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Cape Town – The majority of women in South Africa are still not gaining in terms of job placements in the economy, according to Sean Jones, CEO of the Artisan Training Institute (ATI), a black empowerment company.

He said, while legislation has been passed to push for more employment of women in the workplace, it appears SA is lagging when compared to its peers.

In his view, the benefits employers are experiencing in training more women artisans include a widening of the skills net and in his experience women perform well in the engineering trades.

“We are finding that more women are graduating as electricians, fitters and turners, and measurement, control and instrumentation technicians,” said Jones. He hopes this trend will expand to other artisan disciplines, such as diesel mechanics, boiler makers and auto electricians.

He pointed out that one of the primary objectives of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) is to see equal representation of women in traditionally segregated work environments from company boards, to the shop floor. Critically, this representation should include equal remuneration.

“We also need to promote women in the artisan industry. There will be a shortage in SA when the global economy emerges from the current doldrums – and training women could alleviate part of this worrying shortfall,” said Jones.

“Unfortunately, artisan training has seen a sharp decline over the last 24 months as a result of contractions in the mining, engineering and agricultural sectors due to companies experiencing cash flow and budget constraints.”

The SA government said in November last year it wants to address the engineering skills shortage by aiming to have at least 24 000 competent artisans by 2020.

Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa said at the time that government wants to address the skills shortage among artisans, technicians, and engineers. A Joint Engineering Education Working Group between the Department of Higher Education and Training and the Engineering Council was established to ensure that engineering skills needs are addressed.

Earlier this year Jones asked for a mind shift in SA about artisans, both by educational institutions and the broader population. He would like to see the youth consider a career as an artisan, as it would offer, in his view, quicker access to full-time employment.

Article initially published on Fin24

Sean Jones, MD

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A perennial issue facing youth globally is what career to pursue, with many learners being misguided by their parents and teachers. This is according to Sean Jones, MD of black empowered artisan training company, Artisan Training Institute (ATI). “In South Africa there are huge efforts by NGO’s, industry and government to address not only the poor levels of basic education but also career guidance. There are many examples of programmes to uplift school facilities, teacher’s skills, and headmasters’ leadership abilities.” However, career guidance remains a poorly developed competence in our society. As a result, most young people want to rush head-long to enrol at university, unaware of the myriad of other possible career choices in, for example, sales, advertising, computer programming, web-site development, social media marketing, hospitality, banking, or vocational training as examples. Industry can play its part by engaging with progressive organisations such as Kagiso Trust, TISO Foundation, The Maths Centre, Protec or the Cyril Ramaphosa Foundation as examples, to develop scalable career guidance tools to assist youth in their decision making. “Small efforts like this,” said Jones, “would not only assist South African youth, but also potentially alleviate the pressure on universities. Many graduates struggle to find employment post degree completion, whereas, learners who followed a specific vocation, do much better at securing gainful employment coupled with valuable work experience.” The Artisan Training Institute (ATI) is leading this effort, currently preparing a career guidance video for the engineering trades that will be available on YouTube, their web-site, and distributed to organisations working with schools. Critically, young people need to enter careers they are passionate about. Studies have shown, that being in a career you are well suited to, promotes individual happiness, while ensuring longevity in that role.”

Sean Jones, MD

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Manana was speaking to more than 1 200 pupils from different schools at the Capricorn Technical, Vocational, Education and Training (Tvet) college in Seshego, as part of "Decade of the Artisan" campaign.

"If we don't have [an artisan qualification], the rate of unemployment will be higher. Some learners are pursuing a university degree which is not marketable and they end up joining the unemployed because of lack of career counselling," said Manana.

The deputy minister said the number of unemployed graduates in South Africa was at risk of increasing due to wrong career choices.

"We have 600 000 unemployed graduates in this country and if the number increase, it will cause chaos. When hunger strikes, they will come to your home and steal. When crime rises, we are in trouble.

"With the artisan programme, jobs are guaranteed. Government is not the employer, but the private sector is. The reason we have so many unemployed graduates is because of minimal career counselling."

He added that the shortage of artisans in the country was an obstacle to economic growth.

"We have 134 artisan trades [and] we have recruited more than 1 000 artisans from Thailand because we don't have enough in our country. There is a demand for artisans in SA, but there is no demand for lawyers.

"We must strengthen industrialisation. Eskom promised to take 100 artisans from the Capricorn Tvet College."

Manana said it was critical for pupils to choose careers in Grade 9.

He said an artisan was a person who had been certified as competent to perform a listed trade, in accordance with the Skills Development Act.

These included bricklayers, electricians, millwrights, boilermakers, plumbers, fitters and turners, plasterers, welders and pipe fitters.

"An important consideration... is to choose careers that are on the scarce and critical list, since they are the ones in short supply and highly needed in the industry sectors."

Manana said the requirements of becoming an artisan included a minimum of 40% in Mathematics (excluding mathematical literacy) at Grade 9 level or National Certificate (Vocational) Level 2.

He said in cases of civil, mechanical and electrical categories of trades, a minimum of 40% in the relevant N2 trade theory or the relevant vocational subjects of the National Certificate (Vocational) Level 2.

"The entire pathway ends with a trade test at a national trade test centre that is accredited by the Quality Council of Trades and Occupations. In order to call yourself a qualified artisan, you must pass the trade test," said Manana.

The slogan of the campaign is "It’s cool to be a 21st century artisan".

Published originally on News24

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He notes that the lack of skilled artisans in South Africa is evidence of the low quality of the country’s mathematics and science education, compared with global standards.

“There needs to be a focus on correctly training teachers, which is absolutely critical and should be a priority for government.”

Jones believes that constant changes to local education policies could be symptomatic of the low quality of basic education in South Africa, adding that many teachers, particularly from government schools, have expressed difficulty in trying to teach in line with national policy.

However, the problem of substandard teaching is not exclusive to basic education and is common in many of South Africa’s technical vocational education and training (TVET) colleges, says Jones.

He notes that ATI caters for corporate clients wanting to upskill their employees, many of whom have received prior qualification through TVET colleges, but lack the necessary practical knowledge to practise as an artisan.

Jones states that there is likely a lack of practical knowledge because TVET colleges tend to focus on helping students pass theoretical exams rather than imparting “a meaningful understanding of practical applications”. He reiterates that this highlights the problem of the industry’s focus on improving graduate numbers rather than education quality, adding that many teachers at TVET colleges lack the skill to teach the required practical capabilities.

Despite the quality worries facing TVET colleges, Jones remains optimistic, stating that the formation of the National Artisan Moderation Body and the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations in 2010 will result in the quality of artisanal training improving significantly in the next two years.

This is because individuals who want to take a trade test need to go through a recognition of prior learning (RPL) process to prove they have the necessary experience to operate machinery or a piece of equipment, or perform relevant tasks.

On completion of the RPL test, a gap analysis is performed by a training institution such as ATI. The gap analysis identifies areas of weakness that will require further training. Individuals are eligible to take a trade test only once they have demonstrated that they are sufficiently experienced and knowledgeable to operate the machinery or piece of equipment, or complete the relevant task proficiently, concludes Jones.

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Yet access is often limited for those hindered by social and economic barriers and by remoteness from cities where most universities are located. At the same time, availability and enrollment in technical and vocational education and training (TVET) remain very low despite the demands from growing economies in several countries.

With noted exceptions, TVET is often fragmented and receives limited attention from governments. As a result, some philanthropists have focused on providing the capital, training and mentorship needed for entrepreneurship and the education and skills training needed to fill the jobs that await.
The combination of smart policy, strategic philanthropy and long-term investment in Africa’s greatest resource – its people – can help conquer the “jobs challenge”, assuring that Africa’s growth is both inclusive and sustainable.

This subject was recently unpacked at the African Philanthropy Forum 2015 (APF) which was held in Kigali, Rwanda, which drew together a group of leaders who are committed to the advancement of philanthropy, and to the role that a network of African donors and social investors can play in advancing broad-based growth and inclusive development.

APF, launched in 2014, is a community of African philanthropists who share a commitment to the success of the continent. APF The members create strategies to advance broad-based growth throughout Africa. It is an affiliate of the Global Philanthropy Forum – a network of more than 1 800 donors worldwide.
Speaking on the panel addressing the subject of the role of government, business and philanthropy in helping build a skilled workforce and lowering the barriers of access to technical education and vocational training was Richard Lewis, head of corporate strategy for the Artisan Training Institute (ATI).
Lewis outlined the long-standing and successful partnership which ATI enjoyed with the Tiso Foundation, whereby the Artisan Development Programme partnered with leading South African companies to train over 500 unemployed youth and assist them in industry apprenticeship placements. This relationship is a clear example of how a partnership between a philanthropic organisation and a quality-focused training institution can contribute to supporting and enabling talented young people, for the good of the country as a whole.

Lewis stressed the impressive outcomes that could be attained in relationships being developed between philanthropists and training institutions such as ATI, but emphasized that funders need to ensure that there is a need for the type of training they are funding; fund those training institutions that produce quality; and ensure accountability where the training provider fails to deliver quality outcomes.

Lewis stated that South Africa was fortunate in comparison to many of the other countries in Africa, in that it had a clearly defined institutional framework in the National Qualifications Framework and the Skills Development Act.

The grants provided for “pivotal training”, as identified by each sector, also helped to ensure that more training took place where the need was strongest.

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