Partner Webinar | A Skills Partnership for Employment and Growth: From Current Engagement to Future Action

There is a persistent mismatch between the skills that South African educational institutions are producing and those which employers need. Further education and training are being provided that do improve job-seekers’ employability, but their value is unevenly distributed and standards are mixed. South Africa remains behind in many international rankings on education and training. Action is required urgently, but this should be informed by research and past lessons learned. At least eight EU Member States (and Switzerland) as well as the EU Delegation are active in improving the synergies between education and employment. In this webinar we will hear insights from their experience. Framing the discussion, experts will present analysis from a recent CBPEP-supported study that tracked the destinations of graduates completing training in South African TVET colleges.

Participating will be representatives from the Presidency, National Treasury, the Department of Higher Education and Training, the Sector Education and Training Authorities, EU diplomats, South African and European business.

The event will discuss:

• ongoing challenges presented by youth unemployment in South Africa;
• setting South Africa on a path to economic recovery and employment growth, following the devastating impacts of the Covid-19 crisis;
• EU and international perspectives on skills development, and the European contribution to skills in SA;
• the role of European firms in building the skills pool in South Africa: initiatives and experiences;
• findings and recommendations of the TVET graduate destination survey, completed in January this year.

The webinar will outline a planned series of discussions towards a new Skills Partnership for South Africa, and provide a brief introduction to the new EU-funded Education for Employability programme.