TECHNOLOGY SKILLS DEVELOPMENT TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE ... · PDF fileTECHNOLOGY SKILLS DEVELOPMENT TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE MANUFACTURING IN SOUTH AFRICA ... A number of factors ranging from

1*,2and 3Department of Industrial Engineering, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria,

South Africa

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



Email: [email protected]

Tel; +27711364644

KHUMBULANI MPOFU3

Department of Industrial Engineering



Email: [email protected]

Tel; +27723614875

*Corresponding author’s e-mail: [email protected]

International Association for Management of Technology IAMOT 2016 Conference Proceedings

506

mailto:[email protected]





South Africa

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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TECHNOLOGY SKILLS DEVELOPMENT TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE ... · PDF fileTECHNOLOGY SKILLS DEVELOPMENT TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE MANUFACTURING IN SOUTH AFRICA ... A number of factors ranging from