Industry organisation the Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (Seifsa) human capital and skills development executive Zizile Lushaba emphasises that a functioning economy must have a sufficient number of artisans if it is to fulfil its economic potential.

“From energy and water to transport and logistics, all key sectors of the economy are dependent on a ready supply of artisans,” she avers.

“Although South Africa remains woefully short of artisan skills, this reality is no stranger to the South African government. In November 2022, Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister Dr Blade Nzimande warned that South Africa needs at least 60% of school leavers to pursue training in a trade to meet the country’s demand for scarce skills,” Lushaba adds.

She says that the Department of Home Affairs has also made a concerted effort to attract critical skills to the country by adding seven trades to the latest critical skills list, which was released in August 2022.

The inclusion of trades on the critical skills list highlights the shortage of these skills and affords foreign nationals with these skills an opportunity to apply for critical skills work visas, Lushaba explains.

“This may appear contradictory, when considering the country’s unacceptably high levels of unemployment; however, the issue is that these are skills the economy urgently needs and are not readily available locally,” she clarifies.

She points out that President Cyril Ramaphosa, in his State of the Nation Address in February, said: “One of the key ingredients for economic growth and competitiveness is the ability to attract skills which the economy needs. Having completed a comprehensive review of the work visa system, we will move quickly to implement the recommendations put forward.”

According to the requirements of government’s National Development Plan (NDP) and White Paper for Post-School Education and Training, South Africa should be producing 30 000 qualified artisans a year by 2030.

“This will remain a pipe dream if there is no synergy, strategy and agreed action plan between the main role-players to see the Decade of the Artisan campaign being achieved,” Lushaba warns.

She says South Africa faces two main problems when it comes to the shortage of artisans. Firstly, older experienced artisans who are over the age of 55 are retiring, while those in their 30s and 40s are taking advantage of the global portability and demand for their skills and emigrating.

Moreover, the 36.5% decline in the total number of learners who entered artisanal learning programmes during the 2020/21 financial year is also a major concern, Lushaba points out.

Secondly, and compounding the problem further, is that younger newly qualified artisans lack the experience to replace the skilled people leaving the country.

Moreover, the country’s poor-quality formal education system produces matriculants who lack the maths and science literacy required to get to grips with the demands of many trade programmes, Lushaba argues.