‘Investing in training for young people could grow agriculture’

A young, eager labour force is one of the key reasons why investors should invest in South Africa. This was according to the ‘Case for Investing in South Africa’ report, compiled by the Industrial Development Corporation and InvestSA ahead of the second South African Investment Conference, held in Johannesburg recently.

According to the report, South Africa’s young population presented major opportunities for investors, as the majority of the population were under 35 years of age.

In his address at the conference, President Cyril Ramaphosa reiterated that South Africa had a lot to offer in the form of its people, as well as a young and able workforce.

He said the annual conference was a key milestone in the country’s bold ambition to raise R1,2 trillion in new domestic and international investments over the next five years.

“Despite significant progress over the last 25 years, the legacy of the divided past has left many people without skills, without assets and without jobs. All these factors have combined to exacerbate poverty and inequality.”

He added that central to efforts to ignite growth and create jobs was an ambitious, execution-oriented industrial strategy founded on partnerships between government, labour and industry in various sectors, including agriculture. Master plans for each of these sectors would ensure skills development.

Addressing the issue of the scarce skills gap in the agriculture sector, Frikkie Fouché, CEO of

AgriSETA, said various skills development interventions were being undertaken.

Data from the 2019 Workplace Skills Plan (WSP) indicated that almost 21 240 employees had been trained in the 2018/2019 financial year alone, of whom an equal number was male and female.

The majority (59%) of those who received training were in the horticulture industry. This was almost in line with the occupational breakdown of employees in the agriculture sector. Given the seasonality of employment in the industry, employers provided training to the temporary workers they employed so that they could be effective and efficient in their roles. This was why it remained crucial for employees to participate in the WSP and annual training reports process, he said.

In response to the skills needs identified, AgriSETA would concentrate more on specialised training in crop production, with more than 6 000 students expected to be trained in the 2020/2021 financial year, Fouché said. – Siyanda Sishuba

Fw archive ABOVE: Most farmworkers who have received training from AgriSETA over the past year are in the horticulture industry.