areas amongst others, Ndwedwe, Nongoma, Impendle, eSikawini, and Msinga in KwaZuluNatal and Mitchell’s
Plain in the Western Cape. In Ndwedwe and Nongoma, we introduced cyberlabs to the communities and schools, demonstrating that through the power of ICTs we can help our learners to realise their true potential and improve their lives. In Msinga, we switched on a low power transmitter which for the first time allowed Gogo Khumalo to watch SABC’s Izindaba and listen to uKhozi FM.
Digital Growth Opportunity
Since 2007, the ICT market has grown by over R131 billion to R179 billion in 2010. It is estimated that the sector will grow to R187 billion in 2011, with an estimated figure of R250 billion by 2020. This growth will be driven by the rapid uptake and usage of data and applications-driven mobile communications.
To achieve this growth target, we will implement several interventions to address the cost to communicate access to electronic communications infrastructure and reduce barriers to entry to promote competition in the sector. We will further introduce in this House, amendments to the Electronic Communications Act.
While mobile communications continues to experience unprecedented growth rates, Internet connectivity to the home remains low. Many South Africans still rely on broadband services at their place of work to access the
Internet, hence broadband penetration stands at approximately 5% of the population.
Current research indicates that under conditions characterised by high cost of services, saturation in urban markets and limited access in rural areas, the rate of expansion of the Internet in South Africa will decline from above 15% to 10% per annum by 2015. This projection envisages 11.3 million Internet users by 2015, which is approximately
22% of the population.
To consolidate partnerships within the sector, we established an industry working group comprising representatives from the top 30 ICT companies operating in South Africa tasked with strengthening partnerships between
Government and its social partners. We remain committed to create a partnership with the private sector as an essential step for the realisation of a common vision for the South African industry where business targets growth and government realises a developmental digital dividend for our people.
New Digital Landscape
We are commencing with a new broadcasting landscape. In December 2010, Cabinet reaffirmed its decision to adopt the DVB-T standard for the process of digital migration. Accordingly, Cabinet adopted the preferred standard of DVB-T2, an upgrade of DVB-T and agreed to December 2013 as the new switch-off date, with a view to allow the period between 2013 and 2015 to address any challenge that may arise towards the ITU deadline (of 2015).
In light of all these developments, the Department will implement interventions to ensure that South Africa migrates to digital broadcasting by 2013. Significant progress has already been made in implementing the Broadcasting
Digital Migration Policy for South Africa.
A successful trial conducted by broadcasters and the signal distributor has demonstrated that South Africa is ready with the process of migrating from analogue terrestrial television to digital terrestrial television using the adopted
DVB-T2 standard.
Substantial work has been done by Sentech in upgrading its broadcasting infrastructure from the existing DVB-T to
DVB-T2. By March 2011, Sentech would have achieved 60% population coverage on the DVB-T standard however the DTT standard change announced in January 2011 affected this target and necessitated a review of the migration plan. The uptake of digital broadcasting technology will expand the public bouquet in content viewing, for example, increase the number of channels from the current 3 SABC channels to over 10. These additional channels will provide an opportunity for the growth and transformation of the local content development industry.
We expect the South African Bureau of Standards to finalise the second generation DVB-T2 standard during the last quarter of 2011.
The set-top box (STB) manufacturing strategy and the scheme for the framework for ownership support will be submitted to Cabinet in August 2011. We are consulting widely with industry and relevant stakeholders towards finalising this process. This will pave the way for us to select the preferred STB manufacturers for the subsidised market by November 2011 and deploying the necessary infrastructure for the distribution of the subsidised STBs.
Page 48 MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011
The manufacturing of subsidised STBs will commence following Cabinet approval. With regard to the unsubsidised
STB market, manufacturing will begin once the SABS standards process is concluded. We anticipate that the digital terrestrial television public launch will take place in April 2012. Sentech will, in June 2011, switch-on the first
DVB-T2 test transmission at the Brixton tower in Johannesburg, targeting townships and informal settlements around the Johannesburg metropolitan area. By end 2012, Sentech will have upgraded the existing infrastructure to DVB-T2, to cover 80% of the population. We intend to achieve 100% migration of the network from analogue to digital on DVB-T2 by the end of 2013 to enable analogue signal switch-off.
Working together with all broadcasters and signal distributors, an integrated DTT project implementation plan has been developed and will seek Cabinet approval in August 2011. Due to the complexity and the magnitude of the digital migration process, we have decided to establish a dedicated Digital Migration Project Office to be located within the Department to drive the DTT implementation plan.
Broadcasting Policy Review ushering in the new digital environment
The process to review the current broadcasting policy landscape will commence with great urgency. We will in the coming three weeks launch the Broadcasting Review Process. This process will amongst others inform the interventions to be implemented in order to position the public broadcaster in the new digital environment. We will also use this opportunity to investigate an appropriate funding model for the SABC to ensure that the provision of public service remains the SABC’s main priority.
To fast track this process and to broaden the base of participation in this effort, I will constitute a panel of experts to assist with the policy review. This panel will advise on various policy issues, including embracing convergence and new media services, the creation of an enabling licensing and regulatory environment, the growth and development of local content industries, and the role of the three-tier broadcasting system – public, commercial and community broadcasting.
Community Broadcasting
Community broadcasting remains a critical project for the Department and will remain on our radar screen for years to come. R10 million has been allocated to support the development of content by community radio stations. During this year, we will provide broadcasting infrastructure to fifteen (15) community stations and R6 million has been allocated for this purpose. We will implement measures such as setting aside frequencies for community broadcasting, in particular Community TV, aimed at promoting the growth of this sector. A study is being conducted to develop a sustainability model for Community Radio Stations and TV. Informed by the outcome of the study, we will investigate the possibility of increasing our contribution to the sector to meet our goal of one municipality one community radio station.
Broadband infrastructure and services
ICT infrastructure is a basic foundation for economic competitiveness. Government has during the last few years increased investment in infrastructure to create jobs and stimulate the economy. Government will accelerate broadband infrastructure spending.
In this regard, an initial R450 million, over the MTEF period, has been allocated for the provision of Broadband services. An integrated broadband implementation plan, which will harmonise various broadband related initiatives, will be finalised in the current financial year.
Sentech and Ethekwini Municipality are in discussions to create an intelligent city as part of our focus on providing broadband services in urban areas. This will allow for Internet-based Government services that enable ubiquitous connectivity to transform key government processes both internally to improve efficiencies and externally to improve service delivery to the people.
Optimising frequency spectrum to provide more services to the people
Radio frequency spectrum is a strategic natural scarce resource at our disposal to effect changes in the provision of electronic communications service at a faster rate. The Department of Communications, in partnership with
ICASA, will therefore conduct a radio frequency spectrum audit to ensure effective utilisation of scarce resources, covering all bands, contained in the national frequency plan.
Licensed entities unable to account for their use of the allocated radio frequency spectrum may forfeit their rights in terms of the law. We are prepared to amend the law to ensure efficient utilisation of the radio frequency spectrum.
We intend to issue a Policy Direction to ICASA to conduct a review of the Digital Dividend, which is the spectrum to be freed by the digital broadcasting migration process. The digital dividend will result in the licensing of further communications services such as mobile TV, High Definition TV, public emergency services and additional standard definition TV.
In terms of the radio frequency spectrum licensing, the new radio frequency spectrum policy trajectory will consider allocating parts of the high demand radio frequency spectrum towards accelerating development of rural connectivity. We will also ensure that our licensing framework balances the needs of the big and smaller entities.
MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011 Page 49
Job creation and rural development
During the State of the Nation Address, the President highlighted job creation and rural development as amongst the key priorities of Government. Given the strategic role of ICTs as enablers of growth and development, work is underway to identify tactical interventions to unleash this potential. Our interventions will combine work being done by industry. The role of the Department and state entities will be to address identified market failures particularly in the provision of universal service and access.
The Department is currently finalising the ICT Rural Development Strategy to determine priority under- serviced areas and accelerate the provision of Universal Service and Access through integrated government interventions.
As per the target set out in the New Growth Path, the Department together with the ICT sector, will facilitate the creation of over 150 000 direct and indirect jobs by 2020. Industry figures towards the contribution to job creation will be consolidated by the end of this calendar year. An industry-wide committee will be established to identify opportunities using a collective database to ensure effective monitoring and evaluation.
Jobs will be created across various sub-sectors of the industry through the provision of broadband infrastructure, establishment of content hubs for radio and TV, animation, e-cooperatives, uptake and usage of ICTs in FET colleges, tailor-made solutions for SMMEs, digital broadcasting, distribution of STBs and rollout of the PostBank.
The Department will leverage on the National Job Fund announced by President Zuma in his State of the Nation
Address and the Minister of Finance. We will also engage the Development Finance Institutions to increase their support for ICT businesses and innovations, especially those ventures that are driven by SMMEs in rural areas.
State Owned Entities take technology to the people
At Sentech, the newly appointed Chairperson, Board and Chief Executive Officer are showing remarkable commitment in working together to stabilise the organisation to fulfil its mandate. As part of our efforts to refocus
Sentech to deliver services to the people, R279 million has been allocated to prioritise the rollout of digital broadcasting signal coverage to the entire country.
The SABC has been allocated R84m to improve its technological capabilities and educational. Another R41m has been allocated to Channel Africa whose future role and social obligations will be discussed as part of the
Broadcasting Policy review process. The SABC further intends to launch a 24 hour news channel on the free to air space which will contribute to the diversity of views in society.
We are engaging the SABC on the future funding required to facilitate the introduction of new digital channels which will be broadcast to the population on a free to air platform. The number of TV channels will increase from 3 to 10. We will continue to engage the SABC with regard to the implementation of their turn-around strategy.
A review of USAASA’s strategic direction in the provision of universal access and service is to be undertaken. This strategic repositioning seeks to transform USAASA into a Digital Opportunity Foundation and to remove the bottlenecks that have made it difficult for us to exploit the Universal Service and Access Fund. We will engage
USAASA to set out the new strategic direction which will be presented to Parliament as we advance into the next financial year. USAASA will also play a role in the delivery of digital broadcasting and an initial R690m over the
MTEF period is allocated for the subsidisation of STBs to the poor TV-owning households.
Specific focus will be given to ICASA to increase its capacity to regulate a fast changing technological and market environment. In June 2011, we will present the performance management system of ICASA Chairperson and other councillors for deliberations in Parliament. We will also review the current ICASA Act to, amongst others, introduce a new funding model for ICASA so as to strengthen its capacity to regulate the sector.
In the current financial year, R313 million has been allocated to ICASA to cater for operational and project expenses. ICASA will pursue further liberalisation of the Pay TV market by issuing new television licences.
Commercial radio services will also be licensed in the Free State, Eastern Cape and the Northern Cape following the licensing of similar services in Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the North West in 2007. ICASA will soon announce the successful bidders for the commercial radio licences in Gauteng, Cape Town and Durban.
International development agenda
ICTs have changed the traditional boundaries between and among countries globally. Therefore, our interventions to take technology to the people continue to be influenced by developments in other parts of the world, especially in the African continent and the SADC Region. Accordingly, we will continue to participate in efforts to harmonise ICT policies in Sub-Saharan Africa, especially within the SADC Region.
In June 2011, the SADC Ministers responsible for ICTs and Postal services will inaugurate the new Regional
Association of Regulators which will act as an implementing body of the decisions of the Ministers. This follows the merger between the regional telecommunications and postal regulatory institutions, SAPRA and CRASA.
Honourable members, allow me to take this opportunity to congratulate the regulator, ICASA, for having been chosen as the first chair of the new entity.
Page 50 MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011
Together with other developing countries, we will continue to advocate for an equitable global ICT environment through participation in the ITU and other global forums.
Work is underway to prepare for o ur participation in the upcoming ITU’s World Radio Conference to be held in
2012. With regards to the AU, we will support the implementation of the Connect Africa goals through the prioritisation of infrastructure services that will facilitate direct communications between and amongst African countries. Integrated infrastructure development is crucial to Regional and Continental integration as part of the agenda of the African Union and the Regional Economic Communities, such as SADC”.
3.4.11 Other Legislation
The following legislation also impacts on the MICT Sector:
Telecommunications Amendment Bill, No. 65 of 2001
Interception and Monitoring Prohibition Act, No.127 of 1992
Interception and Monitoring Prohibition Amendment Act, No.77 of 1995
Employment Equity Act, No. 55 of 1998
Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act, No. 53 of 2003.
Convergence Bill (2005)
ICASA Amendment Bill
Public Service Broadcasting Bill Electronic Communications Amendment Bill
New Seta Landscape
Electronic Communications and Transaction Act
The State Information Technology Agency (SITA) is tasked with ICT policy formulation and implementation. The responsibility for all government IT procurement has been given to the Information Technology Acquisition Centre
(ITAC) since 01 of April 2002. This is an attempt by government to ensure that a certain percentage of the Rand value of all government IT contracts is awarded to BEE companies. The purpose of this strategy is to appoint vendors that supply government ICT services and products, thereby addressing the growth of BEE in South
Africa.
49
49 ICT in Government, Forge Ahead BMI-T and the Department of Communications, Vol. 1 Issue 1, October 2002
MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011 Page 51
4 Sector Specific Economic Performance and Outlook
4.1 Summary of the MICT Sector
The total number of Levy-Paying companies in the MICT Sector, as at 31 st March 2011, is 3 287. The following table presents the segmentation based on size of company.
Table 23: Number of Levy-Paying Companies in the MICT Sector, by Subsector, as at 31 st March 2011
Subsector by Company Size
Advertising
Electronic Media and Film
Electronics
Information Technology
Telecommunications
Grand Total
Source: The MICT Seta OGS
Company Size
Large (150+ Employees)
Medium (50-149 Employees)
Small (1-49 Employees)
Grand Total
Source: MICT Seta OGS
Number of
Companies
380
233
469
1 779
% of
Sector
11.6%
7.1%
14.3%
54.1%
426 13.0%
3 287 100.0%
The following table summarises the number of employees and companies by size of company.
Table 24: Number of Employees and Companies in the MICT Sector by Size of Company, as at 31 st March 2011
No of
Employees
109 972
28 977
43 484
182 433
No of
Companies
160
342
2 785
3 287
The number of employees in 2011 is estimated at 182 433. The following table presents the employee segmentation based on size of company.
Table 25: Segmentation of the MICT Sector by Number of Employees, as at 31 st March 2011
Subsector by Company Size
Advertising
Electronic Media and Film
Electronics
Information Technology
Telecommunications
Grand Total
Source: The MICT Seta OGS
Number of
Employees
9 247
12 816
27 327
79 805
% of
Sector
5.1%
7.0%
15.0%
43.7%
53 238 29.2%
182 433 100.0%
The following table summarises the race, gender, disability distribution of employees in the MICT Sector, by subsector.
Table 26: Equity Segmentation of the MICT Sector, as at 31 st March 2011
Advertising
Electronic Media and Film
Electronics
Information Technology
Telecommunications
Grand Total
Source: The MICT Seta OGS
Number of People with
Disability African Coloured Indian White Total
44
125
114
2 918
7 401
8 406
955 628 4 746 9 247
1 270 723 3 422 12 816
Male
3 952
6 793
3 060 3 013 12 848 27 327 18 196
359 23 510
202 20 801
7 812 7 616 40 867 79 805
8 070 6 174 18 193 53 238
51 089
33 879
Female
5 295
6 023
9 131
28 716
19 359
844 63 036 21 167 18 154 80 076 182 433 113 909 68 524
Total
Employment
9 247
12 816
27 327
79 805
53 238
182 433
It is estimated that there are 2 176 employees in the MICT Sector that have HIV/AIDS, as presented in the following table. It must be stressed that this is not an accurate perspective.
Page 52 MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011
Table 27: Employees with HIV/AIDS, by Company Size and as a Percentage of Total Employees
Company Size
Large (150+ Employees)
Medium (50-149 Employees)
Small (1-49 Employees)
Grand Total
Source: The MICT Seta OGS
4.2 Labour Market Trends and Projections
No of
Employees with
HIV/AIDS
1 923
135
118
2 176
Percentage of Total
Employees
1.7%
0.5%
0.3%
1.2%
The growth in employment in the MICT Sector, by Subsector, is presented in the following table.
Table 28: Growth of Employees in the MICT Sector, by Subsector
2009 to 2011
Subsector
Advertising
Electronic Media and Film
Electronics
Information Technology
Telecommunications
Grand Total
Source: The MICT Seta OGS
Growth,
2009 to
2010 2009
10 042 -2.4%
14 468 -3.9%
26 525
76 813
52 153
180 001
1.6%
2.0%
1.5%
1.1%
Growth,
2010 to
2011 2010
9 804 -5.7%
13 909 -7.9%
26 938
78 345
52 919
181 915
1.4%
1.9%
0.6%
0.3%
2011
9 247
12 816
27 327
79 805
53 238
182 433
The following table shows the data rearranged and presented as employment by size of company in the MICT
Sector. The table shows that large companies experienced some small growth over the period 2009 to 2011, whereas medium companies experienced almost no growth.
Table 29: Growth of Employees in the MICT Sector, by Size of Company
2009 to 2011
Large (150+ Employees)
Medium (50-149 Employees)
Small (1-49 Employees)
Grand Total
Source: The MICT Seta OGS
2009
107 081
28 760
44 160
180 001
Growth,
2009 to
2010
1.4%
0.4%
0.6%
1.1%
2010
Growth,
2010 to
2011
108 622
28 870
1.2%
0.4%
44 423 -2.1%
181 915 0.3%
2011
109 972
28 977
43 484
182 433
To gain further insight into growth within the MICT Sector, we turn our attention to the growth in Skills Development
Levies received by the MICT Seta over the past few years, as well as the amount of revenue that the MICT Seta stakeholder companies have been investing into skills development, over and above their levy contribution, into skills development. This data is presented in the following table, as well as employment data, for the period 2005 to 2009.
Table 30: Growth within the MICT Sector in Skills Development Levies, and in Employment, 2008 – 2010
Item Indicator
1 Isett Skills Development Levy (Current Rands x 1 000) ** [1]
2 Media and Advertising Skills Development Levy (Current Rands x 1 000)
3 "MICT" Skills Development Levy (Current Rands x 1 000)
4 Growth in Skills Development Levy, based on Current Rands
5 CPI (%) [2]
6 Skills Development Levy (Constant 2005 Rands x 1 000)
7 Real Growth in Skills Development Levy
2008
279 774
40 642
320 416
15.8%
11.5%
256 279
3.9%
2009
314 689
42 050
356 739
11.3%
6.2%
268 673
4.8%
2010
326 250
41 258
367 508
3.0%
3.2%
280 539
4.4%
8 Employment
9 Growth in Employment
180 001 181 915
1.1%
182 433
0.3%
** This data is 70% of the total skills levy contribution made by companies, and represents the amount of mandatory and discretionary funds that can be placed back into skills development by the MICT Seta.
[1] The MICT Seta Annual Reports, 2005/6 to 2009/10
[2] Statssa, Consumer Price Index, P0141
To explain this table, Item 1 presents the Skills Development Levy received by the Isett Seta as reflected in the
Isett Seta ’s Annual Reports. Item 2 is the Skills Development Levy received by the Mappp Seta for the Media an
Advertising Subsectors, and Item 3 is the sum of Items 1 and 2. This value has been adjusted for inflation (Item 5) to be presented as the real value in Item 6.
MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011 Page 53
Items 8 and 9 have been obtained from an analysis of historical WSP data.
From the table above, is can be observed that:
In real terms, the levy contribution has been growing in real terms since 2008. The Compound Annual
Growth Rate (CAGR) across the last three years has been determined to be 3.1%.
Regarding employment within the sector, growth has been positive over this period. The CAGR from 2008 to 2010 has been determined to be 0.4%.
In summary, and after reviewing the above information, the MICT Seta will base its 5-year SSP forecasts using the following projections:
Table 31: Forecast Growth within the MICT Sector of Skills Development Levies, and in Employment
Forecast
2011 -
2016
CAGR
3.1%
2010
(Actual)
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Forecast Real Skills Development Levy (Rands x
1,000)
367 508 378 756 390 349 402 297 414 610 427 300 440 379
Forecast CPI (%)
Forecast Skills Development Levy (Current
Rands x 1,000)
Forecast Employment
5.0% 7.4% 7.1% 4.3% 4.3% 4.3%
397 694 440 197 485 881 522 284 561 416 603 479
0.4% 182 433 183 251 184 073 184 898 185 727 186 560 187 396
** This data is 70% of the total skills levy contribution made by companies, and represents the amount of mandatory and discretionary funds that can be placed back into skills development by the MICT Seta.
The reader should note that the MICT Seta is not a sales type of business where income can vary according to several factors such as GDP. The primary determining factor that influences what the MICT Seta can achieve is its level of income, which is directly related to stakeholder levy contributions. Levy contributions from stakeholders are legislated to be 1% (80% thereof going to the Setas) of stakeholder salaries and wages. Level of income to the
MICT Seta is therefore dependent on the level of employment in the MICT Sector, and the level of inflation, which impacts on salaries and wages. As is evident from the table presented above, based on the previous three years, employment is forecast to be approximately 0.4% per year for the next five years. This is a very low growth rate, and it was decided to ignore this growth rate in forecasting level of income. This results in a slightly conservative approach, but a better approach in view of the fact that overspending on budget could result in negative results from the Auditor General.
This same technique was employed in 2010 to estimate the forecast 2010 levy income. Comparing the estimate with the actual 2010 income, the estimate proved to be understated by 1.7%.
The MICT Seta feels that this is an adequate means of determining forecasting for the way forward, and feels that very little further value can be added by spending resources on more detailed inputs.
4.3 Trends in Priority Skills
In 2010, the MICT Seta sponsored a study in partnership with the Joburg Centre for Software Engineering (JCSE),
Meraka Institute and IT Web, to review national ICT skills needs. The full report is available on the MICT Seta website in the following link: http://www.isett.org.za/incASP/frame.asp?theSection=/ssp/default.asp&thepage=default.htm
.
The 2010 results on the 2010 survey were combined with the 2008 and 2009 results to produce the following figure.
As may be observed from this figure, Application Development skills have been in strong demand for the past two years, demand increasing from 2008, whereas demand for Business Intelligence/Knowledge Management (BI/KM) has been declining over this period.
Page 54 MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011
Figure 20: National ICT Priority Skills, 2008 to 2010
Source: 2011 ITWeb-JCSE Skills Survey
Other skills that have been showing a steady increase in demand since 2008 include Database Development,
Information Security, Operating Systems and Web Development. Software as a Service (SaaS) and Service-
Oriented Architecture (SOA) also showed strong demand in 2010.
4.4 Trends in Equity
4.4.1 Gender and Race
2010 and 2011. From this table, the following points can be observed or determined:
Advertising Subsector o The subsector as a whole has been declining in employment over the past few years. o Employment of Males has been declining at a faster rate compared to Females. Females now account for 57% of total employees. o Employment across all race groups has declined, but more markedly for Black employees over this period. Black employees now account for 49% of the total number of employees. o Since 2009, this subsector has declined at an annual compound growth rate of 4.0% per year.
Electronic Media and Film Subsector o The subsector as a whole has been declining in employment over the past few years. o Over the past three years, employment of Males has declined more markedly compared to
Females, to the extent that Females now account for 47% of employment. o Employment of Whites has declined more markedly compared to Black employees over this period, with Black employees now accounting for 73% of the total number of employees. o Since 2009, this subsector has declined at an annual compound growth rate of 5.9% per year.
Electronics Subsector o The Electronics Subsector has grown in employment over the past few years. o Over the past three years, employment of Females has grown at a slightly faster rate compared to
Males. Females now account for one-third of the total number of employees. o Employment of Whites has been declining compared to Black employees over this period. Black employees now account for 53% of the total number of employees. o Since 2009, this subsector has GROWN at an annual compound growth rate of 1.5% per year.
Information Technology Subsector o The subsector as a whole has been growing in employment over the past few years. o Employment of Males has been growing at a faster rate compared to Females. Females now account for 36% of total employees.
MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011 Page 55
o Employment of Black personnel has grown slightly over this period, slightly more so than employment of Whites. Black employees now account for 49% of the total number of employees. o Since 2009, this subsector has grown at an annual compound growth rate of 1.9% per year.
Telecommunications Subsector o The subsector as a whole has been growing in employment over the past few years. o Employment of Females has been growing at a faster rate compared to Males. Females now account for 36% of total employees. o Employment of Black personnel has grown slightly over this period (1.2% Compound Annual
Growth Rate), slightly more so than employment of Whites (0.7% Compound Annual Growth Rate).
Black employees now account for 66% of the total number of employees. o Since 2009, this subsector has grown at an annual compound growth rate of 1.0% per year.
Table 32: Annual Change in Gender and Race Employment, by Subsector, 2009 to 2011
Advertising
Electronic Media and Film
Electronics
Information Technology
Telecommunications
Sector
Gender/Race
Male
Female
African
Coloured
Indian
White
Subsector Total
Male
Female
African
Coloured
Indian
White
Subsector Total
Male
Female
African
Coloured
Indian
White
Subsector Total
Male
Female
African
Coloured
Indian
White
Subsector Total
Male
Female
African
Coloured
Indian
White
Subsector Total
Male
Female
African
Coloured
Indian
White
Sector Total
21 281
8 105
7 263
40 164
76 813
34 238
17 915
20 826
8 047
5 353
17 927
52 153
113 350
66 651
59 989
21 779
17 054
81 179
180 001
2009
4 484
5 558
3 388
2009/2010
Growth 2010
-3.9%
-1.2%
-4.3%
4 310
5 494
3 241
2010/2011
Growth 2011
-8.3%
-3.6%
-10.0%
3 952
5 295
2 918
1 157
654
4 843
10 042
8 257
6 211
7 177
-8.4%
4.9%
-0.5%
1 060
686
4 817
-2.4% 9 804
1.2% 8 353
-10.5% 5 556
-8.7% 6 550
-9.9%
-8.5%
955
628
-1.5% 4 746
-5.7% 9 247
-18.7% 6 793
8.4% 6 023
13.0% 7 401
1 587 -3.7% 1 528
791 -14.9% 673
4 913 5.0% 5 158
14 468
17 851
8 674
-3.9%
1.0%
2.8%
13 909
18 023
8 915
7 317
2 883
2 993
13 332
26 525
48 520
28 293
9.5%
3.1%
-1.0%
8 011
2 972
2 963
-2.6% 12 992
1.6% 26 938
3.2% 50 051
0.0% 28 294
-16.9%
7.4%
-33.7%
1 270
723
3 422
-7.9% 12 816
1.0% 18 196
2.4% 9 131
4.9% 8 406
3.0% 3 060
1.7% 3 013
-1.1% 12 848
1.4% 27 327
2.1% 51 089
1.5% 28 716
5.4% 22 425
2.2% 8 286
7.9%
-0.9% 39 800
2.0% 78 345
0.7%
2.9% 18 439
-0.2% 20 780
0.8% 8 110
-1.0% 5 299
4.5% 18 730
1.5% 52 919
1.6% 115 217
0.1%
1.7%
0.8%
7 834
34 480
66 698
61 007
21 956
2.4% 17 455
0.4% 81 497
1.1% 181 915
4.8% 23 510
-5.7% 7 812
-2.8%
-1.7%
2.7%
3.3%
-3.6%
7 616
2.7% 40 867
1.9% 79 805
33 879
5.0% 19 359
0.1% 20 801
-0.5% 8 070
16.5% 6 174
-2.9% 18 193
0.6% 53 238
-1.1% 113 909
68 524
63 036
21 167
4.0% 18 154
-1.7% 80 076
0.3% 182 433
4.4.2 Trends in Age of Employees
and 2011. From this table, the following points can be observed or determined:
Advertising Subsector o Over 50% of the employees in this subsector are under the age of 35 years, but in recent years the number of people under 35 years has been reducing. o In 2011, the number of people under 35 years was 53.5%.
Page 56 MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011
Electronic Media and Film Subsector o Over 50% of the employees in this subsector are under the age of 35 years, but in recent years the number of people under 35 years has been reducing. o In 2011, the number of people under 35 years was 51.3%.
Electronics Subsector o Only 43% of the employees in this subsector are under the age of 35 years, which makes this subsector the subsector with the second lowest percentage of people under 35 years. Almost half the employees in this subsector fall into the 35 to 55 age group.
Information Technology Subsector o Over 50% of the employees in this subsector are under the age of 35 years. In recent years the number of people under 35 years has been growing, albeit at a small rate. o In 2011, the number of people under 35 years was 51.3%.
Telecommunications Subsector o Only 39.1% of the employees in this subsector are under the age of 35 years, which makes this subsector the subsector with the lowest percentage of people under 35 years. Almost 60%
(57.4%) of the employees in this subsector fall into the 35 to 55 age group.
Table 33: Annual Change in Age of Employees, by Subsector, 2009 to 2011
Advertising
Electronic Media and Film
Electronics
Information Technology
Telecommunications
Sector
Age
Under 35 Years Old
35 to 55 Years Old
Over 55 Years Old
Subsector Total
Under 35 Years Old
35 to 55 Years Old
Over 55 Years Old
Subsector Total
Under 35 Years Old
35 to 55 Years Old
Over 55 Years Old
Subsector Total
Under 35 Years Old
35 to 55 Years Old
Over 55 Years Old
Subsector Total
Under 35 Years Old
35 to 55 Years Old
Over 55 Years Old
Subsector Total
Under 35 Years Old
35 to 55 Years Old
Over 55 Years Old
Sector Total
38 577
35 038
3 198
76 813
21 855
28 291
2 007
52 153
85 482
86 336
8 183
180 001
2009
6 038
3 547
457
10 042
7 686
6 077
705
14 468
11 326
13 383
1 816
26 525
2009/2010
Growth
-6.7%
0.6%
31.5%
-2.4%
-7.2%
-8.7%
74.8%
-3.9%
3.9%
-0.5%
2.7%
1.6%
5.5%
-2.4%
8.0%
2.0%
-5.3%
2.5%
40 693
34 199
3 453
78 345
20 703
28 992
60.6%
1.5%
0.5%
-0.8%
3 224
52 919
85 922
85 618
26.8% 10 375
1.1% 181 915
2010
5 634
3 569
601
9 804
7 129
5 548
1 232
13 909
11 763
13 310
1 865
26 938
2010/2011
Growth
-12.1%
1.8%
10.3%
-5.7%
-7.8%
-9.5%
-0.6%
-7.9%
0.0%
1.8%
8.0%
1.4%
0.6%
2.7%
8.6%
1.9%
0.6%
5.5%
40 926
35 128
3 751
79 805
20 836
30 579
-43.5%
0.6%
-1.0%
2.7%
1 823
53 238
85 050
87 906
-8.7% 9 477
0.3% 182 433
2011
4 950
3 634
663
9 247
6 572
5 019
1 225
12 816
11 766
13 546
2 015
27 327
4.4.3 Trends in People with Disability
2009, 2010 and 2011. The data received for people with disability is viewed as not being at all reliable. The reason for this is that employees have a preference to remain silent on their disabilities, as they prefer to be treated like anyone else.
Table 34: Annual Change in Employed People with Disability, by Subsector, 2009 to 2011
Advertising
Electronic Media and Film
Electronics
Information Technology
Telecommunications
Grand Total
2009
2009/2010
Growth 2010
48 -15.4% 40
78 205.9% 239
85 34.8% 114
234
362
25.6% 294
19.1% 431
806 38.7% 1 118
2010/2011
Growth 2011
-3.7%
-22.3%
-8.0%
11.7%
-56.8%
-24.5%
39
186
105
328
186
844
MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011 Page 57
4.4.4 Trends in Class
Because the MICT Seta started measuring Class for the first time in 2011, trends in Class within the MICT Sector
are currently unavailable. The 2011 snapshot is however presented in Section 3.3.5 on page 35.
4.4.5 Trends in HIV/AIDS
As in the case of Class above, the MICT Seta started measuring HIV/AIDS for the first time in 2011, hence trends in HIV/AIDS within the MICT Sector are currently unavailable. The 2011 snapshot is however presented in Section
Page 58 MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011
5 Sectoral Skills Development Needs
5.1 Sector Specific Skills Development Needs
5.1.1 Introduction
This Section is based on the sector requirements for specific skills development needs, in particular addressing
Scarce and Critical Skills.
The following definitions of Scarce and Critical Skills apply:
SCARCE SKILLS refer to those occupations in which there are a scarcity of qualified and experienced people, currently or anticipated in the future, either (a) because such skilled people are not available or (b) they are available but do not meet employment criteria.
CRITICAL SKILLS , on the other hand, refer to specific key or generic and “top up” skills within an occupation.
This chapter is split into two main areas, involving differentiation between Scarce Skills and Critical Skills, the former relating to opportunities for recruitment, and the later relating to further upskilling of personnel in current existing occupations.
The data presented in this chapter represents a summary of data gathered from WSPs submitted to the MICT Seta during April to June 2011.
Unless otherwise stated, all data in this chapter represents number of interventions.
In this chapter, four time frames are presented, these being:
Immediate – these are immediate vacancies as at end – March 2011
Anticipated need for the period 1 st April 2011 to 31 st March 2012
Anticipated need for the period 1 st April 2012 to 31 st March 2013
Anticipated need for the period 1 st April 2013 to 31 st March 2014
5.1.2 MICT Seta Involvement in Types of Training Programmes
The following table defines the types of training programmes in which the MICT Seta can become involved.
Table 35 : Types of Training Programmes
Learning Programme
Types
Generic Diplomas,
Degrees, Certificates
Technical Qualifications and Technical Programmes
Internship
Articles
Licensing Requirements
Learnerships
Apprenticeships (Section
13)
Skills Programmes
Short Courses and
Continuing Professional
Development
Abbreviation
Description
Ed Theoretical knowledge provided by an institutional provider
TQ
TP
I
A
L
Ls
Ap
General theoretical knowledge provided by an institutional provider and experiential learning with an employer or simulated environment
A workplace or practical component is required in addition to a general theoretical knowledge based qualification (institutional provider) in order to obtain registration as a professional or licensed to practise
An occupationally directed programme resulting in a registered qualification and that requires an agreement and/or contract
SP An occupationally directed programme, registered by a
Seta, which is presented by an accredited provider and
SC
CPD when completed will constitute a credit towards an NQF registered qualification
Any learning or development programme that may or may not lead to credits towards an NQF registered qualification
Work experience for unemployed graduates (in scarce skills)
WE Work experience provided by a workplace for unemployed graduates (in scarce skills)
Learning Site
Classroom based
Mainly classroom based but includes simulation and may include workplace learning
A compulsory or statutory workplace component of a qualification
Mainly workplace based but includes classroom learning
Workplace and classroom
Classroom or simulated or classroom and simulated
Workplace only
In order to better distinguish between Skills Programmes and Short Courses, it should be noted that the MICT Seta views Short Courses as training programmes that may lead to credits but have no workplace component, whereas
Skills Programmes do lead to credits and have a workplace component.
MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011 Page 59
5.1.3 Demand for Scarce Skills
5.1.3.1 Introduction
Scarce skills represent a demand for personnel currently unavailable for occupations in companies. Scarce skills therefore represent opportunities for unemployed people.
5.1.3.2 Demand for Scarce Skills, by Learning Programmes
The following table summarises the demand for scarce skills, segmented by type of learning programme, for the
Period 1 st April 2011 to 31 st March 2014. The “Type of Learning Programme” is the sector’s perception of what type of learning programme the potential employee candidate will have had to have done in order be sufficiently skilled for the anticipated new position in the sector.
Table 36: Summary of Demand for Scarce Skills (Potential Vacancies), by Type of Learning Programme, for the Period 1 st April 2011 to 31 st March 2014
Type of Learning Programme
Ap - Apprenticeships (Section 13) NON RPL
CPD - Continuing Professional Development
Ed - Generic Diplomas, Degrees, Certificates
I - Internship
L - Licensing requirements
Ls - Learnerships
SC - Short Courses
SP - Skills Programmes
TP - Technical Programmes
TQ - Technical Qualifications
WE - Work experience for unemployed graduates
Grand Total
Ratio of Potential Vacancies to Employment
Compound Annual Growth Rate
Advertising
10
107
40
52
0
8
11
57
6
54
19
364
3.9%
1.3%
Electronic
Media and
Film
0
17
131
55
0
10
22
14
Electronics
0
Information
Technology
Telecommunications
Grand
Total
0 0 10
69
366
77
2
0
100
31
400
1 299
59
0
97
766
309
79
181 2 017
133
50
0
88
672
376
52
115
150 1 049
499
4
28
3
284
2.2%
0.7%
5
100
16
766
2.8%
0.9%
151
353
158
3 592
4.5%
1.5%
339
252
3
1 275 6 281
2.4%
0.8%
505
787
199
3.4%
1.1%
From the table above, it can be seen that:
By March 2014, there is demand for some 6 281 potential vacancies in the sector.
The Advertising Subsector sees the route of continuing professional development (conferences, seminars, short courses) over and above the alternative options as the means to acquiring personnel with the required skills.
The Electronic Media and Film, Electronics and Information Technology Subsectors indicate that the personnel they will require will need to have degrees, diplomas or certificates to be of the required standard for their businesses.
The Telecommunications Subsector sees that the personnel they will require will need technical programmes and qualifications.
Overall across the MICT Sector, the sector anticipates employment growing by some 3.4% over the next 3 years if these skills become available. This is equivalent to a compound annual growth rate of 1.1% per year.
The Information Technology Subsector is anticipated to be the fastest growing subsector, with a compound annual growth rate for employment of 1.5% per year.
The table below presents the demand for type of learning programme to obtain scarce skills, by year, for the period 1 st April 2011 to 31 st March 2014. From this table, it can be observed that:
Apprenticeships, Learnerships and even pure Workplace Experience conducted only in the workplace, will not provide potential candidates that have the sufficient knowledge/capability for the position in the organisation.
Potential employment candidates with formal qualifications such as degrees, diplomas and certificates are in the greatest demand, with the need for candidates to have supplemented their skills through short courses also playing an important role.
Page 60 MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011
Table 37: Summary of Demand for Scarce Skills (Potential Vacancies), by Type of Learning
Programme, for the Period 1 st April 2011 to 31 st March 2014
Type of Learning Programme
Ap - Apprenticeships (Section 13) NON RPL
CPD - Continuing Professional Development
Ed - Generic Diplomas, Degrees, Certificates
I - Internship
L - Licensing requirements
Ls - Learnerships
SC - Short Courses
SP - Skills Programmes
TP - Technical Programmes
TQ - Technical Qualifications
WE - Work experience for unemployed graduates
Total
Source: The MICT Seta OGS
Immediate as at 31st
March 2011
0
188
599
97
19
36
270
162
134
255
46
1 806
Number of Vacancies
1st 1st
1st April
2011 to
31st
March
2012
6
April
2012 to
31st
March
2013
4
April
2013 to
31st
March
2014
0
213
447
106
11
27
198
88
123
168
55
1 442
85
421
108
11
24
175
71
144
142
57
1 242
104
222
41
1 791
186
550
65
11
28
406
178
1st
April
2011 to
31st
March
2014
10
672
2 017
376
52
115
1 049
499
505
787
199
6 281
5.1.3.3 Demand for Scarce Skills, by Subsector and Occupation
The following figure presents the level of demand for the top ten scarce skills (potential vacancies – occupations) in the Advertising Subsector, in order of decreasing demand from left to right. Also shown in the graph is the number of occupations that already exist in this subsector for each of these top ten occupations.
Source: The MICT Seta OGS
The following figure presents the level of demand for the top ten scarce skills (potential vacancies – occupations) in the Electronic Media and Film Subsector, in order of decreasing demand from left to right. Also shown in the graph is the number of occupations that already exist in this subsector for each of these top ten occupations.
MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011 Page 61
Source: The MICT Seta OGS
The following figure presents the level of demand for the top ten scarce skills (potential vacancies – occupations) in the Electronics Subsector, in order of decreasing demand from left to right. Also shown in the graph is the number of occupations that already exist in this subsector for each of these top ten occupations.
Source: The MICT Seta OGS
The following figure presents the level of demand for the top ten scarce skills (potential vacancies – occupations) in the Information Technology Subsector, in order of decreasing demand from left to right. Also shown in the graph is the number of occupations that already exist in this subsector for each of these top ten occupations.
Page 62 MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011
Source: The MICT Seta OGS
The following figure presents the level of demand for the top ten scarce skills (potential vacancies – occupations) in the Telecommunications Subsector, in order of decreasing demand from left to right. Also shown in the graph is the number of occupations that already exist in this subsector for each of these top ten occupations.
5.1.4
Source: The MICT Seta OGS
Demand for Critical Skills
5.1.4.1 Introduction
Critical skills represent the demand for learning programmes required to top-up the skills of currently employed personnel and/or forecast (unemployed) candidates for employment.
5.1.4.2 Demand for Critical Skills, by Learning Programmes
The following table summarises the demand for the number of critical (top-up) skills learning interventions, segmented by type of learning programme and subsector.
MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011 Page 63
Table 38: Summary of Demand for Critical Skills, by Learning Programmes
Type of Learning Programme
CPD - Continuing Professional Development
Ed - Generic, Diplomas, Degrees, Certificates
I - Internship
Number of Training Interventions
Immediate as at 31st
March 2011
1st April
2011 to
31st
March
2012
1st April
2012 to
31st
March
2013
1st April
2013 to
31st
March
2014
1st April
2011 to
31st
March
2014
289
408
23
151
345
20
67
333
17
257
354
16
764
1 440
76
Ls - Learnerships
SC - Short Courses
SP - Skills Programmes
TP - Technical Programmes
TQ - Technical Qualifications
Total
Source: The MICT Seta OGS
2
594
333
119
1
409
179
136
347 256
2 115 1 497
0
313
145
149
0
786
337
256
3
2 102
994
660
162 233 998
1 186 2 239 7 037
In terms of satisfying the demand for Critical (Top-Up) Skills, the main points to note from the table above are:
The greatest demand for type of learning programme lies with Short Courses which account for 30% of total demand over the next three years, followed by Degrees, Diplomas and Certificate training interventions at 21%, most likely with unemployed personnel.
There is virtually no demand for using Learnerships to upskill existing or potential employees.
Demand for Internships account for 1.1% of total demand over the next three years.
5.1.4.3 Demand for Critical Skills, by Subsector and Occupation
The following figure presents the level of demand for critical (top-up) skills impacting on the top ten occupations that are seen to require the most attention in the Advertising Subsector, in order of decreasing demand from top to bottom.
Source: The MICT Seta OGS
The following figure presents the level of demand for critical (top-up) skills impacting on the top ten occupations that are seen to require the most attention in the Electronic Media and Advertising Subsector, in order of decreasing demand from top to bottom.
Page 64 MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011
Source: The MICT Seta OGS
The following figure presents the level of demand for critical (top-up) skills impacting on the top ten occupations that are seen to require the most attention in the Electronics Subsector, in order of decreasing demand from top to bottom.
Source: The MICT Seta OGS
The following figure presents the level of demand for critical (top-up) skills impacting on the top ten occupations that are seen to require the most attention in the Information Technology Subsector, in order of decreasing demand from top to bottom.
MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011 Page 65
Source: The MICT Seta OGS
The following figure presents the level of demand for critical (top-up) skills impacting on the top ten occupations that are seen to require the most attention in the Telecommunications Subsector, in order of decreasing demand from top to bottom.
Page 66
Source: The MICT Seta OGS
MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011
5.1.5 Training Interventions
On several occasions in the questionnaire, respondents expressed concern with the educational system in South
Africa, and the resulting quality of graduate education from secondary and tertiary institutions. Regarding secondary institutions, the quality of Maths, Science and English needs to be dramatically improved. Poor formal education has had a major impact on both organisations and employees in that there is an over-supply of underqualified and under-skilled entrants to the industry who are expectant of instant success. It is felt that ICT skills development and employment are incongruous - trying to match the skill with the job is difficult. Organisations find that it is extremely difficult to find really good and talented potential candidates for employment, and as a result have to spend a lot of time and money on self-training or in-house training. There is concern that there is a shortage of competent practitioners, which results in posts being filled with under-skilled employees. With regard to addressing the challenge of Matric graduates, it was suggested that bridging institutions be established that provide post-Matric education that can lead to better Matric results, which could lead to better access to better tertiary institutions. This will in particular assist with access into the MICT Sector.
The MICT Seta considers the main issue here to be under-skilled candidates, and in this regard the Seta can play a role in developing relevant training intervention qualifications and programmes, but, since these qualifications and programmes must be designed to accommodate the needs of the Sector, it is also essential that stakeholders in the MICT Sector assist by identifying and communicating their needs, and that these qualifications and programmes be developed as a partnership between stakeholders and the MICT Sector.
Where the MICT Seta may be able to contribute to skills development, without Sector stakeholders necessarily assisting, is:
By encouraging institutions of learning to achieve a sufficient balance of technical / theoretical knowledge with practical application to ensure readiness for technical roles in the MICT Sector.
By increasing the uptake and usage of ICTs and intensifying skills development programs amongst unemployed, with a view also on youth in the rural areas.
Changes in technology need to be addressed. For example, in the Electronic Media and Film Subsector, practitioners need to be able to straddle traditional and new media, and in all subsectors, there is a constant need for up-skilling. There is also concern that, since not all qualifications are obtainable locally, this hinders skills development due to costs of sending people abroad. Peripheral areas around the ICT environment such as
Information and Knowledge Management need attention.
With regard to the content of training interventions, several respondents stressed the need for various additional components to be included in training interventions, with many of these additional components being soft skills.
The areas that need to be addressed are:
CV writing.
Presentation skills
Mathematical skills.
Communication skills.
Technical ability.
Interview techniques and etiquette.
Covering letters.
Time-keeping.
Dress code.
Language and grammar skills.
Some of the more specific skills that were mentioned include:
Copywriting skills.
Art direction and design.
Media skills.
Customer Relations Management.
Digital skills.
IT Security.
ESM specialists or security specialists.
Off shoring, with a focus on Service Desk skills.
Many of these issues could be addressed at school in the Life Orientation learning subject. Since it is evident that employers see this as a need, this could be included in workplace learning programmes.
MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011 Page 67
5.1.6 Access into the MICT Sector
In terms of access into the MICT Sector, youngsters, and in particular women, do not appear to be attracted to the
ICT Sector. In this regard, the Sector and the MICT Seta need to embark on an awareness programme that will inform potential candidates on the opportunities in the sector. The MICT Seta produces an annual Career
Opportunities Guide, based on the Scarce and Critical Skills in the Sector, and distributes this guide to secondary schools and tertiary institutions, as well as exhibiting at exhibitions when the occasion arises. It is suggested that sector stakeholders also become involved in more exhibitions to make scholars aware of career choices.
Several suggestions were made where the Seta is already involved. These include:
Provision of bursaries.
Sponsored placement for work experience.
Training in technology and computer skills.
Sponsored learnerships in the industry.
A number of other suggestions were made where the Seta cannot assist. These are:
Sponsorship of basic equipment (cameras; software; computers) or free access to such basic equipment.
The Seta cannot fund capital equipment or assets.
Career counselling. The Seta does not have the capacity to do this. The Seta does however publish the
Career Opportunities Guide on an annual basis, which it distributes to schools and tertiary education institutions, stakeholder employers and training providers.
Establish, support and fund work-based learning institutions (businesses that educate and train). Because of the need to meet sector demand and ensure employment, the Seta prefers to work with employers rather than training providers.
Suggestions that the Seta can still consider, with some assistance from sector stakeholders, include:
Funding an upliftment programme.
Determine the correct entry level requirement that fits the job. There must be an entry level standard.
Provide more funding for employers to host learners, as it is getting expensive to pay learners’ salaries, transport and food without them being fully productive.
Bridging programmes.
Stricter control of quality of education and training at grass roots level (especially in rural areas). The MICT
Seta does make some contribution in this area, but this is an issue that needs to be addressed by the formal education institutions.
5.1.7 Success and Progression in the MICT Sector
A number of the points presented above for Access into the sector also apply to candidates achieving success in the sector and being able to progress further in the sector, which, if addressed, will assist with success and progression. Several additional suggestions were presented by respondents which could assist candidate success in the sector, many requiring stakeholder/MICT Seta interaction. These are:
Continued up-skilling, courses and re-fresher courses in new technologies. Access to forums where learners can pose questions/problems. Constant reinforcement.
Above-average language and writing skills; excellent presentation skills and good CV-writing abilities.
Workplace experience and bridging programmes.
Careful selection, continued encouragement and suitable mentoring.
Mentorship and coaching of learners from experts within the sponsor company.
Seta could consider sponsoring further training in the workplace where on an alternating method, the employer is responsible for paying for 1 training intervention / qualification and when the employer proves to the MICT Seta they have paid for one session, Seta could then sponsor the next training session for a further qualification, this should not be restricted to Black employees. On this point of equity, it should be noted that the MICT Seta has set equity criteria for training interventions that it sponsors, which are 85%
Black, 15% White, 54% Female and 4% People with Disability.
Employers providing proper career path and succession planning, followed by required training and coaching.
Manage expectations of entry-level learners.
Business acumen, coaching and fast track programs for specialist and managerial roles.
With regard to progression, suggestions presented, over and above those presented above and many again requiring stakeholder/MICT Seta interactions include:
Constant reskilling.
Provision of general business, communication and management skills.
Page 68 MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011
Sponsorship for further studies in the chosen field of expertise e.g. Marketing, Creative Design,
Entertainment Management, Content Management, etc.
The Seta should cooperate with and promote awareness of professional bodies to provide a series of professional qualifications for the working practitioner.
Mentoring and coaching programmes. This should focus both on the personal development through career advice but also incorporate the rewarding of companies and individuals for studying further with Seta grants and possibly tax incentives for the individual.
Career and development frameworks that span the industry.
Seta-registered skills programmes for senior management and specialists, particularly for equity transformation.
5.1.8 Equity
There are several challenges that stakeholders mentioned with regard to improving equity within their organisations. Candidates do not have necessary skills and/or skills level. There is a perceived lack of education, and communication skills are poor, and more development needs to be directed at women, issues that have already been mentioned above.
As a result, there is a short supply of qualified and able middle and higher management candidates, and demand for these candidates exceeds the supply, making these candidates expensive and encouraging job-hopping. In particular, there is a lack of suitably qualified and skilled candidates within previously disadvantaged areas because most Black candidates move to Johannesburg due to higher salaries.
Regarding persons with disabilities, stakeholders point out that people with disabilities who have the required skill sets are not readily available in the market.
In view of these challenges, it is suggested that the Seta address increasing the number of quality Black candidates available, the provision of broader management and business skills training, and co-fund MBAs. A weighted grant system could be applied so as to award larger grant paybacks when sponsoring the training of the previously disadvantaged, and women.
5.1.9 New Ventures
The MICT Seta has in the past been involved in assisting the development of new ventures, and will be continuing to do so. Suggestions by respondents as to what areas the MICT Seta could note and perhaps embark upon include:
Increase rural presence and development.
Work with incubators such as Bandwidth Barn, the Innovation Hub, SmartXchange and JCSE. The MICT
Seta has in the past collaborated with these organisations.
Assist to develop capacity in FET Colleges.
Publish a notice in the press or other media inviting those embarking on new ventures to come forward.
Then assess and determine ways in which Seta can assist to develop the new ventures.
Fund the education, facilitation of being mentored to be an entrepreneur and companies can identify small businesses that need support and fund them.
Request companies to identify their retrenchees who are interested in running their own small businesses and fund them.
Partner with the professional organisations to promote Continued Professional Development.
Multimedia training in FET Colleges.
Film development.
Production of content.
“Green jobs” initiative to create a “Learnership” and job opportunities in the Sector.
Develop learning programmes for Open Source Software to support the FOSS Policy and the ecosystem.
This can be achieved by directly supporting skills programmes at FET colleges as well as supporting the creation of FOSS curricula for both FET Colleges and high schools.
Create/support a body in SA to accredit FOSS-related courses.
5.1.10 Capacity Building
Stakeholders were requested to provide their thoughts on how the Seta could assist in expanding the capacity of stakeholder organisations. Over and above what has been covered above that could have an impact on building capacity, it was also suggested that the MICT Seta encourage formal educational institutions and training providers to include strong workplace experience components into educational institution qualifications. The Seta should also consider providing grants for research projects and funding for relevant conferences, study tours, seminars and workshops, overseas secondments, attendance of film markets and other industry exhibitions. It was suggested that companies should be allowed to register internal learnerships. It was also suggested that the Seta increase its rural presence in order to provide skilled resources in outlying areas. Software development
MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011 Page 69
learnerships should become a focus – at present, learnerships focus on the Desktop environment and the more mechanical sectors.
5.2 Trends in the Demand for ICT Skills
Each year, the Setas gather data on the scarce skills (current and potential important vacancies) identified in each of the Seta Sectors. This data is published in the Seta Sector Skills Plans. Because ICT skills are also required in several of the other Seta Sectors, the MICT Seta performed an analysis of the scarce skills identified by all Setas in order to obtain a perspective of the national need for ICT skills. The result of this analysis is presented in the following table, by Level 5 of the Organising Framework for Occupations (OFO). Note that the data presented is a
3-year estimate of current and potential vacancies.
Table 39: Estimation of ICT Vacancies Required within South Africa, 2009 - 2012
Occupation
131102 Sales and Marketing Manager
131103 Sales Manager
132501 Research and Development Manager
133201 Engineering Manager
135102 ICT Project Manager
149201 Call or Contact Centre Manager
149202 Customer Service Manager
212405 Technical Writer
223201 ICT Trainer
223301 Training and Development Professional
224701 Management Consultant
224702 Organisation and Methods Analyst
225201 ICT Account Manager
225202 ICT Business Development Manager
225203 ICT Sales Representative
225401 Sales Representative / Salesman (Industrial Products)
233301 Electrical Engineer
233302 Electrical Engineering Technologist
233401 Electronics Engineer
233402 Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering Technologist
233501 Industrial Engineer
233504 Industrial Engineering Technologist
241407 Computer Applications Technology Teacher (Grades 10 - 12)
241418 Information Technology Teacher (Grades 10 - 12)
261101 ICT Business Analyst
261102 Systems Analyst
261202 Web Developer
261301 Analyst Programmer
261302 Developer Programmer
261303 Software Engineer
262101 Database Administrator
262102 ICT Security Specialist
262103 Systems Administrator
263101 Computer Network and Systems Engineer
263102 Network Administrator
263103 Network Analyst
263201 ICT Quality Assurance Engineer
263202 ICT Support Engineer
263203 ICT Systems Test Engineer
263204 Applications Support Manager
263205 Technical Support Services Manager
263301 Telecommunications Engineer
263302 Telecommunications Network Engineer
312302 Electrical Engineering Technician
312401 Electronic Engineering Draftsperson
312402 Electronic Engineering Technician
313101 Hardware Technician
313102 ICT Customer Support Officer
313104 Computer Systems Technician
313105 Telecommunications Computer Systems Technician
313201 Radio Communications Technician
19
48
30
306
61
11
12
31
207
139
35
56
21
256
18
21
9
1
21
15
61
135
89
4
0
168
97
11
6
1
0
17
15
49
16
10
1
81
36
The
MICT
Seta
12
32
4
60
61
4
14
2
17
4
3
4
11
254
501
0
13
0
0
21
184
42
175
7
154
24
0
1
441
0
250
0
20
40
76
0
734
2
110
74
131
265
40
261
52
69
6
0
1
0
0
Other
Setas
0
RSA
% MICT
Seta to
Total
12 100.0%
0
0
86
56
32 100.0%
4 100.0%
146
117
41.1%
52.1%
0
452
12
10
4
0
0
8
2
456
15
14
50.0%
14 100.0%
100.0%
17 100.0%
0.9%
20.0%
28.6%
17 100.0%
16 93.8%
49 100.0%
16 100.0%
271
53
150
42
740
3
110
74
299
362
51
3.7%
1.9%
54.0%
85.7%
0.8%
33.3%
0.0%
0.0%
56.2%
26.8%
21.6%
52
391
181
210
63
175
280
59.6%
52.9%
76.8%
16.7%
88.9%
12.0%
91.4%
30
302
63.3%
15.9%
531 5.6%
306 100.0%
74 82.4%
11 100.0%
12 100.0%
18 100.0%
22 95.5%
450 2.0%
1 100.0%
271 7.7%
15 100.0%
81
175
75.3%
77.1%
165 53.9%
4 100.0%
Page 70 MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011
Occupation
313202 Telecommunications Field Engineer
313204 Telecommunications Technical Officer or Technologist
323101 Aircraft Maintenance Technicians (Avionics)
342301 Business Machine Mechanic
342304 Electronic Instrument Trades Worker (General)
342401 Cabler (Data and Telecommunications)
342404 Telecommunications Technician
399501 Broadcast Transmitter Operator
611302 Sales Representative (Business Services)
621201 ICT Sales Assistant
Total Demand
The
MICT
Seta
200
8
0
Other
Setas RSA
0
0
345
200
8
345
% MICT
Seta to
Total
100.0%
100.0%
0.0%
38
17
7
10
0
14
0
5
38 100.0%
31 54.8%
7 100.0%
15 66.7%
0
85
20
10
20
95
0.0%
89.5%
20 0 20 100.0%
2,716 4,973 7,689 35.3%
In summary, the estimation of ICT vacancies over the three year period 2009 to 2012 is about 2,700 within the
MICT Sector and a further 5,000 across the other Seta sectors.
This estimation of 7,689 ICT vacancies over the three year period 2009 to 2012 is in sharp contrast to other studies that have been performed. For example, as pointed out in Accenture’s study in 2008 50 , an IDC report commissioned by Cisco, published in 2006, stated that the actual demand for networking personnel was 70,500 in
2005, growing to an estimated 113,900 in 2009. While it is acknowledged that these figures represent national demand, these figures appear to be extremely high. If all the demand stated in the table above represented personnel only involved in networking, the MICT Sector would account for only 2.25% of national demand, bearing in mind that the figures in the table represent three years of demand.
6 Sectoral Skills Supply
6.1 Formal Qualifications and Providers
The following table presents the list of qualifications managed by the MICT Seta, and the number of accredited training providers for each qualification.
Table 40: The MICT Seta Qualifications, and Number of Accredited Training Providers
Qual /
Prog ID
Qualification Title / Learning Programme Title
21190 Further Education and Training Certificate: PC Engineering
21191 Further Education and Training Certificate: PC Support
21797 Certificate: Telecommunications for Customer Premises Equipment
21799 Certificate in Telecommunications for Customer Premises Equipment
48573 National Certificate: Information Technology: Systems Support
48792 Certificate: Broadcast Engineering
48872 National Certificate: Information Technology (Systems Development)
49077 National Certificate: Information Technology: End User Computing
49121 National Certificate: Interactive Media
49122 National Certificate: Radio Station Management
49127 Further Education and Training Certificate: Design Foundation
49138 National Diploma: Copywriting
49317 National Certificate: Scriptwriting
50479 Further Education and Training Certificate: Advertising
57607 National Certificate: 3D Animation and Visual Effects
57611 National Certificate: 2D Animation
58394 National Certificate: Film and Television Production
58820 National Certificate: Advertising
58978 National Certificate: Journalism
59057 Further Education and Training Certificate: Telecommunication Network Operations
59569 National Certificate: Electronics
59910 National Certificate: Information Technologies Operations
60509 National Certificate: Design Techniques
61450 Further Education and Training Certificate: Film and Television Production Operations
62069 National Certificate: Radio Production
63769 National Certificate: Business Analysis Support Practice
NQF
Level
Level 4
Level 5
Level 5
Level 5
Level 5
Level 5
Level 4
Level 3
Level 3
Level 5
Level 4
Level 5
Level 5
Level 4
Level 4
Level 4
Level 3
Level 5
Level 5
Level 5
Level 3
Level 5
Level 5
Level 4
Level 5
Level 7
Number of providers accredited
1
1
3
3
99
87
778
2
1
4
5
50 “The ICT Skills Landscape of South Africa: A viewpoint on Demand, Supply and applicable International Benchmarks”, Accenture Research,
August 2008.
MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011 Page 71
Qual /
Prog ID
Qualification Title / Learning Programme Title
NQF
Level
Number of providers accredited
63849 Further Education and Training Certificate: Electronics
63909 National Certificate: Business Analysis
65874 Further Education and Training Certificate: Telecommunication Systems
Level 4
Level 6
Level 4
65876 Certificate: Telecommunication Systems
71850 Certificate: Information Technology: Database Development
Level 5
Level 6
71853 Further Education and Training Certificate: Information Technology: End User Computing Level 4
71869 Certificate: Information Technology: Database Administration Level 6
73298 Further Education and Training Certificate: Photography
73390 Further Education and Training Certificate: Graphic Web Design and Multimedia
73391 Further Education and Training Certificate: Website Development
Level 4
Level 4
Level 4
73429 Further Education and Training Certificate: Computer Programming
78963 National Certificate: Telecommunications for Customer Premises Equipment
Level 4
Level 2
78964 Further Education and Training Certificate: Information Technology: Technical Support Level 4
78965 Further Education and Training Certificate: Information Technology: Systems Development Level 4
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
59
50
6.2 Workplace Opportunities
6.3 Assessment of Graduate Skills from Formal Education Institutions
The MICT Seta requested the opinions of employers on the shortcomings in the secondary and tertiary education of the candidates that inhibited the candidate from being fully productive when entering the workplace, or proceeding to further studies. The following three tables summarise the perceived shortcomings, by subsector and educational institution.
Table 41: Advertising S ubsector
Skills gaps
Lack of Advertising bridging qualifications
Poor or below average CV and presentation skills
Poor or below average language and business skills
Lack of conceptual advertising writing skills
Poor or below average communication skills
Other constraints:
Lack of knowledge ( not specific)
Lateral thinking
Lack of industry knowledge
Unrealistic salary expectations
School
Graduates
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
Colleges
Graduates
√
√
√
√
University of
Technology
Graduates
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
University
Graduates
√
√
Table 42: Electronic Media & Film Subsector
Skills gaps School
Graduates
Colleges
Graduates
University
Graduates
Poor or below average computer and mathematical skills
Poor or below average communication skills
Lack of career counselling from the schools
Poor literacy skills
Limited technical training skills
Lack of on-the-job skills
Lack of financial acumen
Limited practical experience with the curriculum
Poor work ethics
Other constraints:
Lack of industry knowledge
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
×
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
University of
Technology
Graduates
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
Page 72 MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011
Table 43: Information and Communication Technologies Subsector
Skills gaps
Poor or below average communication skills
Poor Maths and Science
Poor or below average computer and English skills
Lack of on-the-job experience
Lack of technical and practical application knowledge
Other constraints
Lack of business acumen
Training not customised to different needs of the ICT industry
Public Colleges graduates not equipped to do their jobs
No drivers licence
Technikon programmes not structure enough to meet industry needs
Lack of passion for ICT
Lack of understanding of the ICT sector industry
School
Graduates
Colleges
Graduates
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
University of
Technology
University
Graduates
Graduates
√ √
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
√
From the tables above, it can be noted that:
Many of the skills gaps are similar across all MICT Seta subsectors.
Many of the skills identified are generic skills sets.
The lack of industry knowledge by all graduates was reflected in almost all the subsectors and is a cause for concern.
The lack of on-the-job experience was reflected in all graduates (schools, colleges, universities of technology and universities) in the Electronic Media and Film as well Information and Communication
Technologies Subsectors.
Graduates are found to be lacking information technology and problem solving skills.
At school level, schools have to produce enough matriculants with Mathematics and Science as major subjects.
Most university graduates in the Advertising Subsector had most of the skills requirements needed.
In conclusion, the assessment highlighted the following skills gaps:
Business management skills
Language proficiency skills
Work ethics
Critical thinking skills
Life skills
Communication skills
Computer skills
Financial skills
6.4 Simplification of the MICT Seta Processes and Information
It was suggested that the MICT Seta simplify and improve several of its processes, such as registering
Learnerships, applying for Discretionary Grants, and the accreditation process. Stakeholders also feel that obtaining information from the Seta on its processes needs to be improved.
6.5 The MICT Seta Employee Database
It was suggested that the Seta develop a database of skilled, knowledgeable candidates, with data pertaining especially to females and people with disability. The Seta already has the makings of such a database, where candidates can enter their data, and employers can search the database, all at no cost to these users. The database currently includes employed and unemployed personnel, as well as non-ICT candidates. It was also suggested that these candidates be identified as per the Sector scarce and critical skills. This database will in particular assist with the progress and success of candidates, as well as assist employers to find suitably educated and trained candidates, and to address equity in their organisations. The Seta needs to market this database vigorously.
MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011 Page 73
6.6 Trends in the Supply of ICT Skills
The matric data utilised in this section was sourced from the Department of Education 51 and the tertiary data from the Department of Higher Education and Training 52 . It should be noted though that a discontinuity in Department of
Education data occurred between 2003 and 2004, probably due to merging of Technikons and Universities. This discontinuity was smoothed by averaging. Also, at tertiary level, electronics and electrical engineers are classified together. An estimate of 25% for electronics engineers in this group was used.
The following figure presents the historic (2004 to 2009) and forecast (2010 to 2016) percentage of learners/graduates from Matric through to graduating from University or a University of Technology.
Figure 21: Percentage of learners/graduates from Matric through to graduating in ICT, 2004 to 2016
100.0%
Forecast Pass Matric
90.0%
80.0%
Matric pass, qualify for Tertiary technical studies
70.0%
60.0%
50.0%
40.0%
30.0%
Qualify for
Tertiary techn studies, choose
Tertiary ICT studies
Choose Tertiary
ICT techn studies, enrol at U of Tech
Enrol in Tertiary
ICT technical studies at U of
Tech & graduate
20.0%
Choose Tertiary
ICT technical studies, enrol at
Univ
10.0%
0.0%
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Source: Dept. of Education Annual Reports, 2004-2008
Dept. of Higher Education and Training, HEMIS data, 2004-2009
2014 2015 2016
Enrol at Tertiary
ICT technical studies at Univ and graduate
From the figure above, the following points can be observed:
From 2004 to 2008, there has been a slow but steady decline in the percentage of learners passing Matric, despite an increasing number of learners writing Matric. This trend is expected to continue out to 2016, and is likely to be further exacerbated by the recent teacher strikes.
Of the number of learners that graduate from Matric, the percentage that qualify for technical studies
(Engineering, Software Development, etc.) at tertiary institutions has been steadily increasing over the past several years, and this trend is seen to continue out to 2016.
Of the number of learners that qualify for technical studies (Engineering, Software Development, etc.) at tertiary institutions, the percentage that opt for ICT studies at tertiary institutions is not only a small percentage (less than 8%), but this percentage is seen to be slowly decreasing out to 2016.
Over the past several years, of those learners opting for ICT studies, there has been a steadily increasing number of them enrolling Universities of Technology, while the percentage enrolling into Universities has been steadily declining. This trend is seen to continue to 2016.
51 Matric data from Annual Reports of the Department of Education, www.education.gov.za
, 2004 to 2008.
52 Higher Education Management and Information Systems (HEMIS) data from the Department of Higher Education and Training, 2004 to 2009
Page 74 MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011
Despite the steadily increasing number of learners enrolling Universities of Technology, of the numbers that have been enrolling, there have been a steadily declining percentage of them that have been graduating.
In the past several years, the trend in the percentage of University graduates, versus enrolments, has been somewhat erratic, but over the forecast period, this percentage is seen to be declining.
The following table provides the data set used to generate the figure above. The 2006 and 2013 data is also utilised to present the following two figures, which show the flow of learners through the education system from writing of Matric to ICT learners graduating from a University of Technology or University.
Table 44: Supply of Learners/Graduates, 2004 – 2016
Write Matric
Pass Matric
Qualify for Tertiary technical
Tertiary ICT enrol at UoT
Tertiary ICT enrol at Univ
Tertiary ICT enrol at UoT & graduate
Tertiary ICT enrol at UoT & drop out
Tertiary ICT enrol at Univ & graduate
Tertiary ICT enrol at Univ & drop out
Year 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 n 467,890 508,181 527,950 564,381 554,664 593,538 616,512 639,487 662,462 685,437 708,412 n 330,717 347,184 351,503 368,217 339,317 358,857 362,681 366,504 370,327 374,151 377,974 n 116,711 125,776 152,391 166,669 173,779 182,650 191,521 200,392 209,263 218,134 227,005 n+1 5,393 5,158 5,734 6,836 6,504 7,055 7,428 7,801 8,174 8,547 8,920 n+1 2,705 2,490 2,649 2,467 3,104 2,728 2,726 2,723 2,720 2,718 2,715 n+2 2,013 2,281 2,466 2,275 2,347 2,377 2,408 2,439 2,470 2,500 2,531 n 11,397 13,350 11,967 12,891 14,094 14,150 14,852 15,402 15,951 16,501 17,051 n+3/4 1,933 2,046 2,026 1,934 1,872 1,809 1,746 1,684 1,621 1,558 1,495 n 9,240 9,644 8,530 7,512 7,349 8,130 6,920 6,490 6,061 5,631 5,202
Pass Matric
Matric pass, qualify for Tertiary technical studies n n
70.7% 68.3% 66.6% 65.2% 61.2% 60.5% 58.8% 57.3% 55.9% 54.6% 53.4%
35.3% 36.2% 43.4% 45.3% 51.2% 50.9% 52.8% 54.7% 56.5% 58.3% 60.1%
Source: Dept of Education Annual Reports, 2004-2008
Dept of Higher Education and Training, HEMIS data, 2004-2009
Comparing the two figures below, the following points can be noted:
From 2006 to 2013, the number of learners writing Matric is seen to increase by about 30%, while the number of learners opting to follow a career in ICT will increase by about 35%, showing a greater interest in ICT.
Nevertheless, the number of learners graduating in ICT qualifications from Universities of Technology is seen to remain static, while, of concern, the number graduating from Universities is seen to decline by about 23% over this period.
Figure 22: Learners/graduates from Matric through to graduating in ICT, 2006-2010/11
Rewrite Matric Employed in SA Unemployed in SA Return to Foreign Country
SA Population of Young
People
Foreign
Young
People
No 33%
Primary and
Secondary
School
528,000
Pass
Matric?
Yes 67%
352,000
No 67% Qualify for Tertiary
Technical
Studies?
No
Qualify for non-tech,
University?
Yes
No
Enrol nontechnical at UoT?
Yes
No
Enrol non-technical at
University?
No
Enrol non-ICT at
University?
Yes
Yes
Drop-Out
Graduate
Drop-Out
Graduate
Drop-Out
Graduate
Drop-Out
43%
152,000
12,000
Drop-Out
Yes
8,500
No 95%
Choose
ICT?
Yes
5%
8,300
69%
5,700
No, Univ. of Technology
Enrol
ICT at
University?
Yes
31%
2,600
2,500
Graduate
2,100
Graduate
2006 2007 2009 2010/11
MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011 Page 75
Figure 23: Learners/graduates from Matric through to graduating in ICT, 2013-2017/18
Rewrite Matric Employed in SA Unemployed in SA Return to Foreign Country
SA Population of Young
People
Foreign
Young
People
No 45%
Primary and
Secondary
School
685,000
Pass
Matric?
Yes 55%
374,000
No 42% Qualify for Tertiary
Technical
Studies?
No
Qualify for non-tech,
University?
Yes
No
Enrol nontechnical at UoT?
Yes
No
Enrol non-technical at
University?
No
Enrol non-ICT at
University?
Yes
Yes
Drop-Out
Graduate
Drop-Out
Graduate
Drop-Out
Graduate
58%
218,000
Yes
Drop-Out
16,500
5,600
No 95%
Choose
ICT?
Yes
5%
11,200
76%
8,500
No, Univ. of Technology
Enrol
ICT at
University?
Yes
24%
2,700
Drop-Out
2,500
Graduate
1,600
Graduate
2013 2014 2016 2017/18
The following figure shows the number of ICT graduates, by type of qualification, for 2004 and 2009. Over this period, there have been declining numbers of graduates for the following qualifications:
Applications in Computer Science and Data Processing
Computer Operations and Operations Control
Information and Data Base Systems
Programming Systems
Other Computer Science and Data Processing
Computer Engineering and Technology
Page 76 MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011
Figure 24: Number of Graduates, Diploma and Degree, 2004 versus 2009
0601 Applications in Computer Sc. & Data Proc
0602 Computer Ops. and Operations Control
0603 Computer Hardware Systems
128
263
378
472
419
623
0605 Information and Data Base Systems
1,272
1,680
0607 Programming Languages
0608 Programming Systems
0699 Other Computer Sc. and Data Proc.
0807 Computer Engineering and Technology
0808 Electrical Engineering and Technology
Other
183
112
74
140
242
449
419
579
88
43
410
543
2004
2009
0 200 400 600 800 1,000 1,200 1,400 1,600 1,800
The following table shows the supply of ICT graduates, by type of qualification, for 2004 and 2009. Note that about
700 fewer learners graduated in 2009 as compared to 2004. Learners graduating in Information and Data Base
Systems represent about one-third of all graduates.
Table 45: Supply of Tertiary Graduates, by Type of Qualification, 2004 and 2009
0601 Applications in Computer Sc. & Data Proc
0602 Computer Ops. and Operations Control
0603 Computer Hardware Systems
0605 Information and Data Base Systems
0607 Programming Languages
0608 Programming Systems
0699 Other Computer Sc. and Data Proc.
0807 Computer Engineering and Technology
0808 Electrical Engineering and Technology
Other
Total
2004
Number of
Graduates
% of
Total
623
472
128
1,680
410
183
449
140
419
88
9%
2%
4,681 100%
14%
10%
3%
35%
9%
4%
10%
3%
2009
Number of
Graduates
378
419
263
1,272
543
112
242
74
% of
Total
10%
11%
7%
31%
14%
3%
6%
2%
579
43
15%
1%
3,967 100%
The following figure shows the percentage of African, Coloured, Indian and White learners that graduated from
Universities of Technology and Universities over the period 2004 to 2009.
MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011 Page 77
Figure 25: Percentage of ICT Graduates and All Graduates, Diploma and Degree, by Race, 2004-2009
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
African ICT Graduates
African All Graduates
Coloured ICT Graduates
Coloured All Graduates
Indian ICT Graduates
Indian All Graduates
White ICT Graduates
White All Graduates
0%
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
From this figure, it can be noted that:
The percentage of African graduates across all disciplines has risen slightly from 60% in 2004 to 64% in
2009. The percentage of African ICT graduates has risen more dramatically from 48% in 2004 to 66% in
2009.
There have been declining percentages of Coloured, Indian and White ICT graduates over this period.
The following figure shows the percentage of male and female learners that graduated from Universities of
Technology and Universities over the period 2004 to 2009. Since 2006, there have been a slowing increasing percentage of female ICT graduates from the formal tertiary educational institutions.
Figure 26: Percentage of ICT Graduates and All Graduates, Diploma and Degree, by Gender, 2004-2009
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Female ICT Graduates
Female All Graduates
Male ICT Graduates
Male All Graduates
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Page 78 MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011
6.7 Supply of ICT Skills versus Demand for ICT Skills
In the table above, the OFO codes starting with the digit “2” largely represent degree graduates from Universities, and the remaining OFO codes (starting with a “3” or “6”) largely represent diploma graduates from Universities of
Technology. The totals of these degree and diploma categories are presented in the following table as “Degree
Level Demand” and “Diploma Level Demand” respectively, bearing I mind that this demand represents three years
presented in the following table, allowing a comparison between supply of ICT skills from the formal educational institutions and national demand for ICT skills.
Table 46: Estimation of Supply versus Demand for ICT Skills within South Africa, 2009 - 2012
Degree Level Supply
Degree Level Demand
Estimated National Bachelor Degree Oversupply
Diploma Level Supply
Diploma Level Demand
Estimated National Diploma Oversupply
The
MICT
Seta
Other
Setas RSA
5,239
%MICT to
Total
1,996 3,752 5,748 34.7%
-506
7,224
720 1,221 1,941 37.1%
5,283
From the table above, it can be observed that there is an anticipated undersupply of about 500 University graduates over the three-year period 2009 to 2012, whereas there is an anticipated oversupply of about 5,000
University of Technology graduates for the same period.
The undersupply of 500 university graduates could be far worse. In a report by the Sunday Times 53 , it was reported that:
New research at the University of Stellenbosch showed that of the 400 PhDs awarded in 2007, more than half of these were from other African countries.
The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences reported that on 10% of its graduates were
South African.
The University of Cape Town reported that 25% to 30% of its post-graduates in the science faculty were draw from other countries.
If these trends also apply to the ICT Sector, South Africa could find itself facing a shortage of some 2,000 graduates over the next three years.
53 SA Brains choose dosh over degrees”, The Sunday Times, 8 th August 2010, Page 8.
MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011 Page 79
7 Sectoral Contribution to Strategic Areas of Focus for the NSDS III
The sector requirement to meet the strategic priorities of the Medium Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) was assessed and is presented in Appendix 1. Furthermore, the following government documents were also reviewed:
Human Resource Development Strategy of South Africa (HRDSSA) 2010 – 2030, as approved on 18
March 2009, the findings of which are presented in Appendix 2.
Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP), the dti, August 2007, the findings of which are presented in Section
Integrated Sustainable Rural Development Strategy (ISRDS), November 2000, the findings of which are presented in Appendix 3.
National Industrial Policy Framework (NIPF), the dti, the findings of which are presented in Appendix 4.
Based on the review of these documents to assess where the MICT Sector can make contributions to national priorities, the MICT Seta will utilise the following tactics in the formulation of its 5-year SSP and the delivery of skills to the MICT Sector. It should be noted that the points presented below need to be considered in parallel with the needs of the MICT Sector as stated in earlier chapters.
FETs, HETs
Inform private and public FET and HET institutions, learners and the broader MICT Sector of skills demands via Career Guide.
The MICT Seta to forge partnerships with HETs.
Support unemployed College, University and University of Technology learners in Learning Programmes.
These learning programmes are to be influenced by the top scarce skills in each subsector. At least 70% employment in the MICT Sector will be targeted (Pivotal).
Partner FETs with ISOEs.
Partner with DBE and DHET for train-the-trainer learning programmes.
Partner with and support FETs and HETs and the broader MICT Sector with regards to internships and learnerships.
Support FET and HET institutions through Train-the-Trainer.
The MICT Seta will encourage larger numbers of graduates with tertiary ICT skills through partnering with industry HET institutions, through the awarding of conditional bursaries for high-end degrees.
The MICT Seta will partner with DHET’s Foundation Programme in the way of Pivotal programmes to assist potential tertiary institution entrants who require additional assistance with maths and science.
The MICT Seta will promote learning programmes (including New Venture Creation) to FETs and rural educational institutions, which will have the long-term effect of making our population more ICT literate, providing them with better access to the world of the Internet and to job and new venture opportunities.
Train installers and maintainers.
Industry
Address the top scarce and critical skills for the employed and unemployed in each subsector as indicated by the MICT Sector.
Encourage stakeholders to continue with skills development utilising the discretionary funds.
Identify the MICT Seta stakeholders that are involved in developments against ICT related crime and sponsor ICT security learning programmes.
The MICT Seta will insist on AIDS awareness being included in its Learnerships and Internships.
Develop and implement Learning Programmes in the Electronics Sector. Pivotal and non-Pivotal.
Obtain Telkom’s rural telecommunications development plan and sponsor rural End User Computing/Call
Centre Learnership and telecommunications learnerships through Telkom on the basis that the rural telecommunications infrastructure is to be provided/improved by Telkom. This type of partnership could also be formed with Neotel and the cellular operators.
Support SMEs through learning programmes and new venture creation.
Page 80 MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011
The MICT Seta will identify companies with R&D capability within the MICT Sector and assist with skills development in those companies to boost this capability.
The MICT Seta will identify export companies within the MICT Sector and assist with skills development in those companies to boost exports.
Rural
Support rural FET and HET institution learners via sponsorship of EUC learning programmes (will assist to develop the ICT Sector to stimulate in job creation).
Communicate with provincial governments and skills development fora.
Conduct learning programmes in rural communities.
Set up co-ops.
Sponsor learners on the End User Computing/Call Centre Learnership, particularly in rural areas.
The MICT Seta will promote learning programmes (including New Venture Creation) on a national basis to
FETs and rural educational institutions, which will have the long-term effect of making our population more
ICT literate, providing them with better access to the world of the Internet and to job and new venture opportunities.
Work with local community, NGOs, skills development fora and training institutions, provincial government and municipalities.
The MICT Seta
The MICT Seta will partner with the National Youth Development Agency.
Maintain a strong Seta Management System.
Cross-Sectoral
Attempt to assist potential retrenchees in the traditional sectors with ABET and End User Computing training to improve their prospects of re-employment in other sectors, utilising NSF funding. Challenges will involve an interim living allowance and poor English skills. This will require cross-sectoral partnering.
ISOEs
Encourage development of more ISOEs.
The MICT Seta will partner with the CSIR, universities and ISOEs.
Partner FETs with ISOEs.
Work with incubators such as Bandwidth Barn, SmartXchange and JCSE.
New Ventures
Sponsor 3- to 5-year new ventures and incubators/ISOEs.
The MICT Seta will look at the possibility of encouraging people to enter new ventures with a view on lower-energy technologies and green jobs, for example training of installers of solar powered equipment.
QCTO/ETQA
Assist QCTO with learnership/qualification development.
Develop End User Computing/Call Centre Qualification and Learnership.
Government
Communicate with provincial governments and skills development fora.
Partner with government institutions and PSeta to sponsor End-User Computing and ICT learning programmes.
MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011 Page 81
8 Sectoral Contribution to The President’s Outcomes Approach to
Planning Government’s Work
To assess how the MICT Seta can contribute to the President’s outcomes approach to planning government’s work, the MICT Seta looked to the latest Strategic Plan of the Department of Higher Education and Training the basis that the DHET’s strategy addresses the President’s approach. The detailed results of the review of the
DHET’s strategy are presented in Appendix 5, the findings of which are summarised below.
54 on
The DHET intends ensuring that there is an integrated education and training management information system, linking all providers of education and training into a single system, so that there is a learning record and occupation category for each and every person resident in South Africa. The MICT Seta will contribute to this management information system where possible.
In order to contribute to the DHET’s strategy of supporting the development of coherent career guidance and information services for higher education and training via the development of a focused plan and partnerships, the
MICT Seta will produce and distribute the Career Opportunities Guide annually.
As part of its five year strategy, the DHET wants to ensure credible planning, budgeting, costing, research and monitoring, as well as evaluation capabilities that will achieve the required outcomes and provide an early warning system to correct any deviations from structured plans.. In this regard, the MICT Seta will also perform a monitoring and evaluation function.
There are two legal and legislative goals that the DHET has included in its strategy where the MICT Seta can contribute. These two goals are:
To provide effective legal advice, on time, to the Ministry, the Department, government and the public on education legislation and law.
To draft regulations and legislation and assist with the processing thereof:
Based on inputs on these legislative issues from DHET, the MICT Seta will communicate this information to stakeholders.
The DHET intends identifying and monitoring curriculum innovations in citizenship and values education in the higher education and training system. Based on input from DHET, MICT will likewise identify and monitor curriculum innovations.
In its strategic project “Collaboration towards occupational skills excellence”, the MICT Seta will contribute by:
Providing input on scarce and critical skills in the sector.
Developing an integrated pipeline of delivery for the selected occupations.
Upgrading the capacity of relevant colleges, excluding improvement of facilities for the selected occupations.
Supporting the consolidation of relevant SETA-based learnerships into single occupation-specific programmes, with provision for sectoral and other specialisation fields, for the selected occupations.
Securing an increased number of workplace learning opportunities.
Recruit an increased number of learners into programmes and supporting their successful completion of these programmes.
Monitoring and evaluating these processes.
Expanding the number of occupations beyond those initially selected.
Regarding the DHET’s intention to support the improvement of the structure and efficacy of the NSFAS, the MICT
Seta will contribute funding. The DHET will also ensure that the Higher Education Management Information
System (HEMIS) meets the needs for management information across the sector, and that it is maintained properly with the required data from universities, and assist with development of an MIS for the post-school system. The
MICT Seta will analyse this data in terms of its sector.
As part of the DHET’s University Education programme, and with regard to the DHET’s intent to ensure the appropriate regulation and registration of private higher education institutions, the MICT will monitor and evaluate the provision of training. With regard to Teacher Education, the MICT Seta sees itself as playing a role in supporting the training of teachers and lecturers in ICT.
54 Department of Higher Education and Training Strategic Plan 2010 to 2015
Page 82 MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011
Programme 4 of the DHET’s strategy addresses Vocational and Continuing Education and Training, and the MICT
Seta sees itself as being able to contribute in several areas of this programme. In the DHET’s drive to support the development of Public FET Colleges ’ institutional capacity in order to achieve transparency, enhanced performance, accountability and efficiency, as well as training and supporting lecturers to ensure a skilled and capable college workforce, the MICT will assist by supporting the training of teachers and lecturers in ICT. In
Private FET Colleges, the MICT will monitor and evaluate the provision of training. Regarding ABET, the DHET intends restructuring adult education and training by establishing responsive and enabling policies and programmes. The MICT Seta will implement new policies and programmes in support of this, and will expand the current provisioning of formal adult education and training programmes. The MICT Seta will furthermore develop and maintain sound policies and systems for the implementation of adult education and training programmes.
The MICT Seta will also contribute in many areas of the DHET’s fifth programme addressing skills development. In addition to the suggested contributions mentioned above, the MICT Seta will:
Produce Sector Skills Plans annually.
Implement the NSDS III priorities.
Monitor and evaluate its interventions and contribute findings to DHET.
Based on inputs from DHET, communicate information about the NSF.
Support the QCTO.
Produce annual reports.
Undertake research to establish the impact of the NSDS.
Collaborate on research activities with the HRDSA, the CHE, SAQA and other related bodies.
Monitor and evaluate its interventions and contribute findings to DHET.
Produce quarterly and annual reports.
Perform/commission research and contribute findings to DHET.
Contribute reports to the electronic library of NSDS reports.
MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012 – 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011 Page 83
Appendix 1: MEDIUM TERM STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK
A FRAMEWORK TO GUIDE GOVERNMENT’S PROGRAMME IN THE ELECTORAL MANDATE PERIOD (2009 – 2014)
Main Points for the MICT Seta’s Consideration
STRATEGIC PRIORITIES AND PROGRAMMES Suggested MICT Seta Contribution
36 Strategic Priority 1 : Speeding up growth and transforming the economy to create decent work and sustainable livelihoods.
In the medium-term, however, growth should come more from industries that can competitively meet the needs of South Africa and the region, and to some extent that can compete in the global market. The lead sectors already identified are automobile, chemical, metal fabrication, tourism, clothing and textiles as well as forestry. In addition, attention will also be paid to services, light manufacturing and construction, among others. Focus areas will also include agriculture; public services like health and education; private services such as the financial and other business services; food processing; plastics production; the wood value chain and targeted consumer products which might include, for example, consumer electronics. It is also strategically important to promote domestic production of capital and intermediate goods
The push for expanding decent work must include an integrated rural development and agrarian reform strategy that addresses the mass joblessness and poverty of the former bantustan regions, while seeking to improve conditions for farm workers.
To ensure longer-run growth, government must refine and scale up implementation of its Industrial Action Plan to support broad-based industrialisation including more advanced manufacturing, as well as encouraging cleaner, lower-energy technologies and green jobs.
In this regard elements of strategy will focus on the following:
36.1 Promoting the creation of decent employment, economic growth, broad-based industrialisation, reduced income inequality and other developmental imperatives and maintaining a stable pro-employment macroeconomic environment. This will be achieved by:
Prompt implementation of BEE charters and codes
Encourage stakeholders to continue with skills development utilising the discretionary funds.
36.2 Implementing trade and industrial policy to create decent work on a large scale, broadening the country’s industrial base and deal with the re-emerging balance of payment constraint. The target is to create more, sustainable and decent work opportunities, increased domestic production for local and regional markets and increase the ratio of exports to GDP by 2014. The emphasis will be on:
Focusing on the development and utilisation of information and communications technology (ICT) as a
The MICT Seta will promote learning programmes on a national basis to FETs and rural critical driver of development, in terms of infrastructure development, its contribution to manufacturing, and as a platform for transmission and processing of information educational institutions, which will have the long-term effect of making our population more ICT literate, providing them with better access to the world of the Internet and to job and new venture opportunities.
The MICT Seta will look at the possibility of encouraging people to enter new ventures with a view on lower-energy technologies and green jobs, for example training of installers of solar powered equipment.
36.3 Undertake interventions for creating a more inclusive economy, by expanding opportunities for the poor to access the labour market and broadening the impact of growth and ensuring its benefits reach all sectors of society particularly the poor and marginalised.
Intensify the implementation of the National Youth Service
The employment focus in industrial policy needs to address issues of market access and the spread of power and benefits in existing and new value chains, to enable greater SME participation and employment creation
The MICT Seta will partner with the National Youth Service
The MICT Seta will promote learning programmes (including New Venture Creation) to FETs and rural educational institutions, which will have the long-term effect of making our population more
Skills development programmes should also emphasise the acquisition of artisan skills and selfemployment.
ICT literate, providing them with better access to the world of the Internet and to job and new venture opportunities.
As above.
36.4 Strengthening competitiveness and promotion of Small and Medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and co-operatives. We will drive an effort to partner with the private sector to provide dedicated services and skills training to small, micro- and collective enterprises, reduce the regulatory burden on small business and co-operatives and leverage state procurement, with concrete targets, to support the growth and sustainability of
SMEs. This may require a review of relevant preferential procurement legal and regulatory instruments.
36.5 Ensuring the country keeps up with global technological trends and fully exploits our comparative advantages, including usage of ICTs. Recognising that science and technological innovation and development are important sources of industrial competitiveness and sustaining growth, government will:
Build on the range of strategies and support programmes already supporting innovation in firms, and
R&D in the private and public sectors. In particular measures will be put in place to support innovation and technological development in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, space science and technology, alternative energy technologies and address challenges and opportunities presented by climate change
Work with incubators such as Bandwidth Barn, SmartXchange and JCSE.
Sponsor 3- to 5-year new ventures and incubators/ISOEs.
Partner with HETs and employers to sponsor Masters and Doctorate learners through bursaries.
Page 84 MICT Draft Sector Skills Plan, 2012
– 2017, Version 2.0, September 2011
STRATEGIC PRIORITIES AND PROGRAMMES
Accelerate the socio-economic development of South Africa by increasing access to as well as uptake and usage of ICTs through partnerships with business and civil society. This will entail creating a favourable ICT environment including through digital migration and the industrial possibilities that it presents (such as the set-top-box manufacturing), and ensure a competitive market in domestic and international bandwidth
In the long-term the quality of our skills and human resource base are vital to the success of our innovation and research and development objectives. This means ensuring that our educational system produces quality outcomes particularly in regard to the rate of high school passes in Mathematics and
Support SMEs through learning programmes and new venture creation.
Train installers and maintainers.
Set up co-ops.
Suggested MICT Seta Contribution
Partner with FETs and HETs with regards to internships and learnerships.
Science, the number of university graduates in Science, Engineering and Technology fields and in advanced research.
37 Strategic Priority 2 : Massive programme to build economic and social Infrastructure. In the period ahead government will continue with the infrastructure investment programme aimed at expanding and improving information and communications infrastructure to increase access, quality and reliability of public services and to support economic activities while also considering environmental sustainability and pursuing maximum employment impact.
37.4 Continuing to ensure the development of robust, reliable, affordable and secure ICT infrastructure that supports and enables the provision of multiplicity of applications and services to meet the needs of the country and its people
Sponsor learning programmes including End-User Certificate/Call Centre learnership
Address the top scarce skills in each subsector.
37.12 Improving provincial and local government capacity to plan for and maintain infrastructure to ensure continued efficient delivery of economic and social services.
Provide information to the provincial governments and skills development fora.
38 Strategic Priority 3 : Comprehensive rural development strategy linked to land and agrarian reform and food security. The elements of the strategy will include:
38.9 Institutional capacity development: government recognises the need for an integrated approach that emphasises co-ordinating the various sector initiatives. A regional development approach with rural, urban
and general anti-poverty strategies as its elements will be adopted. Achieving better development outcomes
Provide information to the provincial governments and skills development fora.
Conduct learning programmes in rural communities. in rural areas will require improved alignment of the efforts of rural local government, national and provincial departments and other public agencies.
39 Strategic Priority 4 : Strengthen the skills and human resource base. The elements of strategy include:
39.4 Within the next two years provide adequate basic services such as water, sanitation and electricity to schools; and progressively improve access to facilities such as libraries, classrooms and laboratories.
Measures will be taken to ensure a progressive realisation of the goal to ensure each school has
Partner with DBE and DHET for train-the-trainer learning programmes. access to information and communication technology infrastructure and services
39.9 Ensuring that training and skills development initiatives in the country respond to the requirements of the economy, rural development challenges and social integration. The main aim would be to increase the number of skilled personnel in the priority skills areas such as design, engineering and artisanship categories that are critical to manufacturing, construction, cultural activities and other priority economic sectors identified in the NIPF. Additionally skills development programmes will be implemented, purposefully aimed at equipping the unemployed and vulnerable with requisite skills to overcome poverty and unemployment.
The FET sector with its 50 colleges and 160 campuses nationally will be the primary site for skills development training.
Support to FET institutions through Train-the-Trainer.
Support to rural FET institution learners via sponsorship of EUC learning programmes (will assist to develop the ICT Sector resulting in job creation).
Learning Programmes, influenced by the top scarce skills in each subsector, with unemployed
Through a comprehensive suite of programmes and measures to make learning environments more
College, University and University of Technology drop-outs, and with at least 70% employment in the MICT Sector (Pivotal).
The MICT Seta will partner with DHET’s Foundation Programme in the way of Pivotal programmes to assist potential tertiary institution entrants who require additional assistance. attractive, FET will play a significant role in providing second chance education for those who do not make it in the 12th year programme of education
Put measures in place to ensure FET colleges are able to recruit and retain highly skilled and
Support to FET institutions through Train-the-Trainer. experienced instructors
Provide and support staff development and exposure for FET instructors to link classroom experiences with practical, workplace-based learning experiences.
Strengthen the capacity of FET colleges to partner with other governmental agencies and civil society programmes that create and incubate small enterprises
Government will put in place mechanisms to ensure better coordination and integration of the relevant government departments and agencies responsible for skills development, including SOEs.
40 Strategic Priority 5 : Improve the health profile of all South Africans
Support to FET institutions through Learnerships.
Encourage FETs to conduct the new venture creation programme
Partner FETs with ISOEs.
Communicate with provincial governments and skills development fora.
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STRATEGIC PRIORITIES AND PROGRAMMES Suggested MICT Seta Contribution
40.4 Implementation of the Comprehensive Plan for the Treatment, Management and Care of HIV and AIDS so as to reduce the HIV-incidence rate by 50% by the year 2011 and ensuring that the target of reaching 80% of those in need of ARV treatment by 2011 is achieved.
41 Strategic Priority 6 : Intensify the fight against crime and corruption
The MICT Seta will insist on AIDS awareness being included in its Learnerships and Internships.
41.12 Shielding the country against the growing threat of crimes related to ICT (particularly cyber crime) and identity theft by, among others, ensuring adequate protection of information and communications network infrastructure (including through the setting up of a Computer Security Incident Response Team); and improving systems dealing with documents such as IDs, birth certificates and passports.
Identify the MICT Seta stakeholders that are involved in developments against
ICT related crime and sponsor ICT security learning programmes.
45 Strategic Priority 10 : Building a developmental state including improvement of public services and strengthening democratic institutions
45.2 Improving the delivery and quality of public services
Give effect to the policy decision on a Single Public Service as part of a strategy to improve service delivery, including the rollout of integrated multi-sphere service delivery centres (Thusong Centres) as well as implementing government initiatives around e-government
Improve the performance of the state in frontline services such as Home Affairs, policing, health, development approvals, issuing of drivers licences and maintenance courts. The goal is to substantially reduce the waiting periods and turn-around time in the provision of these services, and to make sure that citizens are treated with dignity and respect.
Improve the population register to ensure that it is accurate, comprehensive and secure, among others by undertaking a campaign urgently to register all South Africans who do not have birth certificates, and over time, making it compulsory for all births to be registered; as well as through the digitisation of all records and securing ICT processes and installations.
Improve management capacity in frontline services and their back-office support systems and devolve/decentralise necessary powers and responsibilities so that they can function effectively
45.4 Building partnership with society and strengthening democratic institutions
Partner with government institutions and PSeta to sponsor ICT learning programmes.
Partner with government institutions and PSeta to sponsor End-User Computing and ICT learning programmes.
Partner with government institutions and PSeta to sponsor End-User Computing and ICT learning programmes.
Partner with government institutions and PSeta to sponsor End-User Computing and ICT learning programmes.
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Appendix 2: Synopsis of the HRDSSA II MTSF
FIVE-YEAR MEDIUM-TERM STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK: STRATEGIC PRIORITIES ONE TO EIGHT, WITH INDICATORS AND BROAD FIVE-YEAR TARGETS
Suggested Primary
Responsibility
Suggested MICT Seta Contribution
COMMITMENT ONE: We will urgently overcome the shortages in the supply of people with the priority skills needed for the successful implementation of current strategies to achieve accelerated economic growth:
Strategic Priority 1.1: To accelerate training output in the priority areas of design, engineering and artisanship that is critical to the manufacturing, construction and
Merseta, Ceta Learning Programmes in the Electronics Sector. Pivotal and non-Pivotal. cultural industries.
Strategic Priority 1.2: To increase the number of skilled personnel in the priority areas of design, engineering, artisans that are critical to manufacturing, construction and cultural activities through net immigration.
Strategic Priority 1.3: To accelerate the number of new training graduates in priority economic sectors identified in ASGISA, the NIPF and IPAP.
Merseta,
Business, DoHA
NSA/NSF
Ceta, N/A
Learning Programmes, influenced by the top scarce skills in each subsector, with unemployed
College, University and University of Technology drop-outs, and with at least 70% employment in the MICT Sector (Pivotal).
COMMITMENT TWO: We will increase the number of appropriately skilled people to meet the demands of our current and emerging economic and social development priorities:
Strategic Priority 2.1: To ensure that skills development planning is credible, Learning Programmes for the employed and unemployed as indicated by Scarce and Critical integrated, coordinated and responsive to social and economic demands.
Strategic Priority 2.2: To ensure that skills development programmes are demand-led through substantive and systematic input from employers in the determination of skills demands for the country.
Business
QCTO
Skills inputs.
1.
2.
Learning Programmes as indicated by Scarce and Critical Skills inputs from company stakeholders.
Assist QCTO with learnership/qualification development.
Strategic Priority 2.3: To improve the employment outcomes of post-school education and training programmes.
NSA/NSF Learning Programmes, influenced by the top scarce skills in each subsector, with unemployed
College, University and University of Technology drop-outs, and with at least 70% employment in the MICT Sector (Pivotal).
Strategic Priority 2.4: To ensure that FET and HET are responsive to the skills demands arising from South Africa’s social and economic development imperatives.
DHET Inform FET and HET institutions of skills demands via Career Guide.
Support to HET institutions through Train-the-Trainer.
Support to rural FET and HET institution learners via sponsorship of EUC learning programmes
(will assist to develop the ICT Sector resulting in job creation (hard to measure)).
Learning Programmes, influenced by the top scarce skills in each subsector, with unemployed
College, University and University of Technology drop-outs, and with at least 70% employment in the MICT Sector (Pivotal).
COMMITMENT THREE: We will ensure improved universal access to quality basic education and schooling (up to Grade 12) that is purposefully focused on achieving a dramatic improvement in education outcomes for the poor; that is focused on equipping learners with optimal capacity for good citizenship; and pursuing post-school vocational education and training or employment.
Strategic Priority 3.1: To ensure equity in education inputs and learning outcomes.
DBE N/A
Strategic Priority 3.2: To ensure that education outcomes promote values which are consistent with good citizenship and the provisions of the South African
Constitution.
Strategic Priority 3.3: To improve learner performance and quality of education in the schooling system.
DBE
DBE
N/A
Strategic Priority 3.4: education.
To expand age-appropriate participation in early childhood DBE
Support to FET institutions through Train-the-Trainer.
Support to rural FET institution learners via sponsorship of EUC learning programmes (will assist to develop the ICT Sector resulting in job creation).
Learning Programmes, influenced by the top scarce skills in each subsector, with unemployed College, University and University of Technology drop-outs, and with at least
70% employment in the MICT Sector (Pivotal).
N/A
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Strategic Priority 3.5: To improve the percentage pass rate in Grade 12 and ensure that the profile of passes is commensurate with the country’s social and economic imperatives.
Strategic Priority 3.6: To ensure that all learners, especially the poor, have access to basic health-promoting interventions that are aimed at removing barriers to learning.
Suggested Primary
Responsibility
DBE
DBE, DoH&W
Suggested MICT Seta Contribution
The MICT Seta will partner with DHET’s Foundation Programme in the way of Pivotal programmes to assist potential tertiary institution entrants who require additional assistance with maths and science.
N/A
COMMITMENT FOUR: We will urgently implement skills development programmes that are purposefully aimed at equipping recipients/citizens with requisite skills to overcome related scourges of poverty and unemployment.
Strategic Priority 4.1: To ensure that unemployed adults, especially women, NSA/NSF
Support to rural FET and HET institution learners via sponsorship of EUC learning have access to skills development programmes which are explicitly designed to promote employment and income-promoting outcomes. programmes (will assist to develop the ICT Sector resulting in job creation).
Strategic Priority 4.2: To ensure that all unemployed adults have access to NSF, Setas
Support to rural FET and HET institution learners via sponsorship of EUC learning training opportunities in literacy and ABET.
Strategic Priority 4.3: To accelerate the participation and graduation rates in FET and HET of learners coming from poor families or households.
NSF, Setas programmes (will assist to develop the ICT Sector resulting in job creation).
Support to FET and HET institutions through Train-the-Trainer.
Support to rural FET and HET institution learners via sponsorship of EUC learning programmes (will assist to develop the ICT Sector resulting in job creation).
Learning Programmes, influenced by the top scarce skills in each subsector, with unemployed College, University and University of Technology drop-outs, and with at least
70% employment in the MICT Sector (Pivotal).
COMMITMENT FIVE: We will ensure that young people have access to education and training that enhances opportunities and increases their chances of success in further vocational training and sustainable employment:
Strategic Priority 5.1: To accelerate the implementation of training programmes for the youth which are focused on employment creation.
Strategic Priority 5.2: To leverage public and private sector programmes to create employment opportunities and work experience for new entrants into the labour market.
NSF, Setas
NSF, Setas
Support to rural FET and HET institution learners via sponsorship of EUC and other ICT
learning programmes (will assist to develop the ICT Sector resulting in job creation).
Support to rural FET and HET institution learners via sponsorship of EUC learning programmes (will assist to develop the ICT Sector resulting in job creation).
Strategic Priority 5.3: To improve the coverage and efficacy of vocational guidance and labour market information in a manner that promotes the optimal
DoL, DHET
Inform FET and HET institutions and learners of skills demands via Career Guide. uptake of training and employment opportunities available to the youth.
COMMITMENT SIX: We will improve the technological and innovation capability and outcomes within the public and private sectors to enhance our competitiveness in the global economy and to meet our human development priorities:
Strategic Priority 6.1: To increase the number of skilled personnel in areas of science, engineering and technology.
DBE, DHET
Strategic Priority 6.2: To improve South Africa’s performance in areas of teaching, research, innovation and the commercial application of high-level science, engineering and technology knowledge.
Incubators, Universities,
DHET, existing ISOEs
Support to FET and HET institutions through Train-the-Trainer.
Support to rural FET and HET institution learners via sponsorship of EUC learning programmes (will assist to develop the ICT Sector resulting in job creation).
Learning Programmes, influenced by the top scarce skills in each subsector, with unemployed College, University and University of Technology drop-outs, and with at least
70% employment in the MICT Sector (Pivotal).
Encourage development of more ISOEs.
Sponsor 3- to 5-year new ventures and incubators/ISOEs.
COMMITMENT SEVEN: We will ensure that the public sector has the capability to meet the strategic priorities of the South African Developmental State:
Strategic Priority 7.1: To improve the credibility and impact of training in the public sector by improving service delivery.
PSeta, Government
Sponsorship of EUC learning programmes in government.
Sponsor ICT Learnerships for ICT technical people in government, in partnership with
PSeta.
Strategic Priority 7.2: To leverage the Setas to contribute optimally to capacity development in the public sector.
PSeta, Government
Sponsorship of EUC learning programmes in government.
Sponsor ICT Learnerships for ICT technical people in government, in partnership with
PSeta.
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Suggested Primary
Responsibility
Suggested MICT Seta Contribution
COMMITMENT EIGHT: We will establish effective and efficient planning capabilities in the relevant departments and entities for the successful implementation of the HRD-SA:
Strategic Priority 8.1: To improve the credibility, validity, utility and integrity of the GCIS, DHET supported
Maintain a strong SMS. various data and management information systems which are vital for successful planning and implementation of the HRD-SA. by Setas, Stats SA,
HSRC, SARB
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Appendix 3: Synopsis of potential MICT Seta contribution to the Integrated Sustainable Rural Development
Strategy (ISRDS)
The following statements were extracted from the Executive Summary of the ISRDS.
ISRDS Statement
International approaches to rural development. Recent experiences in programme design suggest that decentralization accompanied by promotion of greater local power and autonomy in decision-making can offer opportunities to improve outcomes. The evidence indicates that a number of characteristics pertain:
fiscal transfers must provide incentives for local government and be transparent, predictable and autonomous;
an appropriate legal framework must define relationships between different levels of government, and must provide a clear role for non-government institutions;
institutional capacity to meet the responsibilities and obligations of decentralized authorities must be created and nurtured;
a clearly defined system of incentives and penalties is required to contribute to more efficient investment decision-making and to discourage misuse of funds.
Recent experiences in project design suggest that urban-rural bias and improved achievement of intended outcomes are achieved where certain key characteristics pertain:
targeting mechanism should be simple, explicit and memorable, based on objective criteria to minimize political interference in resource allocation;
participation in financing of projects and sub-projects generates a sense of ownership and aligns investments to be true, perceived needs generate costs savings and increases local accountability;
careful design of information campaigns is essential and technical assistance and training should be accessible;
project supervision during and after implementation is found to be a determinant of success and sustainability; and
income-generating projects should be subject to rigorous selection, preparation and technical assistance and supervision and should provide services for a large number of community members under strict operational guidelines.
Characterisation of rural South Africa. Some strategic pointers:
the diversity and complexity of rural areas and poverty in South Africa must be accommodated in flexible, responsive strategic planning;
planning must take into account the nature of urban-rural linkages and aim for comprehensive regional development where urban settlements form an integral part of the strategy;
the marginalisation of agriculture, particularly in the former homelands, needs to be addressed, with central acknowledgment of the role of women and gender issues;
the impact of HIV/AIDS must be incorporated to respond to impacts on highly vulnerable rural households.
The legal and policy framework for rural development in South Africa. The key lessons indicated, are:
public investment programmes have been beset by co-ordination and communication problems, with frequent complaints of poor associations to community priorities;
the relationship between national and provincial line function departments and Districts Councils in implementation of programmes was not always coherent and focused;
channels of funding for each sphere of government ‘rained’ on communities randomly with weak responsiveness to community priorities;
the institutional framework to respond to these issues has been evolving over the period and is now in a coherent, ordered structure to support the principles of the ISRDS
The elements behind the vision of the ISRDS:
Rural development: is multi-dimensional and much broader than poverty alleviation through social programmes and transfers; it places emphasis on changing environments to enable poor people to earn more, invest in themselves and their communities and contribute toward maintenance of key infrastructure; a successful strategy will make people less poor, rather then more comfortable in their poverty.
Sustainable: sustainability is derived from increased local growth, and were rural people care about success and are able to access resources to keep the strategy going.
Integrated: integration is complex and requires effective co-ordination across traditional sectors in all levels of government; the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) process will establish a primary locus of integration at the municipal level.
Rural Safety net: safety nets are still needed, and South Africa is exceptional amongst developing countries in that many of the key programmes of social assistance extend to rural people and prevent much hardship. The findings of the current review of social assistance should be incorporated to complement the ISRDS.
Key elements:
A vision of the growth process in rural areas;
A mechanism for integrating existing programs;
Design for new programmes if needed;
A defined locus of decision making;
A meaningful role for local government.
Clarification of financial flows and channels.
Key performance indicators or a process for generating them internally to the strategy;
Procedures to monitor the indicators;
Sequencing of actions that should take place in the short, medium, and long term.
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ISRDS Statement
The strategic continuum progress of the ISRDS is indicated in the following four phases:
(i) Strategic problem/challenge definition.
(ii) Strategic formulation.
(iii) Implementation planning and business planning.
(iv) Delivery.
(v) Evaluation.
The ISRDS will integrate existing activities of government and therefore various elements are at different phases in their own right. The management of the ISRDS it is now completing phase two and establishing a clear focus on phases three and four.
The operational approach of the ISRDS. It will build immediately on existing programmes of government through a well-co-ordinated, bottom-up approach to rural local economic development. Key government initiatives will form a core of the integrated programmes on which ISRDS will be built.
An initial focus will be on a manageable number of selected areas, or nodes, where the process at a local level will be guided. The range of programme opti ons will be customised in each node into a ‘basket’ of services. The selection will be based on participatory decision making at local level and will include resources from government and other social partners. The chief instrument for integration will be the mechanisms of IDPs as provided for in the Municipal Systems Bill. Technical assistance and management assistance will be provided through IDP and ISRDS structures. The objective will be to bolster and develop local capacity.
The primary source of funding is anticipated to come from better synergy of existing programmes rather than allocation of significantly more funds to rural development in aggregate. Municipal councils will use the
IDP process to attract desired programmes from government and other sources.
The ISRDS will extend progressively from the pilot nodes. The strategy recognises the risks of over concentration of resources from a stable resource pool in a few areas, but will put relevant indicators in place to manage such tendencies.
Some complementary measures to support the ISRDS:
human resource development and capacity building;
land reform: implement revised programme;
community based income generation projects;
social assistance and safety nets; and
rural finance.
The proposed institutional arrangements, which will operate in the political and operational areas.
In the political sphere the Presidency is responsible to the Cabinet for overall co-ordination and monitoring. The Presidency will engage provincial Premiers to establish sound operational co-operative governance understandings between these spheres of government. A core group of Ministers in Cabinet will be drawn from the Infrastructure, Economic and social Cabinet Clusters. Each Cluster will ensure that sectoral line function departments prioritise identified nodes and operate through the planning mechanisms of IDPs. In the operational sphere, each node will be supported by a project team, led by a nodal delivery manager, who will report to the nodal champion. Community based project teams will be established in each node in a range of formats and scales depending on local circumstances. They will integrate with designated nodal
IDP structures. Extensive stakeholder mobilisation will be implemented.
Five elements of the implementation:
institutional arrangements;
establishment of an information and knowledge base;
development of planning and monitoring systems;
establishing mechanisms of coordination; and
stakeholder mobilisation.
Three phases are identified, with specified actions for each element above over each:
Phase 1: The period from December 2000 to March 2001 (until the end of the financial year), will encompass all the immediate actions within the five elements identified for implementation of the ISRDS.
Phase 2: The period from April 2001 to March 2004 will build and expand the strategy and extend operations into a greater number of nodes.
Phase 3: The period from April 2004 to March 2010 will manage the strategy into maturity.
The strength of the strategy lies in its emphasis on a mechanism that can achieve results on the ground. That mechanism, in brief, empowers rural stakeholders to use the IDP process to select programmes that address their priorities. The basket of selected programmes is financed at the municipal level through an expenditure envelope comprised of the municipal budget, the commitments of the line departments through the IDP proce ss, commitments of donor organizations and NGO’s, and public -private partnerships. Although these resources were available in the past, they lacked the integrative mechanism described in the strategy.
Suggested MICT Seta Contribution
Based on the above statements, the MICT Seta ’s suggested contribution to the ISRDS is:
Support to FET and HET institutions through Train-the-Trainer.
Support to rural FET and HET institution learners via sponsorship of EUC learning programmes (will assist to develop the ICT Sector resulting in job creation).
Work with local community, NGOs, skills development fora and training institutions, provincial government and municipalities.
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Appendix 4: National Industrial Policy Framework (NIPF)
NIPF Statements Suggested MICT Seta Contribution
Although the NIPF aims to encourage the improvement of growth and employment conditions across much of the economy generally, its primary focus is on the relatively low-skill intensity industries: non-traditional tradeable goods and services in the primary, manufacturing and services sectors of the economy.
Industrial policy is not the domain of a single government department. It requires intensive coordination across a range of government departments. It can also only be implemented successfully if it is aligned with four associated and supporting sets of policies. 1. A stable and supportive macroeconomic and regulatory environment. 2.
Appropriate skills development and education systems which are increasingly integrated with the needs of the industrial economy. 3. Sufficient, reliable and competitively priced traditional and modern infrastructure. 4. Adequate support for various forms of technological investment within the economy.
Over the past few years it has become evident that South Afr ica’s economy is capable of performing at even higher than current levels. Thus Government aims, principally through the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative of South Africa (ASGI-SA), to push toward its goal of halving unemployment and poverty in South Africa by 2014 by attaining 6% growth per annum in gross domestic product (GDP) by 2010.
The Role of Skills/Education
The link between skills and education policy on the one hand, and industrial policy on the other will be strengthened. A particular emphasis is placed on coordination between high impact priority sectors and the relevant vocational institutions, the development of technical tertiary graduates, and the need to link industry demand and tertiary institutions supply more closely together.
1.1.6 However, a situational analysis indicates that the major structural weakness in the industrial economy has been that the losses in employment in traditional commodity sectors of the economy (such as agriculture and mining) have not adequately been offset by sufficiently rapid growth in non-traditional tradeable sectors (such as in manufacturing and certain tradeable services). These tradeable sectors are critical for employment creation because they are generally both labour-intensive and characterised by relatively low-skill intensity.
Through Pivotal programmes, the MICT Seta will assist in forging closer links between tertiary educational institutions and industry.
Attempt to assist potential retrenchees in the traditional sectors with ABET and End User
Computing training to improve their prospects of re-employment in other sectors, utilising NSF funding. Challenges will involve an interim living allowance and poor English skills. This will require cross-sectoral partnering with Agriseta and MQA.
2. NECESSARY CONDITIONS FOR INDUSTRIALISATION
In order for the industrial economy to fire on all cylinders and for an industrial policy to be successful, coordination and alignment is required across a range of supporting policies and institutions. Four main sets of policies need to be implemented in step with more direct industrial policies, namely:
Macroeconomic and regulatory environment;
Skills and education for industrialisation;
Traditional and modern infrastructure; and
Innovation and technology.
2.2 Skills and education for industrialisation
The productive capabilities required to produce goods and services in an ever more globalised economy are becoming increasingly sophisticated. All types of production are affected by this trend, even so-called labour intensive activities. In the short term, this requires much stronger alignment between industrial policies and skills institutions. In the longer term, it requires integration with the educational system with a particular emphasis on ensuring larger numbers of
The MICT Seta will encourage larger numbers of graduates with tertiary ICT skills through partnering with industry and the graduates with tertiary technical skills. Competitive advantage in geographic-specific industrial clusters is greatly enhanced by strengthening linkages between tertiary institutions and the needs of industry, which in turn requires larger awarding of conditional bursaries.
The MICT Seta to forge partnerships with
HETs, including partnering with learnerships. numbers of secondary graduates with university entrance in mathematics and science.
The highest growth sectors since 1994 have largely been in skills-intensive non-tradeable services and capital-intensive upstream resource-based manufacturing. Skills intensity across all sectors of the economy has increased, including the tradeable sectors. However the overwhelming majority (over 70%) of employment in the tradeable
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NIPF Statements Suggested MICT Seta Contribution sectors still comprises low and unskilled workers, with around 60% in manufacturing. By contrast, the private and public non-tradeable sectors are far more skills intensive, with low and unskilled workers accounting for only around one third of employment.
3.3.6 Export performance has also been mixed over this period. There has been important diversification of the export
The MICT Seta will identify export basket away from over-reliance on minerals. Resource-based sectors continue to dominate manufacturing exports, companies within the MICT Sector and although their share declined from over 74% in 1994 to 61% in 2006. The automotive industry has been the most assist with skills development in those important source of manufacturing export growth and diversification. But South Africa has not sufficiently integrated into companies to boost exports. rapidly growing areas of global trade, such as electro-technical products. Muted export performance in non-traditional tradeable goods and services is of concern in a context of high unemployment since skills intensity in these sectors is lowest, and hence they offer the best opportunities for creating employment for relatively unskilled workers.
4.1.8 The strategy of the previous government of deliberately not investing in skills formation for the majority of the population has created long-term problems. This poses two major sets of challenges. The first is that the global commoditisation of lower-value manufacturing places constraints on the growth of sectors that can absorb relatively unskilled labour. Conversely, availability of skilled labour becomes a constraint on the growth of more dynamic goods
The MICT will address the top scarce skills in each subsector as indicated by the MICT
Sector. and services markets, which are increasingly more skills- and technology intensive.
5.1.1 Diversification of the economy towards non-traditional tradeable goods and services and beyond a mineral and agricultural base is necessary for a range of reasons. It allows countries to escape from the volatility and long-term decline in the terms of trade of a number of commodities. Movement into manufacturing and exportable service activities allows countries to take advantage of the rising income elasticity of demand that derives from increasing wealth in the world economy. This movement is fundamental to higher living standards as people shift from un- or
As above. under-employment to more productive formal sector activities. It is well recognised that this process of industrial development is beset with market and production failures. The ability to produce does not occur automatically but is an incremental process of learning and developing cumulative capabilities. During this process a number of markets generally may not work well, or may even be entirely missing. In particular, these generally are markets for capital, technology and skills development.
7.4.4 Advanced manufacturing sectors
7.4.4.2 Advanced manufacturing is generally characterised by relatively high levels of skills and technology requirements and encompasses sectors such as automotives, aerospace, electronics, and nuclear energy. These sectors are often driven by foreign direct investors who own the proprietary knowledge involved and who subcontract original equipment manufacturing. However, there are areas in which South Africa is developing its own proprietary technologies, such as in mining capital goods and nuclear energy. Challenges exist with respect to deepening domestic technology linkages in automotives, building more competitive manufacturing capabilities at scale, and identifying the areas in which South Africa can participate competitively in more dynamic value chains, such as the electro-technical group of products. This is likely to require targeted support in the areas of technology development, technological infrastructure and more focused FDI promotion efforts.
7.4.6 Tradeable Services
7.4.6.1 In developing sectors, the importance of services should not be overlooked. The sector broadly constitutes over
60% of GDP and employment. While much services activity is driven organically by increasing per capita incomes, there are certain services sectors that display desirable developmental characteristics such as the ability to absorb labour and generate substantial value addition. A number of services sectors tend to have higher employment elasticity than manufacturing, although they also tend to be relatively skillsintensive. Promising services for development or ‘selfdiscovery’ processes include business process outsourcing (BPO), ICT services, engineering, construction and mining
The MICT Seta will partner with the CSIR,
The MICT Seta will identify companies with
R&D capability within the MICT Sector and assist with skills development in those companies to boost this capability. universities and ISOEs.
Develop End User Computing/Call Centre
Qualification and Learnership.
Promote the End User Computing/Call
Centre Qualification and Learnership.
Sponsor learners on the End User
Computing/Call Centre Learnership,
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NIPF Statements services and the film industry. The major generic challenges facing most of these sectors relate particularly to broadband availability and costs, and skills and education development.
10. SP4: SKILLS AND EDUCATION FOR INDUSTRIALISATION
10.1 As outlined above the skills and education system form a fundamental pillar for the success of an industrial policy.
There is currently insufficient integration between industrial policy objectives and skills and education systems. There is therefore a need from much closer alignment between industrial policy and skills and education development, particularly with respect to sector strategies.
10.2 At the level of vocational training there is a need for much greater coordination between the development and implementation of sector strategies and the corresponding Sector Education and Training Authorities (Setas). In particular, the Setas related to the high-impact sectors prioritised from time-to-time by Government itself, require priority attention such that they are optimally supportive of the sector development process. Lessons learned from this process can be applied to the improvement of the Seta system as a whole.
10.3 In the medium- to long-term there is a need for much stronger alignment between the education system and industrial policy. A critical requirement for any successful industrialisation process is the provision of adequate numbers of graduates in tertiary technical fields such as science and engineering. South Africa’s recent growth spurt has highlighted weaknesses in this area.
10.4 Improvements on the tertiary technical front require a much larger pool of school leavers with university entrance in mathematics and science. This implies purposive efforts to improve the cadre of school leavers necessary for a modern and increasing knowledge-driven economy.
10.5 There is also a requirement to strengthen the integration between tertiary institutions and industries in the same geographic location. This is particularly the case in more technology and skill intensive industries where local tertiary institutions form a fundamental pillar of industrial clustering.
See above.
See above.
The MICT Seta will encourage larger numbers of graduates with tertiary ICT skills through partnering with industry and the awarding of conditional bursaries.
The MICT Seta will partner with DH ET’s
Foundation Programme in the way of Pivotal programmes to assist potential tertiary institution entrants who require additional assistance with maths and science.
The MICT Seta will promote End-User
Computing to FETs and rural educational institutions, which will have the long-term effect of making our population more ICT literate, providing them with better access to the world of the Internet and to job and new venture opportunities.
13. SP7: INDUSTRIAL UPGRADING PROGRAMME
13.1 Evidence from firms in the private sector indicates that firms which invest in non-price-based strategies – associated with upgrading their industrial capabilities –demonstrate superior performance in terms of both turnover and employment growth. These include investments in machinery, upgrading skills, and improving their logistics capabilities.
13.5 The second component of industrial upgrading is the technological infrastructure that supports it. Technological infrastructure is defined as infrastructure for a public good, which individual firms would normally be unable or unwilling
Suggested MICT Seta Contribution particularly in rural areas.
Obtain Telkom’s rural telecommunications development plan and sponsor rural End
User Computing/Call Centre Learnership through Telkom on the basis the rural telecommunications infrastructure be provided/improved by Telkom. This type of partnership could also be formed with
Neotel and the cellular operators.
The MICT Seta will address the top scarce skills in each subsector as indicated by the
MICT Sector.
The MICT Seta will identify companies with
R&D capability within the MICT Sector and
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NIPF Statements to invest in, but which has substantial technological impact on the industry as a whole. Due to the broad range and sector-specific nature of the facilities that meet these criteria, it may be desirable to establish a Technological
Infrastructure Fund, with broad guidelines, able to support a range of facilities. The types of facilities that would be supported would include tooling and casting facilities, sector-specific skills centres, where fixed costs of equipment are too high for individual firms to invest, and centres for research excellence.
Suggested MICT Seta Contribution assist with skills development in those companies to boost this capability.
The MICT Seta will partner with the CSIR, universities and ISOEs.
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Appendix 5: Synopsis of Potent ial MICT Contribution to DHET’s Five-Year
Strategic Plan: 2009/10 to 2014/15
DHET’s Five-Year Strategic Plan
Programme 2: Human Resources Development , Planning and Monitoring Coordination
Suggested MICT Contribution
2.1 CD: Human Resources Development, Strategic Planning and Coordination
2.1.1 D: Human Resources Development
1. To ensure coordination, integration and facilitation amongst stakeholders, role-players and See Chapter 7 authorities with regard to the Human Resources Development Strategy for South Africa (HRDS-SA).
2. To establish the HRD Council and its structures, and to support, coordinate and manage the workplan of the HRD Council.
No action
3. To maintain the HRDS-SA by supporting, monitoring, evaluating and reviewing the Strategy by No action means of reports and a periodic summit.
2.1.2 D: Strategic Coordination and Secretarial Support
1. To ensure that strategic planning for the DHET is well coordinated and supported within the See Chapter 7 education sector, government and society at large.
2.2 CD: Planning, Information, Monitoring and Evaluation Coordination
2.2.1 D: Information Systems Coordination
1. To ensure that there is an integrated education and training management information system, MICT to contribute data linking all providers of education and training into a single system, so that there is a learning record and occupation category for each and every person resident in South Africa.
2. To support the development of coherent career guidance and information services for higher MICT to produce and distribute the Career education and training via the development of a focused plan and partnerships.
2.2.2 D: Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Coordination
Opportunities Guide annually
1. To ensure credible planning, budgeting, costing, research and monitoring, as well as evaluation MICT to perform monitoring and capabilities that will achieve the required outcomes and provide an early warning system to correct evaluation any deviations from structured plans.
2.3 CD: International Relations
2.3.1 To pursue African advancement and enhanced international cooperation in education and training
1. To enhance cooperation with the African Union, the NEPAD Secretariat, the SADC, as well as No action with specialised education and training agencies, such as the AAU and IICBA.
2. To strengthen bilateral relations with priority countries in Africa. No action
2.3.2 To strengthen South-South, North-South and multilateral co-operation in education and training
1. To strengthen South-South cooperation and pursue mutually beneficial agreements with the key No action countries of the South, by participating in, and coordinating various programmes involving IBSA,
China and the Middle East.
2. To pursue and consolidate structured interaction with key partners of the North. No action
3. Promote multilateralism via constructive engagement with the OECD, UNESCO, the No action
Commonwealth, the WTO and the ILO.
4. To access international funds for domestic and trilateral programmes. No action
5. To encourage international collaboration by institutions, strengthen cooperation with international No action offices and develop a data base of the international engagement of institutions.
2.4 CD: Legal and Legislative Services
1.1.1 To provide effective legal advice, on time, to the Ministry, the Department, government and the Based on inputs form DHET, MICT to public on education legislation and law. communicate with stakeholders
1.1.2 To manage any litigation concerning the Ministry and the Department.
1.1.3 To advise on all agreements pertaining to the Department/Ministry.
1.1.4 To manage and report on the statutory obligations relating to human rights.
1.1.5 To draft regulations and legislation and assist with the processing thereof:
No action
No action
No action
Based on inputs form DHET, MICT to communicate with stakeholders i. Reviewing existing legislation via amendments passed in Parliament. ii. Drafting new legislation, identified by the Minister.
No action
No action
1.1.6 To monitor, support and evaluate higher education and training authorities with regard to the No action implementation of legislation, and to manage court actions.
2.5 CD: Social Inclusion (Equity) in Higher Education and Training
2.5.1. To establish a well-functioning social inclusion, equity and transformation unit within the DHET that will: a. over time, focus on issues such as institutional culture, staffing, student development and support, No action gender equity, inclusion, citizenship and social cohesion, rural development, HIV and Aids, disability, language, curriculum (including grounding programmes), career information and guidance; b. ensure that all higher education and training institutions promote human rights and citizenship in No action their ethos, policies and practices, via monitoring, research, partnerships and policy development; and c. to recommend support and incentives for innovation and excellence to improve social inclusion, No action equity and transformation in higher education and training.
2.5.2. To monitor and research transformation processes in the higher education and training system, including focusing on: a. the recommendations of the Ministerial Committee Report on Transformation and Social Cohesion No action and the Elimination of Discrimination in Public Higher Education Institutions; b. the development of transformation indicators and a monitoring framework for the system; and No action c. building partnerships with relevant bodies and institutions to support transformation of the system. No action
2.5.3. To identify and monitor curriculum innovations in citizenship and values education in Based on input from DHET, MICT to the higher education and training system.
identify and monitor curriculum innovations
2.6 Strategic project: Collaboration towards occupational skills excellence (cross-cutting SETAs, colleges and universities of technology)
1. Secure agreement on a limited list of scarce trade or equivalent occupations in both the public and MICT to provide input on scarce and the private sector. critical skills in the sector
2. For the selected occupations, develop an integrated pipeline of delivery from institution-based For the selected occupations, MICT to theoretical learning, through practical workshop training to structured workplace learning, facilitating develop an integrated pipeline of delivery employability.
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DHET’s Five-Year Strategic Plan
Suggested MICT Contribution
3. For the selected occupations, upgrade the capacity of the relevant colleges to offer the theoretical Excluding improvement of facilities, MICT and practical training by trainer training, curriculum and programme material development, and the to upgrade the capacity of the relevant improvement of facilities where necessary. colleges
4. For the selected occupations, consolidate relevant SETA-based learnerships into single MICT to support occupation-specific programmes, with provision for sectoral and other specialisation fields.
5. Secure an increased number of workplace learning opportunities in both the public and the private MICT to secure an increased number of sector. workplace learning opportunities
6. Establish the necessary financial framework to ensure complementary funding from voted and No action levy funds.
7. Recruit an increased number of learners into the programmes and support their successful MICT to recruit an increased number of completion of these programmes. learners into the programmes and support
8. Monitor and evaluate processes.
9. Expand the number of occupations and repeat the steps as indicated. their successful completion of these programmes
MICT to monitor and evaluate processes
MICT to expand the number of occupations
Programme 3: University Education
3.1 CD: University: Academic Planning and Management
3.1.1 D: University: Academic Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation
3.1.1.1 To strengthen academic and enrolment planning in supporting the output of quality No action graduates.
3.1.1.2 To enhance the national PQM grid by refining and aligning universities’ PQMs with the No action
National Plan for Higher Education.
3.1.2 D: University: Management Support
3.1.2.1 To provide financial management and management support to universities and relevant No action public entities.
3.1.2.2 To improve access to post-school education in Mpumalanga and the Northern Cape. No action
3.1.2.3 To improve access to universities via the establishment of a National University Education No action
Information and Application Service.
3.1.2.4 To support the improvement of the structure and efficacy of the NSFAS. MICT to contribute funding
3.1.2.5 To reflect on best practices and challenges in implementing the mergers of universities.
3.2 CD: University: Financial Planning and Information Systems
3.2.1 D: University: Financial and Physical Planning
3.2.1.1 To provide appropriate policy frameworks for the improvement of teaching and learning.
No action
3.2.1.4 To strengthen the performance of the higher education system.
3.2.2 D: University: Management and Information Systems
No action
3.2.1.2 To ensure the effective use of earmarked funds by universities for the intended purposes. No action
3.2.1.3 To review the funding of the university education system as a whole and particularly the No action funding formula and the entire framework.
No action
3.2.2.1 To ensure that the Higher Education Management Information System (HEMIS) meets the MICT to analyse this data in terms of its needs for management information across the sector, and that it is maintained properly with the sector required data from universities.
3.2.2.2 To assist with development by the establishment of an MIS for the post-school system. (Post MICT to analyse this data in terms of its
2010/11.)
3.3 CD: University: Policy and Development sector
3.3.1 D: University: Support and Sector Liaison
3.3.3.1 To provide regulatory support to universities.
3.3.3.2 To support the universities in enhancing student governance and leadership.
No action
No action
3.3.3.3 To support universities in accelerating the process of transformation.
3.3.3.4 To support universities in improving governance.
3.3.2 D: University: Policy and Development Support
No action
No action
3.3.2.1 To support the enhancement of research output by, and the academic performance of No action universities.
3.3.2.2 To support universities in managing the impact of HIV and Aids. No action
3.3.2.3 To promote the internationalisation of the university education system, of the African No action continent in particular, and support student exchanges.
3.3.3 D: Private Higher Education Institutions
3.3.3.1 To ensure the appropriate regulation and registration of private higher education institutions. MICT to monitor and evaluate the provision of training
3.3.3.2 To support the integration of the registration process of hybrid private education institutions No action that offer programmes in both the FET and HE sectors.
3.4 CD: Teacher Education
3.4.1 To promote research in teacher education, so as to strengthen the capacity and capabilities of MICT to support the training of teachers universities to produce Foundation Phase teachers for the Basic Education System. and lecturers in ICT
3.4.2 To strengthen the provision of teacher/lecturer education in the Higher Education and Training MICT to support the training of teachers
System, in collaboration with the Department of Basic Education and the FET College System. and lecturers in ICT
3.4.3 To develop regulatory policies for teacher/lecturer qualifications that are in line with the HEQF. No action
3.4.4 To ensure the alignment of teacher/lecturer education programmes with academic policy, No action teacher education policy and the Programme Qualification Mix (PQM).
Programme 4: Vocational and Continuing Education and Training
4.1 CD: Planning and Institutional Support
4.1.1 D: Public FET Colleges
1. Suppo rt the development of colleges’ institutional capacity in order to achieve transparency, MICT to support the training of teachers enhanced performance, accountability and efficiency. and lecturers in ICT
2. Develop a coherent and integrated framework for the coordination and alignment of FET colleges, No action agricultural colleges, nursing colleges and universities of technology in respect of skills development outputs.
3. Develop and/or review legislative and policy frameworks to create an enabling environment for the No action
FET college sub-system to deliver on its expanded mandate.
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Suggested MICT Contribution
4. Effectively manage and support the transition of colleges to an exclusive national legislative No action competence.
4.1.2 D: Private FET Colleges
1. Regulate and support private colleges as a means of expanding the institutional base for providing MICT to monitor and evaluate the quality post-school education and training opportunities.
4.1.3 D: Financial Planning provision of training
1. Plan and monitor the equitable distribution of funding in support of policies on education and No action training delivery in public FET colleges and adult learning centres.
4.1.4 D: Education Labour Relations and Conditions of Service
1. Provide support for a progressive improvement in the Conditions of Service of college employees, No action so as to ensure sustained labour peace, staff commitment and productivity.
4.2. CD: Programmes and Qualifications
4.2.1. D: College Curriculum Development and Support
1. Develop and maintain a diverse range of responsive vocational programmes of quality for No action colleges.
2. Train and support lecturers to ensure a skilled and capable college workforce. MICT to support the training of teachers and lecturers in ICT
3. Continuously assess the quality of curriculum delivery and the impact of intervention strategies, so No action as to improve the quality of curriculum delivery.
4.2.2 D: Youth Development Programmes
1. Initiate and support interventions aimed at addressing the challenges affecting students, No action particularly with regard to academic performance, programme choices, governance and leadership, extracurricular activities and students’ general welfare.
2. Continuously assess the impact of student support programmes and interventions. No action
3. Forge strong links and partnerships with agencies and structures that are involved in the No action developmental needs of the youth.
4.2.3 D: Adult Education and Training Programmes
1. Restructure adult education and training by establishing responsive and enabling policies and MICT to implement new policies and programmes. programmes
2. Expand the current provisioning of formal adult education and training programmes. MICT to expand the current provisioning of formal adult education and training programmes
3. Develop and maintain sound policies and systems for the implementation of adult education and MICT to develop and maintain sound training programmes. policies and systems for the implementation of adult education and training programmes
Programme 5: Skills Development
5.1 CD: SETA Coordination
5.1.1 Provide a dynamic interface between the workplace and learning institutions and promote quality learning at work and for work.
5.1.1.1 Support and manage the functioning of SETAs in implementing the NSDS II (2010/11) and No action
NSDS III (2011/12 onwards)
5.1.1.2 Support the development of the NSDS III. NSDS III is to be developed and finalised by No action
December 2010.
5.1.1.3 Support the development and implementation of the COSE Project, so that by 2015 the No action curriculum for priority trades and occupations are implemented and reported on.
5.1.1.4 Support and direct the SETAs’ quality assurance functions, prior to the full functioning of the No action
QCTO in 2011.
5.1.1.5 Facilitate the development and establishment of NAMB by April 2011.
5.1.1.6 Support QCTO and NAMB so that these agencies are able to achieve their objectives.
5.1.2 Enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of SETA delivery
5.1.2.1 Steer and support the development of internal and external structures and systems.
No action
No action
No action
5.1.2.2 Contribute to the development of a department-wide information management system, to be No action functional by 2015.
5.1.2.3 Develop processes to improve structures, capacity and systems, in order to eliminate SETA No action under-performance by 2015.
5.1.2.4 Co-ordinate the SETA re-establishment process and its effective operation. No action
5.1.3 Actively promote the alignment of skills development outputs with the needs of the workplace and with the broader growth needs of the country’s economy.
5.1.3.1 Contribute to the annual update of a reliable, critical and scarce skills list, via the alignment of MICT to provide input on scarce and sectoral skills plans with government priority strategies, e.g. IPAP and Rural and Provincial Growth critical skills in the sector and Development Strategies.
5.1.3.2 Develop a framework for critical and scarce skills information dissemination by March 2011. No action
5.1.3.3 Facilitate and manage the development and adoption of sectoral skills plans for 2011 to MICT to produce Sector Skills Plans
2014.
5.2 CD: National Skills Development Strategy (NSDS) annually
5.2.1 Provide funds to support projects identified as national priorities in the extended NSDS II and NSDS III (once finalised for 2011 to
2014)
5.2.1.1 For NSDS II, implement disbursements under DHET arrangements. No action
5.2.1.2 For NSDS III, develop draft disbursement criteria and procedures for each new strategic No action priority.
5.2.1.3 Recommend criteria and disbursement criteria to the National Skills Authority. No action
5.2.1.4 Finalise criteria and disbursement procedures by the end of March 2010.
5.2.1.5 Implement NSDS III priorities from 2011 to 2014.
5.2.1.6 Monitor and evaluate the impact made by disbursements.
No action
MICT to implement NSDS III priorities
MICT to monitor and evaluate its interventions and contribute findings to
DHET
5.2.2 Provide funds to support other strategic projects as determined by the Director-General
5.3.2.1 Translate project directives into proposed disbursement criteria and procedures.
5.3.2.2 Recommend criteria and disbursement procedures to the National Skills Authority.
5.3.2.3 Finalise criteria and disbursement procedures within the agreed-upon time-frames.
No action
No action
No action
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5.3.2.4 Implement strategic projects as per criteria and disbursement procedures.
5.3.2.5 Monitor and evaluate the impact made by disbursements.
No action
MICT to monitor and evaluate its interventions and contribute findings to
DHET
5.2.3 Guide the development of internal and external structures and systems that effectively and efficiently enable the achievement of the abovementioned two goals.
5.3.3.1 Improve the capacity and systems of the NSF to disburse funding in an effective and efficient No action manner.
5.3.3.2 Address under-disbursement. No action
5.3.3.3 Develop grant funding strategies appropriate to each project category.
5.3.3.4 Develop and improve mechanisms for communicating information about the NSF.
No action
Base on inputs from DHET, MICT to communicate information about the NSF
5.3 Quality Development and Promotion
5.3.1 Ensure quality learning in and for the workplace
5.3.1.1 Facilitate the establishment of the QCTO by 31 March 2010 and enable the QCTO to be fully MICT to support the QCTO operational by 31 March 2011.
5.4 D National Skills Authority (NSA)
5.4.1 Advise the Minister on a National Skills Development Policy
5.4.2 Advise the Minister on a National Skills Development Strategy
5.4.2.1 Advise the Minister on the NSDS III and its alignment with the HRDS-SA by Augustus 2010. No action
5.4.2.2 Annual reports on the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of NSDS III are to be MICT to produce annual reports submitted to the Minister.
5.4.2.3 Advise the Minister on the review of the SETA landscape and performance. No action
5.4.3 Direct the undertaking of research that will enable the authority to best fulfil its advisory functions
5.4.3.1 A data bank of research reports and other historic information on the work of the NSA work To contribute must be established, to be accessible by 2015.
5.4.3.2 Undertake research to establish the impact of the NSDS. To contribute
5.4.3.3 Establish links with, and promote collaboration on research activities with the HRDSA, the MICT to collaborate under guidance from
CHE, SAQA and other related bodies. DHET
5.4.4 Guide the development of structures and systems that effectively enable the achievement of the above-mentioned three goals
5.4.4.1 An NSDS Marketing Strategy is to be developed, implemented and evaluated.
5.4.4.2 Develop and build capacity of the NSA.
5.4.5 Strategic Management Unit/Programme Management Support
5.4.5.1 Prepare a draft NSDS for consultation purposes.
No action
No action a) The Strategy is to be aligned with HRDS-SA. b) Support the development of NSDS III.
To contribute as per Appendix 2
To contribute c) Co-ordinate linkages in the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the NSDS and MICT to monitor and evaluate its
HRDS-SA. interventions and contribute findings to
DHET
5.4.5.2 Monitor and evaluate the implementation of the NSDS. a) Produce quarterly and annual reports on the implementation of NSDS II and NSDS III. MICT to produce reports quarterly and annual b) Identify areas of, and commission research annually, which will feed into the NSDS planning, MICT to perform/commission research monitoring and evaluation processes, and disseminate the results of the commissioned studies to and contribute findings to DHET the relevant stakeholders.
5.4.5.3 Facilitate the work of the branch by coordinating branch level work planning and reporting processes. a) Co-ordinate processes that will assist the branch in producing work and strategic plans, as well as No action quarterly monitoring reports. b) Assist the branch to report on branch performance at departmental and inter-departmental levels, No action by preparing branch inputs for departmental and inter-departmental reports, including DHET Annual
Reports, the ENE and the MTEF.
5.4.5.4 Under the guidance of the Department’s Corporate Services, develop and strengthen branch capacity, branch performance and the branch’s financial and information management systems. a) Co-ordinate branch performance management processes, including staff skills development No action processes. Incrementally, by 2015, 100% of competencies listed in the PDPs should be addressed by learning interventions. b)
Manage the branch’s finances, ensuring that the branch meets the financial management
No action standards as set out in the PFMA.
5.4.5.5 Contribute to, and guide the development of internal and external structures and systems that effectively enable the achievement of the above-mentioned four goals. a) An electronic library of NSDS reports and impact research studies to be established and linked to other HRDSA databases, and to SETA’s research data bases by 2015.
MICT to contribute reports b) Contribute to the development of improved systems of reporting and improve branch reporting No action processes, so that by 2011 accurate statistics on the NSDS implementation are provided in all reports, while qualitative information is also collected and reported on.
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