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SA needs jobs urgently, but to create jobs you must build businesses - and this is a key issue in the country, says Gareth Ackerman, chair of the Pick 'n Pay Group.
"We need everybody - SMEs, the government, unions and big business to agree that jobs must be created and on how it should be done," he told Fin24 on the side lines of the recent 2019 Global Leadership Conference (GLC) and Young Presidents Organisation (YPO) EDGE gathering in Cape Town. It was attended by more than 3 000 CEOs from over 135 countries.
"To be able to make a difference, one should not just be there for business purposes, but to be part of the whole," said Ackerman.
"Businesses do not only create jobs, they also pay taxes and invest in technology for the future."
He added that ownership is very important, but that the critical issue is involvement.
"What is very important in SA is for people to get into jobs and careers, do the work and not just sit on the side. That is the big disconnect in SA," he said.
YPO is a global leadership organisation for more than 27 000 CEOs from a variety of industries and types of businesses.
Ackerman is an international YPO board member. He said YPO companies employ a total of about 22 million people.
"One of the key drivers today is how to create jobs and grow business," he said. Pick 'n Pay, for instance has about 85 000 employees.
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"The impression in SA is that big companies need to create jobs, but most job creation is by small businesses. That is what SA and Africa need," he said.
"Job creation is not only about getting jobs but must be about getting SMEs going and creating a middle class. This will get the multiplier effect going."
In his view one needs to think totally out of the box when it comes to job creation.
"What will the world look like in future? Jobs will change. At Pick 'n Pay we still try to create about 5 000 jobs a year. This means we have to restructure the way business is done," he said.
"One needs to understand the new ways of working, new industries rising and how to multi-skill workers. Those who do not do this will be left behind."
