Chapter 1
Training + Development in the South African Context
GLOBAL MARKETS SHAPING THE SOUTH AFRICAN TRAINING + DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM
- Increasing need to renew approaches to workforce skills development in order to address current skills
shortages due to:
An ageing workforce
High unemployment rates
People don’t want to invest in SA
SA ranked low on education standards (education is linked to training + development)
Dependence on immigration
Lack of wage incentives for workers
- Each nation has its unique challenges and circumstances, but the long-term solution to all of these is skills
development
1. Anglo-Saxon Model (Market Approach)
- Mainly based on human-capital theory
- Suggests that because individuals benefit from general training, and companies benefit from company-
specific training, the arrangements for each should be handled separately
Individuals = General training is their own responsibility
Companies = Provide specific in-house training
- Labour market matches supply of skills with the demand for skills
Skills shortage in IT? Companies that require these skills will pay a premium for them, therefore a larger amount of
people will be attracted to the industry and the excess demand will be eliminated
- AS Model is suited to countries in which industrialisation has been in operation for a while, and in which
there is an efficient labour market (good economy)
USA, Canada, New Zealand & Australia variations in the way skills development takes place
- Biggest benefit?
Maximises the choices open to individuals, instead of placing institutional pressure on employers
to provide training for all their workers
- Very little government intervention, except in times of market failures and to promote voluntary skills
development programmes
- Biggest drawbacks?
Delay between the point of excess skills supply or skills demand and equalisation, therefore they
are confronted by a skills shortage at the peak of a business cycle, restricting the process of
economic growth
No encouragement for development of specific soft skills (planning, numerical or communication
skills) because employers focus only on job-related skills
No strategy has been established to ensure that comprehensive skills development is provided for
the workforce as a whole because firms are driven by the short-term pressure where they are more
likely to pay high wages for those with skills in demand, instead of investing in longer-term skills
2. Asian Tigers Model (Social Partnership Approach)
- Converse of the Anglo-Saxon Model
- Characterised by a high level of government involvement in matching the supply and demand of skills in
the labour market
- Relevant for countries that need to industrialise in a shorter period because it supplements the operation
of the market
- Made it possible for the countries to move from low- to high-skilled economies (higher value added
economies)
- Partnership-driven approach to skills development and requires strong cooperation between the social
partners (employers, trade unions & government)
- Objective is to develop a strong skills base across all sectors of the economy
Training + Development in the South African Context
GLOBAL MARKETS SHAPING THE SOUTH AFRICAN TRAINING + DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM
- Increasing need to renew approaches to workforce skills development in order to address current skills
shortages due to:
An ageing workforce
High unemployment rates
People don’t want to invest in SA
SA ranked low on education standards (education is linked to training + development)
Dependence on immigration
Lack of wage incentives for workers
- Each nation has its unique challenges and circumstances, but the long-term solution to all of these is skills
development
1. Anglo-Saxon Model (Market Approach)
- Mainly based on human-capital theory
- Suggests that because individuals benefit from general training, and companies benefit from company-
specific training, the arrangements for each should be handled separately
Individuals = General training is their own responsibility
Companies = Provide specific in-house training
- Labour market matches supply of skills with the demand for skills
Skills shortage in IT? Companies that require these skills will pay a premium for them, therefore a larger amount of
people will be attracted to the industry and the excess demand will be eliminated
- AS Model is suited to countries in which industrialisation has been in operation for a while, and in which
there is an efficient labour market (good economy)
USA, Canada, New Zealand & Australia variations in the way skills development takes place
- Biggest benefit?
Maximises the choices open to individuals, instead of placing institutional pressure on employers
to provide training for all their workers
- Very little government intervention, except in times of market failures and to promote voluntary skills
development programmes
- Biggest drawbacks?
Delay between the point of excess skills supply or skills demand and equalisation, therefore they
are confronted by a skills shortage at the peak of a business cycle, restricting the process of
economic growth
No encouragement for development of specific soft skills (planning, numerical or communication
skills) because employers focus only on job-related skills
No strategy has been established to ensure that comprehensive skills development is provided for
the workforce as a whole because firms are driven by the short-term pressure where they are more
likely to pay high wages for those with skills in demand, instead of investing in longer-term skills
2. Asian Tigers Model (Social Partnership Approach)
- Converse of the Anglo-Saxon Model
- Characterised by a high level of government involvement in matching the supply and demand of skills in
the labour market
- Relevant for countries that need to industrialise in a shorter period because it supplements the operation
of the market
- Made it possible for the countries to move from low- to high-skilled economies (higher value added
economies)
- Partnership-driven approach to skills development and requires strong cooperation between the social
partners (employers, trade unions & government)
- Objective is to develop a strong skills base across all sectors of the economy
