Towards a JIPSA ICT Skills Intervention Strategy

Transcription

1 Towards a JIPSA ICT Skills Intervention Strategy Presentation to ICT Education & Training Colloquium by Ms Dillo Lehlokoe The office of the Deputy President 19 March 2007 Jipsa 19 March Purpose of Presentation To provide a framework for JIPSA ICT skills intervention strategy Provide highlights of the initial exploratory work done on ICT skills so far Gather inputs from the conference towards shaping ICT skills agenda Future Stakeholder Consultations 2

2 JIPSA Mandate JIPSA objectives derived from underlying ASGISA objectives of: Halving unemployment and poverty by 2014 Increasing GDP growth to 4.5% ( ) and to 6% ( ) Shortage of suitably skilled people was identified as a binding constraint JIPSA was then established to identify short to medium solutions to address the skills shortage skills with the aim of: Facilitating, strengthening and coordinating activities to address skills shortages Accelerating the provision of priority skills to meet ASGISA s objectives Mobilising senior leadership in business, government, organised labour, institutions concerned with education and training and science and technology to address national priorities in a more coordinated and targeted way Identifying blockages and obstacles within the system of education and training that stand in the way Promoting greater relevance and responsiveness in the education and training system and strengthen the employability of graduates 3 What JIPSA is not JIPSA is not a new structure - it is a joint initiative of the social partners, under the Deputy President s leadership JIPSA is not an attempt to fix the entire education and training system JIPSA is not a duplication of existing structures or institutional arrangements or readily available research and data analysis JIPSA is not a numbers game 4

3 Rationale for Development of JIPSA ICT Skills Intervention Strategy Two factors underpin ICT skills development Building the digital literacy Promote the global competitiveness of the SA ICT industry Broad categories of ICT skills Basic ICT skills literacy to support community development - aptitude ICT skills for users of specific sector software promoting usage Specialist skills to design, produce and maintain ICT systems promoting manufacturing and production Important drivers for consideration: Global context Developmental approach technology appropriation to benefit communities A life-cycle approach ICT teaching/learning and use from preschoolers to pensioners or ICT use from cradle to grave A shift towards a services-based economy Development of local ICT enterprise Development of local Innovation capability (R&D) 5 Snapshot of the ICT Sector Present ICT policies have focused on the creation of a climate of sustainable investment and access and affordability move beyond that Telkom used to be a training ground for the ICT sector employing 60,000 some 15 odd yrs ago Today the vast majority of ICT investment in SA is in imported technologies and products supplied by Multinationals ICT SMMEs in the sector are inclined to be users and distributors of technology & products from abroad who operate as partners ICT industry is characterized by ff challenges: Industry is truly dynamic due to rapid changes in technology therefore solutions and products become obsolete in a short space of time SA does not have a strong R&D capacity in ICT ICT industry is complex as industry on its own and cross-cutting nature ICT skills are in high demand and short supply world-wide leading to a phenomenal problem of brain-drain and poaching of skilled professionals in search of better opportunities Lack of accurate and timely labour information on employment and skills development in ICT Lack of ability to predict or point to future technology trends especially in the software industry 6

4 Landscape of ICT Skills JIPSA needs to develop a better understanding of the analysis of supply and demand for ICT skills. Preliminary analysis of following studies: ICT skills audit for Isett-SETA and the Dti, 2005 CISCO Networking Study 2006 ICT Roadmapping 2004 Saitis Strategy 2000 HSRC telecoms study 2003 Master List of scarce and critical skills, 2006 ITWeb Survey, 2006 Initial consultation with some ICT players and SOEs 7 Some Preliminary Findings Initial research and consultations indicate: Lack of training capacity by SETA compared to the estimated demand for ICT skills Shortages of high-level ICT skills including professional, strategic and specialist skills and oversupply of low-level and short courses Current skills base is mainly in installation, repairs, support of clients Shortage of advanced networking skills Convergence requires a combination of specialised skills to exploit opportunities In the BPO area, a shortage of middle management level- e.g supervisors, team leaders & operations managers esp at the call centre sub sector Skills needed in line with government strategies National R&D strategy, Open Source, e-government and broadband strategies Maths and science are pre-requisites quality & quantity 8

5 Existing Initiatives to Improve ICT Skills Development Isett-Seta Learnership programme DoC human resources development initiatives: Meraka ISSA Nemisa Development of an ICT Skills Plan Public Training institutions: FETs Universities of Technology Universities Private Training Providers ICT companies specific initiatives: In-house training and academies Corporate Social Investment: skills development NGOs ICT skills and training initiatives for community development Donor Community skills Initiatives 9 Where are the Blockages? It is imperative to understand why some ICT skills interventions have been more successful and draw the lessons to replicate Supply-side constraints: Institutional capacity problems???? Legislative constraints??? Funding constraints???? Matching demand and supply??? Demand-side constraints Inability of industry and public sector to absorb qualified ICT skills???? Lack of opportunities for graduates and experiential training? Irrelevant skills produced and perceived poor quality??? Spot demand 10

6 Matching demand and supply JIPSA commissioned a study to investigate the growing challenge of graduate unemployment completed by DPRU (UCT) in May 2006 Findings indicate unemployed graduates holding certificates, diplomas and degrees yet failing to secure jobs An estimated database of housed by Umsombovu Youth Fund (UYF) In addition, approximately University of Technology students have not been able to secure experiential learning opportunities 11 Unemployment Rates by Education None Inc. Prim. Primary Inc. 2ndary Source: DPRU Haroon Bhorat Secondary Tertiary

7 Distribution of Graduate Unemployment Year African Coloured Asian White Total Diploma/Certif With Matric Degree Total Source: DPRU Haroon Bhorat 13 Proposed Strategies to address graduate unemployment Higher Education institutions, employers and SETAs could address problems faced by unemployed: Provide top-up or bridging courses to graduates Provide work orientation and life skills programmes address lack of soft skills Offer retraining and conversion programmes for graduate exposure to new sectors Provide on-the-job coaching, mentoring and guidance address lack of work experience Establish national and international placement programmes to fast track professional development & work experience Together establish long term graduate placement strategy 14

8 Towards a national ICT HRD and training plan It is recommended that JIPSA ICT Priority Skills interventions should be aligned to and guided by national strategies and priorities: Addressing ICT skills needed by ASGISA priority sectors and projects e.g BPO,Tourism, high level engineering skills for communications networks Broadband strategy IP-based networks Local ICT innovation in hardware and software dev and ICT related manufacturing build local skills talent Open Source Operating System Strategy Building a services based economy e-society that uses ICTs in the fabric of their lives including e-business, e- education, e-health, e-government, etc 2010 World cup ICT requirements 15 Expected JIPSA Outcomes Wider and specific consultations are planned in the near future Establishment of an advisory expert group to be formed to inform innovative ICT skills interventions Conduct further research to understand nature of demand and supply of skills Key deliverables of JIPSA mandate: Identification of systemic challenges which could stand in the way of training ICT skills Addressing the mismatch between demand and supply of skills Development of appropriate interventions required to address the ICT skills development. Exploring collaborative ways between training institutions and industry to improve the situation in intermediate and high level skills Acceleration of skills importation should it be necessary 16