From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, this is the Real Economy Report. Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa recently chaired a Human Resources Development Council meeting at the Pick n Pay regional offices in Johannesburg, where it was revealed that baker was the third scarcest occupation in the wholesale and retail industry in South Africa. Sashnee Moodley has the story.

Sashnee Moodley:
Supermarket chain Pick n Pay recently hosted members of the Human Resources Development Council or HRDC for a closed session of the council meeting, where Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa and Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande, were treated to a tour of Pick n Pay’s confectionary baking processes and a meet and greet with bakers participating in the retailer’s bakery training programme.

It was revealed on the tour that while baker was listed as a trade and recognised as an artisan skill, it was the third scarcest skill in retail after retail manager and sales manager.

Pick n Pay has partnered with the Wholesale and Retail Seta to train and develop the skills of the retailer’s employees.

Pick n Pay Group Chairperson Gareth Ackerman:
As an employer we put money into the skills development fund in terms of the skills development levy and we work with the Seta in making sure we can deliver training programmes. The programme we are talking about here today is the bakery programme and how we started an inhouse programme and how we brought in unemployed workers and now are training and upskilling them to become employees where we ultimately bring them in and that’s been done through joint funding from ourselves and a lot of funding has come from the Seta.

We also use the Seta for a lot of our management development programmes where we are training people at a higher level to fulfil management positions into the future, through the international leadership programme and the number of other programmes we do and are involved in

Pick n Pay Group Chairperson Gareth Ackerman
We are looking at bringing unemployed people, training them, giving them skills and helping them create a life for themselves. So for those people it’s a big benefit, for us, we have a big skills shortage in bakery and other areas and it is helping us train people both for our stores and for the industry to help provide the skills that we need in the industry so that people in South Africa can get what they want in the supermarkets.

Sashnee Moodley:
The wholesale and retail sector contributes 12.5% of the country’s gross domestic product and 3.1-million people worked in the industry.

Over the last five years Pick n Pay has invested about R42-million in training and the Wholesale and Retail Seta has invested about R14-million.

Wholesale & Retail Seta CEO Joel Dikgole:
This is a very valuable partnership because without companies like Pick n Pay we cant train young people. Skills development is not about theory only, its about practice so when companies open their doors to young people who have never worked before, it’s a great contribution to our country. As a Seta we value the partnership. Its not just a money-based partnership, its not about levies. Its about the fact that as a company, they have embraced skills development in our country and we learn a lot from them.

Wholesale & Retail Seta CEO Joel Dikgole:
The sector is the third largest contributor to the GDP. It is a growing sector, very competitive and that is why as a Seta, we must make sure we innovate, come up with programmes which are able to train young people to get into the sector and become competitors. I think retail is probably one of the only sectors that brings all skills, IT skills required, accounting skills, marketing, advertising. I think this is the best sector to be in if a young person wants to learn any skill, its all in the wholesale and retail sector. I think the biggest challenge the sector faces is to develop small businesses form informal to formal. Because the more formal small, retailers we have, the better for our country because we will be able to create more employment.

Sashnee Moodley:
Following the tour, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa said council members were impressed with Pick n Pay’s bakery programme and applauded the company for exposing youngsters to a critical skill and for offering them employment opportunities.

Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa:
We were very impressed and we commend companies such as Pick n Pay, which are investing in developing the skills and capabilities of our people in South Africa. And we commend companies that believe that the growth of our economy and the growth of our people must be seen in people before it is seen in sales volumes and share prices or measure of success. This is important and we were pleased to hear that Pick n Pay is investing quiet a lot of money and working with the Seta to make sure that as many young people as possible do get training in this regard.

Appreciating people for who they are and what they can contribute in a supportive and progressive work environment is what moves our economy and society forward.

Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa:
We all have a recipe before us in the form of the NDP but the ingredients are sitting in different places. They are in government, in the private sector and in our communities. And they also reside in the hopes of young people whoa re waiting to be training, skilled and developed.

Shannon de Ryhove:
That’s Creamer Media’s Real Economy Report. Join us again next week for more news and insight into South Africa’s real economy.