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Date
: 19/10/2006
Source: Department of Environmental and Tourism Affairs
Title: Van Schalkwyk: Tourism Skills Conference
Opening speech by the Minister Environmental Affairs and Tourism,
Marthinus van Schalkwyk, at the Tourism Skills Conference,
Muldersdrift, Gauteng
First Ever Tourism Skills Conference: Finding practical ways to
connect the tourism industry to the best and the brightest South
Africans
1. General Background
This has been a bumper month for tourism events. We have recently
hosted the national FIFA 2010 Accommodation Workshop. Shortly
before that, we held World Tourism Day celebrations. These events
have celebrated our achievements and shown us the great potential
for our sector's continued growth. However, today's event is about
getting our house in order and mapping a way forward.
As a nation, we have committed ourselves to poverty alleviation and
job creation through our Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative
for South Africa (AsgiSA). This initiative commits us to action, to
the achievement of hard targets and to overcoming the critical
obstacle of skills shortages.
Part of AsgiSA's roll-out is government's massive investment of
R370 billion on infrastructure development, which will greatly
improve our offering to tourists. Just as importantly, it will make
the economy more accessible to more of our own citizens. For the
next two days we must sharply focus on finding practical ways to
connect the tourism industry to the best and the brightest South
Africans, as employees and as entrepreneurs.
There are vast opportunities in this room. This is the first time
that we have brought all the different stakeholders together to
focus on skills in the tourism industry. We have a unique
opportunity to rapidly reach consensus on a way forward. This will
culminate tomorrow in the signing of a declaration by government,
business, labour and communities. The declaration will commit us to
working together in a national Tourism Skills Development Forum, so
that our efforts today are sustained in future.
2. Tourism Skills Audit results
Our deliberations will begin on the basis of the preliminary
results of the Tourism Skills Audit. Last week's issue of the
Economist warned us that "the global economy places an enormous
premium on brainpower; and there is not enough to go around."
In this context, the skills audit results yield no surprises. At
least 90 percent of the scarce skills in the tourism sector are in
the high-skills level band. Currently we have critical shortages in
the following areas:
* technical management skills
* skills in information and knowledge management
* product knowledge
* language and communication skills.
The audit results also confirmed that our industry faces many of
the same challenges as other industries in South Africa. Weak
linkages between industry and training institutions are one of the
most significant of these. In principle our Sector Education and
Training Authorities (SETAs) were intended to strengthen this link
and improve the relevance of training. However, in practice, the
study has found that the industry view of the Tourism Hospitality
and Sport Education and Training Authority (THETA) has been that of
a barrier rather than a facilitator.
3. Challenges
While I do not want to dwell on the negative for too long, it is
important for us to acknowledge our challenges in order for us to
address them properly. It is also important to look at the
different aspects of our challenges so that we can work on more
effective solutions that involve the right role-players, all of
whom are here today.
A case in point is the low investment by small, medium and micro
enterprise (SMMEs) in skills development, which should be viewed as
a major cause for concern. These companies carry a large portion of
the employment load in tourism. Yet, a recent study found that 26%
of South African SMMEs in the tourism sector had no need or wish to
expand. More than 80% of workers surveyed in South Africa said that
they had not received formal training. This figure compares
dismally with that of other growing economies in the world. Most
SMMEs in our sector are operated by owner-managers, who themselves
do not have much formal tertiary education.
The research has found that among informal firms, about 60% of
owner-managers have not obtained a matriculation qualification and
less than 2% have degrees. This in turn has negative implications
for the long-term sustainability of their businesses and ultimately
the tourism sector. Joint strategies need to focus on greater
uptake of incentive programmes by smaller businesses.
We recognise the efforts by larger businesses to invest in skills
development in spite of the difficulties they have experienced in
accessing training incentives. We also recognise that organised
labour has an important role to play in motivating workers to
attend and complete training courses.
Another crucial set of stakeholders is the higher education sector.
This is the first time we have invited higher education
institutions to such an event. We welcome you as participants. We
encourage you to form stronger direct relationships with industry.
We hope that you will pay heed to the consensus that will be
reached regarding scarce skills and that this informs the
development of your curricula in future. Our preliminary research
suggests that curricula need to cover a wider range of sector and
sub-sector demands. This will not only benefit industry, but will
increase the value and attractiveness of your courses to potential
students, resulting in a win-win situation for all concerned.
The introduction of tourism as a high school subject makes the job
of attracting high calibre individuals somewhat easier. It broadens
our talent pool by increasing awareness amongst youth of the
vibrant career options in our sector. Tertiary education offerings
also need to be aligned with school curricula to ensure that we
continue to stimulate people and enable the development of career
paths.
We also recognise the presence and importance of independent
education providers. The accreditation of service providers has
proven cumbersome and as a result, many firms have found it
difficult to claim funds for skills development through the SETA
structures. The challenge, in general, is to find ways to improve
the institutional responsiveness to the skills demands of domestic
and foreign investors. Specifically, a credible transparent
accreditation system for independent education providers is
required.
4. Concluding remarks
These challenges are by no means simple. However, I am confident
that the solutions lie within the people in this room. It may often
appear that government, business, labour and communities have
competing interests, but we have a powerful common interest when it
comes to developing skills and people.
There is a lot that we can achieve by aligning our goals and
efforts. Consensus building is never an easy process, but it
results in more robust solutions. I encourage you to take advantage
of the opportunity you have at this conference to become part of
the solution. I encourage you to voice your concerns, because they
will be heard, they will be taken seriously and they will be
addressed.
We must be doing something right. Tourism has been a star performer
in the South African economy to date. We have been on a
record-breaking streak that is showing no sign of slowing down. Let
us continue to forge ahead, remembering that our people are our
most valuable asset and that they deserve our best efforts. I wish
you well in your deliberations.
Enquiries:
Riaan Aucamp
Cell: 083 778 9923
Issued by: Department of Environmental and Tourism Affairs
19 October 2006
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