Digitalisation and Skills Survey in South Africa
The world economy is undergoing a period of structural and technological transformation, sometimes described as the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’ (4IR). At the centre of this is the digitalisation and automation of economic activities, which are being experienced differentially across the globe. A challenge for a middle-income country like South Africa is how to grow capabilities in the more technologically sophisticated segments of value chains, thereby allowing it to break from the ‘middle-income trap’ while simultaneously creating jobs and improving productivity in the context of the 4IR.
The Industrial Development Think Tank (IDTT) has identified the Digital Skills Policy as key for South Africa’s digitalisation drive. To develop a Digital Skills Policy, there is an urgent need to build a knowledge network around critical questions such as the skills gap, the changing capability requirements of firms to keep up with the technology transformations and their role in growing competitive capabilities in South Africa and the region.
The IDTT, a partnership between the Centre for Competition, Regulation and Economic Development (CCRED) and the South African Research Chair in Industrial Development (SARChI-ID) at the University of Johannesburg, supported by the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti), in collaboration with the Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) that govern skills training in manufacturing and engineering services (MerSETA), chemicals (CHIETA), and textiles and fibre processing (FP&M SETA), are conducting a survey of manufacturing firms to build a knowledge base about digital skills at the firm-level in order to assist with the development of a digital skills development strategy for South Africa. The survey is expected to provide insights that are critical for South Africa and the DTIC, perhaps even more so in light of the global pandemic.
The digital skills survey has been granted ethical clearance by the University of Johannesburg’s Ethics Committee.
For more information on the project, you may contact Dr. Elvis Avenyo at elvisa@uj.ac.za, Dr. Marinda Weideman at marinda.weideman@yahoo.com; or Dr. Thando Vilakazi (Director: Centre for Competition, Regulation and Economic Development School of Economics, University of Johannesburg) at thandov@uj.ac.za.