Work with the tourism sector to create jobs

Source: Tourism Update, 07/11/2018

Unemployment stats in South Africa are already startling, with
27.2% of the population without jobs according to Stats SA, and
youth unemployment has reached a staggering 38.8%. As a country,
we simply cannot afford further job losses.
The Jobs Summit, led by President Cyril Ramaphosa’s in early
October, saw government consulting with the private sector, unions
and community organisations regarding accelerating job creation in
South Africa.
During the summit, government reiterated that it will not retrench
any employee in the public sector as “you cannot be retrenching
while trying to create new jobs”. So, the 1.3 million people
employed in the public sector are seemingly safe. At the end of
the summit, an agreement was signed by various stakeholders
outlining a framework to stem job losses and create employment
opportunities across sectors. The aim is to create 275 000 jobs
annually over the next five years.
The tourism sector in South Africa is one of the largest
supporters of job creation in the country, a reality that
Government already recognises, having said that the sector is a
“strategic industry able to help create much needed employment”.
Figures from Stats SA demonstrate that the industry has generated
new jobs over time, around 700 000 people were directly employed
in the sector in 2016, up from just over 500 000 a decade earlier.
Currently, there are 1.6 million people directly employed or
indirectly supported by the tourism sector.
Ramaphosa aims for the doubling of jobs in tourism, but
significant help from government will be needed in order to
achieve this lofty target. There must be clear policies in place
to focus on boosting the tourism industry, through financial
assistance in the sector, skills training initiatives, and
supporting and improving South Africa’s attractions and assets at
every level.
The example of the Western Cape proves what can be done. MEC for
Agriculture, Economic Development and Tourism in the Western Cape,
Alan Winde explains that his department’s growth strategy, Project
Khulisa, strategically focused efforts in the fastest growing
sectors with the most potential for job creation, namely tourism,
agri-processing and the oil and gas sectors. This strategy saw the
Western Cape creating “40% of all new jobs in South Africa in the
second quarter of 2018, despite making up less than 15% of the
national economy”.
Government also needs to focus attention on the skills shortages
across sectors. It must work with various industries to support
skills training and, ultimately, job creation that is sustainable
for the long term.
If government worked with the tourism sector, for example, we
could train people in all spheres of the industry â€` in
hospitality, in various services, in client facing and management
roles, in tourism technology, to name just a few areas with
potential for growth.
In addition, the tourism sector has appealed to government to work
towards greater regulatory certainty in order to achieve the
stability needed for sustained growth and therefore the creation
of further jobs in the industry.
But, it is not enough to say that tourism can help turn around the
country’s employment crisis. Greater economic growth is crucial,
as Winde says: “The only way to tackle the unemployment crisis in
South Africa is through economic growth. An economy that is not
growing cannot create or sustain jobs”.
Tourism can play a role, in particular since there is a strong
desire among global and domestic travellers to explore the natural
beauty, culture and heritage that our country has in abundance.
This is aided by our weak currency, which is a drawcard for many
international tourists. With government and the private sector
working together, we can use these elements to drive significant
change on a national level.