Get SA out of BEE trouble - Part 2

get sa out of bee trouble - part 2

skills set appropriate?

in 2004, statssa reported that there were 60 000 unemployed graduates; by 2006, that figure had jumped to 200 000.

tsogo sun ceo jabu mabuza last year told young accountants: "hr people are spoilt for choice. there are so many people looking for work. having a degree doesn't mean you can do the job; all that it says is that a person can complete an assignment."

and that's part of the problem: your average four-year-old today is far more technologically savvy than the average 40-year-old, yet we still have teachers without degrees, without expertise in higher-grade maths or science and all teaching theory whether at school or university.

the education system is not appropriate for a skills-hungry 21st century.

obsessive quotas mean that too many talented white or brown children can't get work and, as the economist intelligence unit observes: "talent is the new oil."

there are no borders for the talented or those in essential services which is why we have almost more south african nurses working in the middle east and europe than in south africa.

south africa has the world's highest brain drain and worst skills shortages of 55 countries studied and its productivity is plummeting, according to productivity sa and the 2007 imd world competitiveness yearbook.

we ranked last on infrastructure, internet costs, health problems, availability of qualified engineers and life expectancy. our top rating for electricity to industry is likely to plummet this year.

overstretched staff, a lack of training and poor management saw productivity ratings plunge after a decade of sustained growth - last year sa fell from 38th to 50th out of 55 countries.

it says sa has among the world's most severe shortages of those with finance skills and senior management competence ranking 52nd and 51st respectively.

it says south africa's economic performance competitiveness dropped from 40th in 2006 to 54th in 2007, high unemployment and low gdp per capita.

construction, which according to the department of finance is the strongest-growing sector of the economy at an annual average rate of 12.1 % over 2004-2006), compared to only 2.8 % in the preceding decade (1994-2003) can barely meet half of its skills needs (45%) which holds serious ramifications for the massive amount of construction on the cards.

wages are good - salary increases averaged 8% in 2007 in south africa according to pe corporate services - but people are job-hopping more with skilled staff turnover averaging 17% per year and 14% for other categories of employees.

all of these add costs and ensure that those employed are not staying in a job long enough to become really expert.

when are we going to get serious about social justice and economic growth?

the real story is not how many dark or female faces are at the top; excellence, effectiveness and the sustainability of economic development should be what drives us.

there are enough black people and women at the top now to start showing responsibility to their own. but job creation is what should drive us now without that a truly globally competitive nation will not happen.