TETA - GENERATING SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS FOR SKILLS DEVELOPMENT IN THE TRANSPORT SECTOR

South Africa has made commendable progress since 1994 in alleviating poverty and creating employment opportunities for its citizens. The country currently boasts the second largest economy in Africa and is regarded as one of the most politically stable on the continent. However, the advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution poses numerous threats to the country’s capacity for improving the livelihood of its citizens and making wealth creation opportunities available to all. A major challenge to South Africa’s continued economic development is the current skills deficit which has negative consequences across all secors. The Transport Education and Training Authority (TETA) acknowledges the uphill battle to safeguard the transport sector against the negative effects of this challenge.

TACKLING THE SKILLS DEFICIT IN THE TRANSPORT SECTOR

The National Development Plan identifies the transport sector as one of the sectors that can play a key role in the realisation of the country’s development and growth strategy. Yet the sector is experiencing a concerning skills demand and supply mismatch. As a result, the need for robust education and training interventions to tackle the country’s skills deficit requires immediate attention. Like other sectors of the economy, transport is faced with rapid technological changes that may render some skills obsolete and result in a growing demand for new ones. A trend identified in this sector is that employers are increasingly demanding technologically based skills. This is not surprising because most transport sector businesses compete on a global scale and need to remain current in the use of technological solutions to match global standards. Consequently, TETA is gearing up towards supporting programmes with a technological skills base – with the objective of making the industry workforce globally competitive.

UNDERSTANDING THE MANDATE OF THE TRANSPORT EDUCATION AND TRAINING AUTHORITY (TETA)

Over the past 18 years, amidst a multitude of challenges, TETA has achieved notable milestones in its efforts to transform the South African transport sector. The organisation is, however, aware that the role it plays within the sector is still unclear to many in the industry. Moreover, TETA realises that its success is driven by committed industry players who should be recognised and rewarded for their contributions. Hence the desire to host a dialogue which assesses wins and losses and crafts a roadmap towards a desirable future for the sector. The sector profile mandated to TETA with reference to skills development, covers aerospace, forwarding and clearing, freight handling, maritime, rail, road freight, taxi and road passenger subsectors. The maritime, aerospace and road freight subsectors in particular are technologically driven and exposed to global competition. The need for a technologically skilled workforce in these subsectors is therefore becoming critical.

STAKEHOLDER PARTICIPATION FOR SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS

Over the years, TETA has fostered relationships with several industry players who make it possible for the education and training authority to make strides in achieving its mandate. Among others, TETA has enjoyed support from partnerships with labour unions, professional bodies, transport sector

employers, municipalities, non-government organisations (NGOs), research institutions, youth-led organisations, small and medium enterprises (SMMEs), higher education institutions (HEIs), government departments and public entities. In light of the current industry issues, particularly the skills deficit challenge, it is clear that TETA needs to be proactive in preparing the industry for the road ahead. The organisation is holding a summit in October 2018, which will bring all industry stakeholders together in one room to address the current skills deficit and future demand. TETA stakeholders are encouraged to be on the alert for more information in this regard. The negative effects of a skills deficit on South Africa’s economy cannot be understated - neither can the power of various industry players in tackling this challenge be overrated.