South Africa needs a bluecollar
army for the economy to
grow, according to Dr Ruben
Richards, newly appointed
CEO of the Cape Chamber of
Commerce and Industry.
“We pay lip service to the
blue collar worker in our
society not realising they are
the underbelly of our economy.
It is not cool to be a bluecollar
person; our
young people do not
want to be welders
and plumbers and
electricians,” he
said. “We are not
attaching a value to
these jobs. Instead
as a society we
encourage youngsters to
become doctors, lawyers,
bankers. They do not grow an
economy. They help to manage
the growth, but the skills that
grow an economy belong to the
tradesmen – everyday South
Africans – and we are in a dire
situation if we don’t create an
army of these workers to turn
our economy around.”
Speaking to
FTW following his
appointment, Richards
said growing trade was
imperative not just
in the Western Cape
but across the country
- but that required a
mindset change around
blue collar
workers.
Richards said across the
sectors in the country skills
shortages remained the most
critical challenge. “We have
to inspire young people to
become artisans, to become the
tradesmen that manufacture
the things that other people
want to buy. That is how we
reinvigorate the economy and
stimulate trade and turn this
entire situation around.”
Rubens, a former deputy
director general of the
Scorpions, started his career as
a fitter and turner in a factory.
“It is not rocket science,” said
Richards. “People will only buy
things from South Africa if we
make things they want. We
have to start making things and
to do that we need a blue collar
army.”
At the same time this would
address unemployment and to
a certain extent the country’s
crime problem, he said.
“Business can fix
unemployment but we need a
political environment where
business can thrive, one
where entrepreneurship is
encouraged,” he said. “We have
to turn the economic fortunes
of the country around and
that means finding ways of
including more people rather
than excluding them from
entrepreneurial opportunities.”
CAPTION
It is not business as usual in the Western Cape ...
Dr Ruben Richards, newly appointed CEO of the Cape
Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
