Manamela says the initiative should not be reduced to training participants for individual roles within the delivery sector.
Higher Education Minister Buti Manamela. Picture: Nigel Sibanda/ The Citizen
Higher Education and Training Minister Buti Manamela has challenged employers to play a bigger role in creating pathways from skills training to employment, saying young people need opportunities to gain experience and earn an income.
Manamela made the call on Tuesday in Katlehong, Gauteng, as Services SETA and Takealot announced a three-year partnership aimed at reaching 20 000 young people through training and opportunities in the e-commerce and digital economy.
Services SETA has committed R103 million to the initiative, which will expose participants to opportunities including personal shopping, driver development, marketplace selling and workplace learning.
‘Come and work with us’
Manamela said training institutions could not produce the skills industry needed without employers becoming directly involved.
“There’s no way that our TVET colleges and our community colleges can produce the graduates that are needed by industry without industry participating,” he said.
The minister called on industry to work with government and training institutions to develop skills that respond directly to workplace requirements.
“But it’s our responsibility to go to industry and say to them, ‘Come and work with us to produce the skills that you yourself require,'” said Manamela.
The partnership is intended to give participants different ways to earn a living, rather than limiting them to traditional employment.
Manamela said the programme’s success should be measured by what young people were able to do after completing the training.
From skills to earning
Manamela said the initiative should not be reduced to training participants for individual roles within the delivery sector.
“We’re not just going to be using this programme to train people to ride bikes. That’s important, but that’s not just what they are going to do,” he said.
He said the e-commerce platform could enable participants to become entrepreneurs, connect customers with goods and participate in the economy beyond simply becoming employees of one company.
Services SETA administrator Lehlogonolo Masoga said the partnership was intended to connect skills development with employment creation.
“We have entered into this partnership with Takealot to translate the skills revolution into employment creation opportunities,” Masoga said.
The three-year programme will combine training with employment opportunities, and Services SETA will also monitor its impact on participants’ lives and prospects.
Masoga said the initiative was being treated as a pilot that could be expanded if it produced results.
Opportunities in the platform economy
Takealot Group CEO Frederik Zietsman said the platform economy offered opportunities for young people in several areas, including personal shopping, independent driving, township-based selling and workplace learning for college students.
He said young South Africans should have a pathway from education and training to earning an income.
“To go from learning to earning should be the right of every young South African,” Zietsman said.
He said earnings should be considered within the opportunities available in the platform economy.
Takealot will measure the partnership’s impact on the people it is intended to benefit.
The partnership comes as Services SETA seeks to support skills development through learnerships, internships and skills programmes for employed and unemployed people, while working with employers and other partners to develop skills for employment, entrepreneurship and growth.
