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S K I L L S   C R I S I S

The task of ensuring that skills levies are used to promote meaningful skills development in the transport industry belongs to TETA, which falls under the auspices of the Department of Labour (DoL), not the Department of Transport (DoT). Because skills development is essentially a human resources issue, the DoL has been given the mandate to manage the country's workplace learning process across all industry sectors. Having a cetralised 'control unit' makes sense, but only if that 'unit' understands the needs of each respective industry sector and is able to communicate and implement strategies and resources effectively, i.e. in a manner that adds value to their 'stakeholders' (the businesses that pay salaries and skills levies; that justify the existence of these ministries and associated departments). While TETA personnel may have the best interests of the road freight industry at heart, their efforts are being hampered by a bureaucratic infrastructure that stifles communication between various departments, is generally ignorant of the business of road transport, and as a result, is slowing down delivery of adequately trained personnel to the industry, reports Paul Collings.

To illustrate the extent of this problem, consider the following: On March 27, 2006, Deputy President, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, launched the Joint Initiative on Priority Skills Acquisition (Jipsa), designed to fast track critical skills development in areas where most needed. "Nothing short of a skills revolution will extricate us from the crisis we face," she said to the media and Jipsa members, who include various cabinet ministers and leading business CEOs, like Maria Ramos (Transnet) and Thulani Gcabashe (Eskom). Whether or not a top DoT official sits on the joint task team management board could not be confirmed at time of writing (DoT personnel fail to return phone calls and emails). That the DoT has to have senior representation is irrefutable. So too is the direct involvement of TETA. 

Now here comes the shocker: TETA Executive Officer, Tuelo Mogashoa says, "I was not informed of the initiative and TETA has not been directly included in the initiative." And this is one pivotal training authority responsible for the very thing Jipsa aims to achieve (accelerated economic development), and government overlooks it! What happened to the much vouched statement by several government officials, "if trucks stop South Africa stops?"

Working in silos
Overcoming inter-departmental lack of communication is the first of many problems that needs to be addressed. The DoT, in its National Freight Logistics Strategy, has defined the challenges in its Strategy Problem Statement: "The freight system in South Africa is fraught with inefficiencies at system and firm levels. There are infrastructure shortfalls and mismatches: the institutional structure of the freight sector is inappropriate and there is a lack of integrated planning. Information gaps and asymmetries abound; the skills base is deficient, and the regulatory frameworks are incapable of resolving problems in the industry."

Having defined the problem, one would assume that further skills development initiatives would be conducted in a manner that integrates the objectives of the various stakeholders, be they business or governmental. Judging by what Mogashoa says, this is not the case. "There is very little communication between the many policy formulators moving between TETA, the DoL and the DoT. Organisations within the broader skills development framework are working in silos."
 

Drivers needed: The industry not only needs fully qualified drivers but also managers, technicians and many other skills that are in short supply. It is now getting to crisis stage in some segments and the effects of this could well stymie the long-term growth of this economy.

Making do
With government and its skills development agencies bogged down by bureaucratic pitfalls, it is small wonder most transport operators are not implementing the full spectrum of processes and procedures stipulated by the Skills Development Act. Despite the obstacles TETA faces, its news letter, 'The Highroad', states that training targets for the last financial year (2004 -2005) were exceeded by 179% with 39150 people being trained in various road freight disciplines; that TETA's mandate right now is to identify critical skills shortages in the road freight industry via workplace skills plans (WSP) submitted by stakeholders (transport operators);that the industry urgently needs comprehensively qualified drivers (1000 per year), managers (700), technicians (no figure given), adult basic education and training (ABET [Life skills and literacy] - 2000), dangerous goods handlers (1000), skills assessors (5000 over a five year period) and porters, loaders/packers (2000).

Mogashoa adds that TETA is well aware of the negative perception many transport operators have of the organisation. "TETA is striving to make the National Skills Development Fund more accessible to its stakeholders, especially SMMEs, who can access training funds through TETA's voucher system. We also hold regular workshops to help stakeholders better manage their discretionary grants." 
 

The urgent need for quality driver training academies across the country cannot be overstated

Plans, plans and more plans
TETA's stakeholder base numbers some 2000 truck transport companies, many of which are subsidiaries of large JSE-listed entities. Mogashoa wants smaller transport companies to become part of the skills development cycle. "Discretionary grants to the value of R95 million were awarded recently to train 12 000 learners, both employed and unemployed," says Mogashoa. "TETA is inviting stakeholder companies that wish to implement additional skills development initiatives to submit applications to the Road Freight Chamber. Preferences will be given to training ventures that address scarce and critical skills shortages." 

The urgent need for quality driver training academies across the country cannot be overstated. "A 'grass roots' training infrastructure needs to be established, with TETA working hand-in-hand with the road freight industry to prevent skills shortages from reaching crisis point," concludes Mogashoa.

Transport companies needing more information on how to access training grants and vouchers should call TETA on (011) 781 1280 or visit www.teta.org.za