South Africa needs renewed skills development and reskilling revolution
IOL - WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM / 06 FEBRUARY 2020 - 11:30 / MIYELANI MKHABELA
JOHANNESBURG – The World Economic Forum on society discussed “how to reskill and upskill a billion people in the next decade” inviting nations like South Africa to review its education, training and development working with industry in coming with a benchmarked strategy for skilling and reskilling.
Education in every sense is one of the fundamental factors of development and Education raises people's productivity and creativity and promotes entrepreneurship and technological advances. In addition, it plays a very crucial role in securing economic and social progress and improving income distribution.
The World Economic Forum on society discussed “how to reskill and upskill a billion people in the next decade” inviting nations like South Africa to review its education, training and development working with industry in coming with a benchmarked strategy for skilling and reskilling. Photo: Denis Balibouse/Reuters
As the world faces the transformative economic, social and environmental challenges of Globalization 4.0, it has never been more important to invest in people. South Africa must consider systems thinking tools to reskill their large pool that are educated but affected by the changes in jobs or the future of work. Valuing human capital not only serves to equip individuals with the knowledge and skills to respond to systemic shifts, but it also empowers them to take part in creating a more equal, inclusive and sustainable world.
Education is and will remain critical for promoting inclusive economic growth and providing a future of opportunity for all. But as the technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution create new pressures on labour markets, education reform, lifelong learning and reskilling initiatives will be key to ensuring both that individuals have access to economic opportunity by remaining competitive in the new world of work, and that businesses have access to the talent they need for the jobs of the future.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution is causing a large-scale decline in some roles as they become redundant or automated. According to the 2018 Future of Jobs Report, 75 million jobs are expected to be displaced by 2022 in 20 major economies. At the same time, technological advances and new ways of working could also create 133 million new roles, driven by large-scale growth in new products and services that would allow people to work with machines and algorithms to meet the demands of demographic shifts and economic changes.
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