SSACI:A Public-Private
Partnership in SkillsDevelopmentDevelopment
inSouth Africa
The SSACI Partnership
Founded in 2001 byFounded in 2001 bySDC & SwissSDC & Swiss
corporates in SAcorporates in SA
TacklesTacklesunemploymentunemploymentby improvingby improvingskills trainingskills training
systemsystem
Focus onFocus onintermediateintermediate--levellevel
technical skillstechnical skillssystemsystem
WorksWorksthroughthrough
partnershipspartnershipsbetweenbetweenpublic &public &
private sectorprivate sector
Funded byFunded bycorporatecorporate
donors, SDCdonors, SDC& SA& SA govmtgovmt
Initiates &Initiates &managesmanages
projects thatprojects that“prime the“prime the
pump”pump”
SSACI as a "system enabler":
Inform policydevelopment
Who we work with:
SpecialisedAgencies
GovmtDepts
“The system”SSACI
Co- implementors
Service-providers
SETAs Institutions
Publicprogrammes
“The system”SSACIService-providers
Funders
The national skills training system
Apprenticeships
Universities ofTechnology
(formerly technikons)
Universities
General education (up to Gr 9)
Apprenticeships&
LearnershipsTVET Colleges,
(Up to NQF Level 4)Academic High Schools
(up to Gr 12)
Education & the labour market
Of vacant jobs in the country in 2011:
• 48% required a HE qualification
• 20% required a vocational qualification
• 15% required a Grade 12 certificate
There is therefore a strong correlationbetween education and employment:
• completing secondary school almost doublesthe likelihood of finding a job
• completing tertiary qualification more thantrebles it
Some characteristics of SA education
• High levels of enrolment:
o 93% of all children enrol for Gr 1; 68% of all children reach Gr 9(first official exit-point)
o Equal enrolment of boys and girls in all grades
• High level of public spending:• High level of public spending:
o 20% of total state expenditure (OECD average = 13%)
o 7% of GDP (OECD average = 5.8%)
o 70% of all pupils (Gr 0-12) pay no fees
• Low through-put and quality
o After Gr 9, pass-rates fall steeply
o 2012 World Competitiveness Index rated SA 84th out of 142countries on HE and training, and 132nd on primary education
System throughputOf 1’240’000 learners whostarted Grade 1 in publicschools in 1999:
• 40% (496’000) wrote ‘matric’(Gr12) exams in 2011
• 28% (348’000) passed
Of students who start the 3-year national vocationalcertificate in public FETcolleges:
• 4% passed in 2009
• 8% passed in 2010
• 10% (121’000) qualified forhigher education
• 12% passed in 2011
• 25% passed in 2012
The average throughputrate in higher education is50%
The average throughputrate in apprenticeships andoccupational trainingcourses is 50%
A cluttered institutional landscape
DHET
VCET SkillsHigher
Education
50 x publicTVET
17 xUniversities
SAQA NSA
Umalusi
CHE
NSF
21 x Sector Education &Training Authorities
(SETAs)
SACPO
TVETColleges
CET Colleges
Universities
6 x UTs
CHE
QCTO
NAMB
NBFET HRDCSA
SAAoC
SAIVCET?
6 xMinisterial
TaskTeams
9 x TaskTeams
Systemic chellenges
Confused objectives
Incoherent policies
Dismantledsystems
Weakadministration
The youth unemployment problem
Lack of marketable skillsToo few jobToo few job
opportuntitiesbeing created
[±500’000 p.a.]
Large numbers entering job market (±800’000 p.a.]
Unemployment Rates Compared
[Figures represent averages for 2011 & 2012from EuroStat & ILOStat websites]
What’s government doing?
• National Skills Development Strategy, 2011-2016:
o Overhaul of processes within VET system
o Strong emphasis on TVET colleges & SETAs
• National Skills Accord (July 2011):• National Skills Accord (July 2011):
o Agreement by govmt & private sector on joint actiontowards specific targets for apprenticeships & otherworkplace-based training
• Green Paper on Post-School Education &Training (January 2012)
o Systemic overhaul of DHET structures & functions
SSACI’s Current interventionsStudent work
experience (includingintegrated
assessment)
Lecturer workplaceexposure
Internships forcollege graduates
s
TVET CollegeSystem
SwissCham“College(s) ofExcellence”
college graduates
AcceleratedApprenticeships
Dual-Systemapprenticeships
Engineering Trade Skills forEmployment
ApprenticeshipSystem
Excellence”
WIL is central to SSACI projectsIntegration of formallearning into workplaceactivities…
incorporating:
• Incremental, productive• Incremental, productivetasks
• Within normal companyprocesses
• Under “real-life”conditions
• To profitable ends
Current Project: workplace experience forcollege students & lecturers
SSACIprogrammemandatory
for all publiccolleges
New nationalframeworkwritten by
SSACI
Current Project: Internships for college graduates
New nationalprogramme
developed bySSACI adopted
by MerSETA
Current Project: New models of artisan apprenticeships
New ‘fast-track’
programmefor SMEs
Pilot of Swiss‘Dual system’
National Skills Accord refers to 6 types:
1. Apprenticeships
2. Learnerships
3. Skills programmes
How companies can promote WIL
3. Skills programmes
4. Internships*
5. Workplace experience for university and FETcollege students*
6. Workplace exposure for FET college lecturers*
[*Non-standardised types]
What’s in it for employers?
Potential source of future trainees, apprentices& employees
SETA grants
Tax breaks Tax breaks
Points on BBBEE scorecard
PR value
Expresses good corporate citizenship for “triplebottom line” sustainability reporting
What are the problems with CIPs?
Traditional college-industry relationshipsdeclined with apprenticeships, so:
Few college staff have industry experience
Company managers know little about colleges ortheir curricula
Curricula insufficiently aligned with industry Curricula insufficiently aligned with industry
Complex college administrations (multi-campuses & departments)
Cultural differences between colleges &industry (e.g. calendar, work-day, management)
No central DHET support for partnerships
Learners crave practical experience & riseto opportunities
WBE very demanding of time, organisation& resources
WBE needs to be structured & integrated
Lessons for Colleges
WBE needs to be structured & integratedinto core curriculum (timetabling, tasks,assessment)
Need to make business case to companies
College staff need to be more informedabout demands of industry, flexible indelivery & attuned to business culture
Address core business and core curriculum
Have clearly-defined objectives
Start small but grow annually
Be long-term (>3yrs)
Partnerships with colleges should:
Be long-term (>3yrs)
Be developed at management and workshoplevel
Involve exchanges of information, personnel &capacity (not just transfer of money or equipment)
Be documented, for institutional memory &learning
Colleges need help (manual/training?) toinitiate & manage partnerships with industry,esp. regarding objectives, roles,responsibilities & expectations
Legal liability needs to be resolved urgently
Lessons for DHET
Legal liability needs to be resolved urgently
College staff require much more exposureto current industry practice
College staff need to be encouraged toundertake development of NCV
FETCs & NCV need to be marketed toindustry (& some college staff)
NCV can deliver much-needed skills
Will do so if teachers & learners get WBE
Partnerships with colleges should:
Lessons for Companies
be long-term (>3yrs)
involve INSET & exchange of information (not justtransfer of equipment)
be built at workshop and management level
Partnerships work best when aimed atcommon good rather than individual interest