Firms 'must spend 5% on skills'

Money was a good indicator of serious intent, Godsell, who also chairs Business Unity South Africa, said at the launch of the Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition (Jipsa) at the presidential guesthouse in Pretoria.

Godsell said: "Let us adopt this target, and indeed make our investment in skills development an area of enthusiastic competition between companies and a reason why fund managers will choose (to invest) in a company."

Jipsa is aimed at addressing the shortage of skilled labour as identified by the Accelerated Shared Growth Initiative of South Africa (Asgisa).

Deputy president Phumzile Mlambo-Ncguka said in launching the programme: "As a country, South Africa has as yet not taken the matter of skills to a skills revolution level, to achieve that we must be united as a nation in pursuit of this goal."

Jipsa's focus areas are:

• Engineering and planning skills for the transport, communication and energy industries;

• City, urban and regional planning and engineering skills;

• Artisan and technical skills, concentrating on infrastructure development;

• Management and planning skills in education, health and municipalities;

• Teacher training in maths, science, ICT and language competence;

• Specific skills needed by the tourism and business process outsourcing sectors; and

• Skills relevant to the local economic developmental needs of municipalities.

Mlambo-Ncguka said these goals could be achieved by bringing volunteers, retirees and other people with skills into the economy.

Using unemployed graduates would also be looked at, as would primary and higher education in specific needed skills.

"Our quest to be a competitive economy and a winning nation depends on us equipping ourselves appropriately," she said.

A Jipsa database of skills needs would show patterns and key indicators of priority skills demand and supply.

Mlambo-Ngcuka wanted to see tangible results of the programme within 18 months.