Training authority believes this sector could be key to jobs and economic growth

As South Africa’s soaring unemployment numbers reach 32.9%, with youth joblessness standing at 62.4%, the Wholesale and Retail Sector Education and Training Authority (W&RSETA) is bullish about having waged an effective skills development initiative in the sector.

With the W&RSETA having over the past two years sent three groups of graduates and entrepreneurs to Egypt, Turkey and China for training, beneficiaries will on Thursday hold a feedback presentation on the impact the international programmes have had in changing their lives.

The skills development programmes include:

• The Chinese Culture and International Exchange Cross Border E-commerce project, budgeted at R23 million.

• W&RSETA-Elaraby Egypt TVET College appliance repair programme, budgeted for R2.3 million.

• Fashion Designers Turkey project, based in the country’s capital Istanbul, budgeted for R680 000.

“The number of programmes that we have as a Seta, the impact has been huge – people either getting employed or starting thriving enterprises.

“We empower them with the skills so that they get employed – dealing with the issue of youth unemployment that we have in the country,” said W&RSETA CEO Tom Mkhwanazi.

Encouraging entrepreneurship

Mkhwanazi said those wishing to start their own businesses were “equipped with the skills”.

“The reporting taking place in Sandton on Thursday, will largely focus on three international programmes that we have been involved in.

“These including the International Leadership Development Programme, which we have been running since 2009.

“This has benefitted more than 5 000 senior and executive leaders, with our role being to equip senior managers, especially those who are previously disadvantaged, giving them skills to thrive and become leaders in the sector.

“This also closes the existing skills gap, especially with senior managers who lack crucial skills, broaden their mindset and open up opportunities for them,” explained Mkhwanazi.

ALSO READ: The dark picture of youth unemployment in South Africa

He said the programme was conducted in collaboration with the University of Cape Town and Gibbs.

“We want to produce managers that have gained insight into best practices and cutting-edge innovation and technology – creating opportunities for the beneficiaries and their retailers.

“If they want to start their own businesses, they are fully empowered to do so.

“The other area that we focus on is building leaders that become role models – positioning the retail sector as a career of choice.

“A lot of young people get into the sector by accident when everything else has failed.

“Young people do not think that the sector has opportunities.

ALSO READ: More than a million applications for just 44 000 school job opportunities

Retail

Mkhwanazi described the retail sector as “dynamic”, contributing 20% in the country’s employment, 35% to the gross domestic product and having employed over 3.3 million people.

“Young people I address in townships get shocked when I talk about the existence of so many career opportunities in the sector.

“I have always said to young people I come across, that not everyone needs to be looking for a job, because for any country wishing to ramp up economic growth, it has to start by empowering small businesses,” he said.

The Seta has taken a group of young local TVET college students to China for a year, to gain workplace experience on E-Commerce.

Among the 82 students who have graduated from China, include:

• Twenty-three students who studied at the Hangzhou Polytechnic – trained in online shop management, social media content creation, logistics, marketing, customer relations and entrepreneurship.

• Twenty-one who studied at the Wuhan Vocational College of Software and Engineering – trained in cutting-edge e-commerce and business skills.

• Nineteen, trained at the Changzhou Vocational Institute of Mechatronic Technology – provided with practical and theoretical training to navigate the digital economy.

• Twenty students trained in the Guangdong Polytechnic – equipped with the competencies to thrive in today’s global retail environment.

“We are in the Fourth Industrial Revolution and digital people – pushing young people to be exposed to skills and occupations required by the industry,” he said.

NOW READ: South African youth: Mobilising for entertainment but absent in activism