Skills Development

The education department has announced that schools cannot make new education assistant appointments. As this phase of the youth employment initiative concludes, Skills Portal spoke to three individuals who participated in the programme to find out how it impacted their lives.

Youth Day in South Africa is a time when we reflect on how far we’ve come as a country and the challenges we face. There’s no doubt that there have been big advances in South Africa. At the dawn of democracy in 1994, 58% of public-school learners in Grade 12 passed matric, while in 2021 that figure was 76.4%.

Soft skills are the personality traits that allow us to make friends and get things done, both at work and in life. These skills range from being a good listener to managing our time effectively.

A quick search online will turn up dozens of lists and articles with different definitions for soft skills, with many overlapping areas. But that's the beauty of soft skills - no matter where you are in your career, you can use them to propel yourself forward in your professional life.

The workplace is not what it once was. The pandemic accelerated shifts that were already gaining traction and, today, working environments are defined by increasingly hybrid arrangements, greater mobility and non-linear career shifts. Of course, these changes are also being accompanied by accelerated digital transformation and the rise of automation.

The world has moved online. Everything we used to do in person can now be done from the comfort of your own home via the internet at a time that suits you. 

Learning something new can often be a daunting task for many, however, the skills you could acquire could quite literally change your life. 

Every CEO, team leader, HR manager and L&D specialist, no matter the industry, wants to ensure the courses they develop to upskill and reskill their employees will not only keep them engaged and riveted, but also serve its objective of ensuring the right skills are learned and applied in their organisation.

Though the terms are close cousins, there are significant differences between upskilling and reskilling in the corporate world, and it's crucial to set them apart when developing your online training and e-learning programmes as they have unique objectives.

On 8 March every year, women's groups around the world mark International Women's Day, a global celebration of the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.

Personal development and employee training are always viewed as a beneficial investment. No matter if you work for yourself or for someone else, you need to hone your skills and develop as an individual.

The internet has changed the way people live their lives, complete tasks, learn and interact with one another. 

It is estimated that only a third of adults in South Africa have completed Grade 12. 

Covid-19 has left its mark on the future of work and for tomorrow's graduates this demands a whole new approach to career planning.

Evolving technology and the impacts of Covid-19 have resulted in workplaces that are changing faster than ever. To keep pace with the rapid advances in the workplace and avoid skills shortages, almost half of employees will need to be reskilled with critical skills by 2025.

The effects of the pandemic on employees around the world are real. In the US, more than 24 million people resigned between April and September 2021 in search of better pay, new challenges and greater flexibility. In the UK, the rate of resignation has reached its highest level in over a decade and employers are complaining that they are battling to recruit and retain staff.

When we look at the world of work, it’s easy to peg the changes and developments we’re currently witnessing on Covid-19. It was the pandemic, we say, that prompted the move to remote working. It was the pandemic that made us invest more heavily in virtual systems and processes, and to prioritise the skills that help people to work independently.

Scarce skills exist because the market is unable to hire and retain high-quality workers with these rare skill sets in the numbers required and because (in many cases) people change jobs frequently, leaving organizations in a constant state of flux as new employees try to learn and achieve required skill levels.

If you write a CV that impresses the recruiter or hiring manager; meet their job’s requirements; have all the qualifications they are looking for; and made their shortlist of candidates, the final step to seal the deal is to wow their socks off in the interview.

The employment spectrum changed dramatically overnight and thus we learned to become adaptable and flexible. Having a degree is not enough anymore. At the beginning of 2021, we discussed in our article, that for growth and progression to take place, the one thing that remains vital in every business and industry is that employees and management need to continuously upskill.