The average age of artisans in the country is about 55 years.
• South Africa does not only have a shortage of artisans, but the average age of artisans in the country is about 55 years old.
• Gone are the days when you needed a university degree to enjoy a successful career.
• The focus is on training young people in key areas regarded as critically needed for the economy to grow.
South Africa does not only have a shortage of artisans, but the average age of artisans in the country is about 55 years, according to data available on the website of the False Bay Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) College.
This leads to the question of how the country will be able to grow its economy by developing infrastructure needed, if enough of the necessary skills to do so is not available. And, ironically, this is against the background of SA already having such high unemployment.
False Bay TVET College says in an article on its website that one of South Africa`s biggest priorities is actually to develop qualified artisans to support the SA economy and that the government views the production of artisans and other mid-level skills as a priority.
`Gone are the days when you needed a university degree to enjoy a successful career. Trades and artisan careers are in high demand and artisans are earning big salaries,` the article states.
The focus is on training young people in key areas regarded as critically needed for the economy to grow. These include bricklayers; electricians; millwrights; boilermakers; plumbers; various types of mechanics; carpenters; joiners; welders; riggers; and fitters and turners.
Formal qualifications needed
These skills are in short supply in SA. They cannot be produced in a short period as they require formal qualifications as well as a level of experience. This creates the need for employers currently to expand their search internationally to find suitable candidates and meet immediate organisational needs, explains Marisa Jacobs, managing director at specialised solutions company Xpatweb.
Employers who responded to the fourth annual survey skills survey recently released by the company, included millwrights; electricians; fitters and turners; and foundry technicians and moulders on their list of skills shortages. Specialist trades like instrumentation technicians; and refrigeration and aircon mechanics have already been on the survey list for the past few years.
`Due to the Fourth Industrial Revolution, South Africa is not the only country with a shortage of ICT and technical skills. Many countries, including the UK, Australia and New Zealand also have these skills included on their skills shortage list.`
- Marisa Jacobs
`We have seen the demand growing far quicker than supply. In some of these categories there are just a small group of specialists in their fields for whom there is global competition. Thus, SA is competing not only to retain its own skilled engineers and artisans, but also has to compete and attract foreign skills on a global level.`
As for in-demand engineering skills, she says it includes the usual speciality fields like mechanical, industrial, civil and chemical engineering. Speciality skills in these fields needed include mining engineers, process engineers, metallurgical engineers and automation engineers. Agricultural service specialist engineers are also in demand.
Furthermore, there is a high demand for robotics specialists, which spans the fields of engineering and ICT. In the technology field, network architects and engineers and gaming specialists are in demand.
Foreigners
`We do find that foreigners with these in-demand skills are willing to come to SA. Many opting to stay on in the country and apply for permanent residence. SA is also made an attractive destination for multinationals and foreign executives because of its potential as a gateway for them to work and expand into the rest of Africa.`
The survey results further show 74% of participating organisations are prioritising succession planning and skills transfer when employing expatriate professionals.
She says the Department of Home Affairs is currently busy

finalising its updated list of critical skills, which will make it easier to bring in qualified people from overseas to meet the demand.
The Xpatweb survey found 89% of participants stated that their organisation struggles to recruit critically skilled individuals. Furthermore, 76% of participants indicated the need to search internationally for these skills.
Jacobs points out that already by 2017 the SA government indicated that South Africa has a shortfall of about 40 000 qualified artisans.
Future vision

Deidre Samson, futurist and senior research associate at the University of Stellenbosch Business School`s Institute for Futures Research, says one should not only look at what type of current skills shortages there are, but also at the skills which will be needed in future.
`Yes, currently technical expertise like engineers and artisans are needed, but in future inter-personal and critical thinking skills will play an increasingly important role if one looks at how jobs will evolve. For example, engineers have always had a core-skills set, but how they will deliver it will become more important.`
- Deidre Samson

Young people - and their parents - who might not find becoming an artisan like an electrician or a plumber `sexy` enough, do not realise that these types of jobs may well, in future, be more durable than some of the current `prestige” jobs such as financial managers and attorneys. These jobs will be significantly impacted by the automation of knowledge work and the harnessing of artificial intelligence to perform non-routine work.
She suggests that career days at schools point out to pupils that South Africa currently must import more advanced skills such as engineers and data scientists from overseas. Core technical skills will remain relevant in future as they represent value that is difficult to replicate digitally. Even jobs like hairdressers and fitters and turners will remain increasingly valuable for businesses and consumers due to the personal interaction and judgement that has to be exercised.
Apprenticeships
In her view, there should be increasing use of apprenticeships and on-the-job training, supported by online transfer of knowledge to help solve the skills shortage. `The idea that just having any degree will guarantee a job in future is gone. It is about understanding what skills and competencies will be needed in future that is essential. Not everything can be automated. I certainly don`t want a robot to cut my hair,` says Samson. Skills like how to work collaboratively as a team (virtually or together), how to relate empathetically to a customer and how to negotiate are essential. Future employees also need to deepen their emotional intelligence and have good self-insight, including an understanding of what their biases and future developmental opportunities are.
`Having technical skills must go hand-in-hand with interpersonal skills. It is not just about having a great CV anymore.`
- Deidre Samson

Samson foresees that the education system will `reshape` itself to deliver new forms of content. This educational ecosystem will include innovators, institutions, business and online resources coming together.`You cannot rely only on the education system for tomorrow`s success,` she says. `In looking to become an artisan it is about painting a picture of the needs that will likely exist in 20 years` time. It should be about making a technical vocation such as being an artisan, `sexy` again.`She suggests that maybe a developmental ecosystem could be created for people with basic artisan skills in the informal trade sector, to upskill them and put them in touch with potential employers.`It is about re-looking at where we are in the SA economy and how we can make sure that as many people as possible have employment,` she says.

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