‘Lives can be turned around’
Increased youth segment faces changed work environment
THE LIVES of ordinary South Africans could turn around, Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor said at the 27th World Economic Forum (WEF) on Africa.
“If we are able, through deliberations here, to secure increased investment for South Africa, it benefits all our people. If we are able to secure increased investment for Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Lesotho, for Swaziland, or for all the countries gathered here, it benefits all people on our continent,” Pandor said yesterday at the Durban International Convention Centre.
“If we grow our economies, if we have more businesses, if we have more investment in science and technology, more investment in agriculture, all of us will benefit as a people. So I don’t think that not being here means you are excluded from benefiting, should concrete results… emerge from this meeting.”
Pandor said it was important to note that many poor communities across the continent were represented at the high level summit through civic society.
“The many people we think are not here are represented by civil society organisations. There is a range of NGOs that are attending because our government of South Africa has ensured that we invite civil society to be part of this meeting.” The WEF was another platform to solicit for bigger budgetary allocations towards science, technology and innovation.
RETAINING, retraining and upskilling the work force is set to be the major challenge facing Africa with the advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
The World Economic Forum, which is hosting its Africa meeting in Durban this week, said in a statement that 15-20 million increasingly well-educated young people are expected to join the African workforce every year for the next three decades.
“Employers across the region identify skills gaps as a major constraint to their ability to compete in the global economy,” WEF said.
“In South Africa alone, 39% of core skills required across all jobs will be wholly different by 2020, while 41% of jobs in South Africa are susceptible to automation.”
According to WEF, with more than 60% of its population under the age of 25, sub-Saharan Africa was already the world’s youngest region and by 2030, it would be home to more than one-quarter of the world’s under-25 population.
“As this young population – the best-educated and globally connected the continent has ever had – enters the world of work, the region has a demographic opportunity. But the region can only leverage this opportunity by unlocking latent talent and preparing its people for the future of work.”
A new report launched by WEF aimed at serving as a practical guide for leaders from business, government, civil society and the education sector, found the region’s capacity to adapt to requirements of future jobs left little space for complacency.
Key findings from the report, which included new data from LinkedIn, were:
– while it is predicted 41% of all work activities in SA were susceptible to automation – as are 46% in Nigeria and 52% in Kenya – it was likely moderated by low labour costs and offset by job creation. The region’s capacity to adapt to further job disruption was a concern;
– employers across the region identified inadequately skilled workforces as a major constraint to their businesses. In SA alone, 39% of core skills required across occupations will be wholly different by 2020;
– this skills instability often stemmed from the fact many jobs in the region were becoming more intense in their use of digital technologies. Average ICT intensity of jobs in SA increased by 26% over the last decade.
– some of the most common types of higher-skilled employment on the continent included business analysts, school teachers and academics, commercial bankers, accountants, human resources, marketing and operations specialists, customer service specialists, advertising professionals, information technology workers and software and app developers.
“Across the continent, substantial potential exists for creating high-value-adding, formal-sector jobs in a number of areas. However, to realise this potential, closer dialogue between education providers and industry is needed to align and optimise the region’s demand and supply of skills,” said Nicolaas Kruger, chief executive of MMI Holdings and chairperson of the Africa Skills Initiative.
“The data shows that, to prepare for the future of work, the region must expand its high-skilled talent pool by developing future-ready curricula,” said Saadia Zahidi, head of education, gender and work and member of the executive committee at the World Economic Forum.