Skills Development

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.

Your first step would be to do a Training Needs Analysis! A Training Needs Analysis would place the focus on your, OR your organisation’s goals and objectives, helping you to determine the tasks and people needed to reach those goals and ultimately, the objectives.

Short courses are becoming more and more popular as a way of upskilling yourself. But is a short course a qualification? Let's find out.

A non-accredited course is a type of post-secondary education that is not accredited by an educational accrediting body.

Short courses can be taken at various institutions, but there is no set definition of how long a short course is. Short courses are designed to be more intensive than a regular degree, and can last anywhere from one month to two years.

Of all the records South Africa holds, the most unwanted must be the fact that our unemployment rate is now the highest in the world. The official statistics say the unemployment rate, which includes people who have stopped looking for work, rose to 44.4% in the second quarter of 2021. The reality for our youth is even worse than that, with some estimates suggesting as many as three in every four young people are jobless.

A Skills Development Levy (SDL) is a levy imposed to encourage learning and development in South Africa and is determined by an employer's salary bill. The funds are paid to the South African Revenue Services (SARS) and are to be used to develop and improve skills of employees.

Engen, in partnership with Leap Africa, is upskilling its Engen Maths and Science School (EMSS) teachers to prepare them for our rapidly evolving digital world. 

You want to ideally focus on getting into a sector that is in high demand as the job opportunities will be higher and your chances of getting employed, much quicker.

As more and more jobs are being eliminated due to the automation of industries, it is becoming increasingly important for individuals to acquire skills that are in demand. If you are not skilled enough with a certain skill set, you will not be qualified for any of the available jobs. This can lead to unemployment.

Many organisations face unparalleled operational challenges that stem from a lack of productive and engaging employee learning practices that could be increasing ROI.

A Skills Development Facilitator (SDF) assists the Employer in drafting an Annual Training Report (ATR) on the implementation of the Workplace Skills Plan (WSP). This is only naming one, of a few, of the SDF’s responsibilities.

Volunteering can most certainly help you get a job. There is a growing trend among universities to produce graduates that are practically prepared for the workplace and fully equipped to lead in every sector.

The Higher Education Act of 1997 assigns responsibility for quality assurance in higher education in South Africa to the Council on Higher Education (CHE). CHE Accreditation, DHET Registration.

The sudden pandemic pushed business operations, and the ability to continuously develop their human capital’s skills, into the 4th Industrial Revolution much earlier than was anticipated.

Recently, Minister Blade Nzimande released the list of Occupations in High Demand. What is this list used for and who does it help?

Minister Blade Nzimande has announced what he called a 'huge decline' in skills development levies which are used to fund the Sector Education and Training Authorities.