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1*,2and 3Department of Industrial Engineering, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria,
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TECHNOLOGY SKILLS DEVELOPMENT TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE
MANUFACTURING IN SOUTH AFRICA
CHRISTIANAH O. IJAGBEMI 1*
Department of Industrial Engineering
Tshwane University of Technology
Pretoria, South Africa
Email: [email protected] OR [email protected]
Tel; +2348131814090; +27610600816
HAROLD M. CAMPBELL2 Department of Industrial Engineering
Tshwane University of Technology
Pretoria, South Africa
Email: [email protected]
Tel; +27711364644
KHUMBULANI MPOFU3
Department of Industrial Engineering
Tshwane University of Technology
Pretoria, South Africa
Email: [email protected]
Tel; +27723614875
*Corresponding author’s e-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract
A strong manufacturing industry is fundamental to any nation's economic prosperity, since the
industrial revolution, manufacturing has contributed to higher export potential, better standards
of living, and more jobs. Skilled hands needed to meet the innovative yearnings of
manufacturers and consumers are daily sought-for but were not available. This study, therefore,
considers technological skills required to improve the competitiveness and sustainability of the
South African manufacturing value chain. Technological skills gap for product manufacture,
reuse and recycling were identified; the present and future contributions of the identified key
skills to improving competitiveness and sustainability of South Africa's manufacturing value
chain were evaluated. Options for key skills acquisition and enhancement were highlighted to
address the identified gaps towards meeting tomorrow’s advanced manufacturing
requirements.
Keywords: Skills gaps, Skill development, Competitiveness, Sustainability, Manufacturing
Workforce
1. Introduction
An educated and skilled human resource is a key lever for accelerating economic growth and
human development (McGrath and Akoojee, 2009: 150). With current global focus on climate
change and its inherent problems, there is a need to look into developing skills necessary to
provide sustainable economic structure and improved value chain within the manufacturing
sector, hence, the 0out-cry to embrace more green approaches to product manufacture and use
is transforming the nature of jobs and the skills required for some certain jobs.
Skill development within the manufacturing sector presents the advantage of high-quality
products and can as well address long-term employment concerns through job creation;
particularly in a country like South Africa which is currently experiencing some economic
crisis. The development of skills for improved manufacturing value chain is crucial to ensuring
an efficient transition to a sustainable and competitive economy by matching supply and
demand for skills. A number of factors ranging from green innovation, climate change,
advances in technology, global economic downturn are driving the need for a competitive and
sustainable manufacturing value chain.
The South African government policies and industrial regulations on manufacturing are
enforcing the manufacturing industries toward better sustainability structure of improving on
human capacity; hence, the demand for technical expertise or specific technological skills. The
South African Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services Sector (MERSETA) is one
the key contributors to the country’s economic growth and development (the dti, 2015:150).
Rapid technological advancement and competitiveness in manufacturing have created new
opportunities for the sector which in turn request a structure of highly skilled workers. The
Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services Sector reported a shortage of skilled workers
who possess the combination of technical, leadership and advanced soft technological skills
(Erasmus and Breier, 2009:66).
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Furthermore, the rate of skill development in this sector has been inadequate and has not kept
up with the industry's rapid growth and technological advancement. The shortage of these skills
could seriously hamper economic growth, hence, the need to tackle the issue of technological
skill development in order to remain globally competitive. Also, the consideration that a portion
of the skilled workers in the manufacturing industries may retire very soon is another factor to
hindering the desired advancement in improving the South African manufacturing value chain.
Employers within the Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services Sector, find it difficult
to fill technical, specialist and management vacancies as there is insufficient supply of such
skills compared to the ever increasing demand of same. This paper draws inspiration from
several studies in South Africa, to consider the need to develop a robust skill development
plans for a competitive and sustainable manufacturing value chain.
The manufacturing environment
Globally, manufacturing facilities have taken a new turn with a mix of advanced robotics to
fully unified production systems. Today's era of manufacturing has embraced smart
manufacturing techniques by delving into intelligent manufacturing system of advances in
robotics, controllers, sensors and machine learning giving room for every aspect of the plant to
be constantly accessible, monitored, controlled, re-designed, and adapted for required
adjustments (Griffi et al., 2015:6).
To keep up with the pace of industrial shift to the use of “smart” machines which requires
highly skilled workers to handle the increasing complexity product manufacture processes,
today’s modern manufacturing workers need a mix of skills, ranging from strong problem-
solving skills for autonomous adjustment of robots and production systems, mathematical skills
necessary for measurement and spatial reasoning, to technical skills for solving practical
problems (Griffi et al., 2015:6). Knowledge in algorithms and advanced computing is
applicable in the development of advanced manufacturing technologies such as 3D-modeling
and advanced robotics (Snell, and Dean, 1992:467). In a nutshell, production workers need to
have analytical skills in order to influence design changes as well as production efficiency. The
complexity of today's factories calls for new and existing workers to be hungry for
technological skills in order to remain relevant in the smart manufacturing industries.
The concept of value chains as decision support tools was added onto the competitive strategies
of manufacturing and the practice has become the sine qua non of most manufacturing set-ups
in recent years. It is now being applied to a broad range of related fields (Hansen and
Birkinshaw, 2007:27). Much has not been reported on the effect of hard and soft technical
skills and its development on improving or enhancing manufacturing value chain particularly
in the automotive industry. Automotive manufacturing firms face increasing pressure from a
growing number of producers and suppliers around the world and, to remain competitive, they
must increase the skill content of their activities or develop competencies in niche market
segments (Humphrey and Schmitz, 2002:1020).
Currently, South Africa suffers from high unemployment and shortage of critical skills needed
to drive economic growth via the manufacturing sector (Bua News, 2010). The National Skills
Development Strategy III is to be implemented to guide the manufacturing sector planning for
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the next five years. The strategy aims to bring about articulation between subsystems in product
manufacturing to allow for optimal achievement of systemic outcomes, facilitate holistic
analyses of skill training and the functioning of the labour market and link both of these to the
economic development strategy of the country.
2. Shortage of Critical Skills
With the high unemployment rate in South Africa, it is even becoming very hard to fill soft
skill positions; with the demand for problem-solving skilled workers, engineers and related
fields at the highest SETA Scarce Skills List (2013). The list of occupations identified by each
of the 21 SETAs as being scarce, were scored and weighted, in 2014, only 8% of South Africa
employers surveyed reported difficulty in filling manufacturing job vacancies and in 2015,
31% of employers reported difficulty.
Table I: List of occupations in high demand in South Africa
Occupational Title Score (Code)
Medical Doctor 221
Physical and Engineering Science Technicians 311
Manufacturing Managers 1321
Physicists and Astronomers 2111
Meteorologists 2112
Industrial and Production Engineers 2141
Environmental Engineers 2143
Telecommunications Engineers 2153
Landscape Architects 2162
Nursing Professionals 2221
Dieticians and Nutritionists 2265
Audiologists and Speech Therapists 2266
Vocational or Further Education Teachers 2321
Accountants 2411
Software Developers 2512
Ships' Deck Officers and Pilots 3152
Medical Imaging and Therapeutic Equipment Technicians 3211
Clearing and Forwarding Agents 3331
Steam Engine and Boiler Operators 7182
Earthmoving and Related Plant Operators 7342
Local Authority Manager 111203
Finance Manager 121101
Personnel / Human Resource Manager 121201
Health and Safety Manager 121206
Corporate General Manager 121901
Programme or Project Manager 121905
Quality Systems Manager 121908
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Source: SETA scarce skills list, Department of Higher Education and Training, Government
Gazette, 2014.
In a survey conducted by Joint Initiative on Priority Skills Acquisition (JIPSA), the survey,
sampled 455 (medium and large scale) manufacturing out-fits and reported that the most
difficult positions to fill in 2014/2015, in order of difficulty, were: engineering, technology,
computer, IT, basic technical, mathematics, and management/executive, accounting and sales
representative skills. The response of employers on why they had difficulty filling the positions,
presents 52% of the employers, citing environmental or market factors, 47% mentioned the
lack of technical competencies or hard skills and 46% cited a lack of available applicants or no
applicants at all for the positions. Thirty percent of South African employers cited the lack of
industry-specific qualifications or certifications in terms of skilled trades as a challenge, while
26% mentioned a lack of candidate experience. Furthermore, 19% of employers identified
organisational factors as an issue (JIPSA, 2014).
Table II: Factors contributing to difficulty in filling positions
Environmental or market factors 52%
Lack of technical competence or hard skills 47%
Lack of industry-specific qualifications 30%
Lack of candidate experience 26%
Organisational Factors 19%
(i) Areas of skills deficiencies in the manufacturing workforce
Adcorp is South Africa’s pre-eminent authority on the job search process, Adcorp explains
why it is in a unique position to add quantitative detail to the skills shortage as South Africa’s
largest employment services company, with more than 98 000 employees distributed
throughout the South African economy, and with more than 800 000 job applications processed
each year, the firm maintains that its figures represent the only available estimates of South
Africa’s area of skills shortage. With regards to the marginal 1.86% increase in employment,
the fastest growth was seen in the high-skilled occupations (senior management, professionals,
and technicians) and then declining in the low-skilled occupations (elementary and domestic
work. The informal sector had grown faster than the formal sector, largely driven by small-
Sales and Marketing Manager 122101
Research and Development Manager 122301
Construction Project Manager 132301
Supply and Distribution Manager 132401
Logistics 132402
Chief Information Officer 133101
ICT Project Manager 133102
Medical Superintendent / Public Health Manager 134202
Environmental Manager 134901
Production/Operations Manager 134915
Retail Manager (General) 14210
Geologist 211401
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scale employers opting out of income taxes and labour regulations. The informal sector now
employed 6.2 million people.
Shortages in skilled manufacturing positions such as design engineers, technologist,
technicians, craftsman, machine operators and production floor workers have significant effect
on manufacturing activities of product design, development, manufacture and distribution
which ultimately affects product's value chain, workers' productivity, company's turnover and
the nation's economic growth negatively. Most manufacturing jobs require technical training,
thus, making it the positions so difficult to fill. Sixty-eight percent of respondents (employers)
opted for in-house training and development of existing workforce with the benefits of saving
cost on hiring of new professionals.
(ii) Trajectory of the skills gaps over the last decade
In South Africa, the Department of Labour annually carries out surveys through its agencies of
which ‘Manpower South Africa’ is one. A review of 10 years’ survey by the agency identifies
some major skills and skill groups where shortages and deficiency in skill acquisition are being
experienced. The agency in their latest “Skill Shortage Survey,” reported that skilled trades
positions are the most difficult to fill, and have ranked #1 for the past ten years. These are
engineering and built environment, health, finance, IT/ICT, management, education and
technical vocations. (Manpower Group, 2014: 24). Of note and first on the list is engineering
showing the magnitude of the importance of this trade to improving the South African
manufacturing value chain.
In South Africa, the skills gap issue is not new to the manufacturing sector. Report from the
last decade surveys confirmed manufacturing outfits are concerned about developing soft skills
within their workforce to allow for highly competitive and sustainable product manufacture.
3. Reasons for Deficiencies in Skills
(i) Training and retention
Putting in place effective training and retention strategies could be a way out of the current
shortage in required skills for improved manufacturing value chain in South Africa. According
to Barry and Jordann (2009:175), reasons for the shortage could also be linked to globalisation
because international organisations also recruit production engineers in South Africa. Mateus
et al., (2015:65) blame the massive shortage of product design and development engineers
needed in enhancing the SA manufacturing value chain on the decline of staff development
programmes within the various industrial set-ups in the country. Mateus et al., add that a
majority of young engineers who have received some form of education and training do not
find jobs after graduation because they have not had sufficient or appropriate work experience,
or their course was not aligned to industry requirements.
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(ii) Scarcity of STEM talent
The scarcity of STEM talent in high schools makes recruiting the right candidates challenging
for manufacturing companies (Griffi et al., 2015:14). The wages attached to skilled trade
positions add to the problem, even with manufacturers' readiness to increase wages and salaries,
it is still difficult to get the right or appropriate skills required for specific manufacturing
operations (Tang et al, 2010:17). This challenge increasingly grows more with differences from
one workforce category to another. Studies present the challenge of candidates passing the
probationary period during the recruitment process for machinists, operators and technicians,
while for design engineers, researchers, and scientists it' is getting the candidates who are
qualified to participate in screening. With the varying recruiting challenges within SA
manufacturing sector, manufacturers need to develop adaptive recruitment strategies in order
to reduce skills shortage in each of these workforce categories (Griffi et al., 2015:15).
(iii) Diminishing STEM talent in schools
According to World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Competitiveness Report 2014 – 2015,
South Africa currently ranks last out of 144 countries across the world for the quality of Science
and Mathematics education. This creates a much greater problem for the country as South
Africa now greatly lacks scientists and engineers. The WEF Report includes a metric for the
availability of scientists and engineers, and it ranked South Africa at 102 out of 144 countries
worldwide (DUPONT, 2015). Student interest in pursuing a STEM career has been on the rise
in the last 10 years, with about 17 percent of students genuinely interested in having a STEM
career which may lead to compounding skills shortage with time.
4. The Way Forward - Future
(i) The manufacturers
According to Lyndy van den Barselaar (2014), the managing director of Manpower South
Africa, “South Africa’s continued skills deficit is being compounded by a lack of technical
skills, which is having a negative impact on employment across many sectors of the country’s
economy”. Therefore, manufacturers have a significant role to play in closing the
manufacturing skills gap. A pragmatic approach to skill management restructured recruitment
techniques to search for and attract new skilled employees and staff development initiatives to
enable their workforce to meet the organisations' objectives. Developing a high-skilled
workforce and giving room for flexibility can improve on the influx of skilled trades needed
for improving the manufacturing value chain in SA also by partnering with training institutes
to create a stronger pool of prospective candidates. The Government as well has a significant
role in supporting the manufacturing sector to attract and retain talents towards the total
economic growth of the nation by supporting advance manufacturing training programs with
grants and scholarships for participants. Manufacturers, educational institutions, communities,
and government can provide a synergy to address the shortage in skilled trades being
experience in the country for over two decades now.
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(ii) Early STEM initiatives
Going down to the level of schools and community colleges to train and certificate skill trades
will help in closing the gap. This will encourage high schools and elementary schools to build
interest in STEM skills and skilled trades (Griffi et al., 2015:16). Moreover, they can liaise
with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to sponsor or fund projects and training
programs geared toward skill development. This approach may help address the development
needs of the existing workforce by providing a steady stream of job-ready candidates.
(iii) Campaigns to attract skilled trades
The Internet has transformed the way people retrieve information and apply for jobs, so
applicants with high-demand technical skills have choices, and the decision to work at a
particular company/ industry then depend on how innovative the company is. Demonstrating
new technologies such as 3D printing, robotics, and advanced analytics can help attract young
skilled applicants to the manufacturing industry (Griffi et al., 2015:21). The appointment or
hiring of skilled workers should be a little flexible in nature giving room for personal time – a
holiday with family members abroad; more employees value this than high wages or pay
packets (Psilos and Gereffi, 201:8). Fashioning out a captivating and juicy value for skilled
positions can attract and retain prospective applicants in the manufacturing hub. This is
necessary for the manufacture of highly competitive products. Manufacturers will not only
have to recruit skilled workers required to provide sustainable and competitive manufacturing
value chain in SA but must also develop their existing workforce through internal training and
development programs which are the most effective skilled workforce development strategy to
meet up with today's advanced manufacturing requirements.
5. Conclusion
In summary, South Africa's skills deficit has caused manufacturers to seek new innovative
ways to face the skills challenge. The engineers and researchers are expected to possess the
computer, technical and problem-solving skills while the technicians and artisans are to master
the arts of manufacturing. Respondents considered a lack of proficiency in math and science to
be the basis for the shortage in skilled trades needed for sustainable and competitive product
manufacturing. Technical and computer skills topped the list with 82%, indicating the most
serious skill deficiency, this is followed by a 67% for lack of problem-solving skills, a lack of
basic technical training recorded 62%. Considering the technicality involved in today's
advance manufacturing methods, many manufacturers have redesigned and streamlined
production with automated processes, implying, these new trends and innovations demand
more skilled workers.
Thirty-two percent of manufacturers said they would adopt the old practice of recruitment as a
strategy to overcome manufacturing skills shortage while 67 % would be exploring new talent
sources. Meanwhile, 56% said they would be providing additional training and development
to existing staff while a further 41% said they would focus on developing new skills.
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Manufactures considered the school system, the increase in demand for products and services,
new advanced manufacturing technologies, process automation and introduction of flexible
and complex work systems as major factors contributing to manufacturing skill shortage. The
impact of the shortage or deficiency in skilled trades will be evident in new product
development and innovation and in maintaining or increasing production levels with growing
customer demand, this will ultimately affect the ability to import, export, or expand globally.
Seventy-two percent of manufacturers said talent shortages and skills deficiencies will affect
their organisation by reducing their ability to serve their clients, 68% said it would reduce their
productivity and competitiveness.
The shortage of STEM talents in high school coupled with the wage inconsistency makes
recruiting the right skills more challenging for most manufacturing companies. Hunting for
candidates to enter the initial screening process, getting candidates who pass the screening test,
making the advertised vacant positions appealing to the qualified applicants, developing the
talents acquired and the ability to retain the recruited talents are some of the main reasons for
the shortage in skilled trades being experienced by SA manufacturers till date.
Acknowledgements
The authors appreciate the support of the Department of Industrial Engineering, Tshwane
University of Technology, Pretoria and the South African Manufacturing, Engineering and
Related Services Sector Education and Training Authority (merSETA) towards this project.
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