South Africa lacks the
automation and technology
skills needed to leverage
the technology disruptors
that are changing the face of
manufacturing and sparking a
new industrial revolution, also
known as Industry 4.0.
Chairperson of the
Manufacturing Circle,
Andre de Ruyter,
told delegates
at last week’s
Manufacturing
Indaba in
Johannesburg that
some industries in South
Africa had seen “massive gains”
in production through the
implementation of digitised
and robotised skills in factories
and warehouses.
“But often these technologies
are not fully utilised because
there are major gaps in the
kind of skills needed to take
them forward,” he explained.
According to De Ruyter,
government needs to focus
on delivering secondary and
tertiary education that is more
outcomes-based.
Director-general of
industrial policy at
the Department
of Trade and
Industry,
Garth
Strachan,
agreed,
pointing
out that
South Africa
needed to
automate a large portion of its
production processes if it was
to become globally competitive
on the world’s industrialisation
platform.
“It’s such a delicate balance
in the South African reality
where we face a massive
unemployment rate and we
need to make more use of
the resources we have but we
also need to upskill people
to operate the machines that
could possibly eliminate the
need for jobs,” he said, noting
that it was “vital” to investigate
and properly understand the
skills gaps.
A suggestion from a
conference delegate was
that automation could
significantly ramp up
production in South Africa –
and thus boost the economy
– which would eventually lead
to more job creation. “Is it not
better to rather upskill and
employ 50 000 people in the
short term, rather than focus
on creating 500 000 jobs for
unskilled people, and ensure
SA meets its economic growth
targets to be able to employ
more people in the long-run?”
he asked.
Aveng managing
director, Solly Letsoalo,
weighed in saying that any
manufacturing company
needed
“capable
employees”
that were
continually
being
developed to
meet changing
business
needs. “Our
clients’ needs
are constantly
evolving and
so must our
business
responses. In-house skills
development and training is
essential,” he said.
Nissan South Africa
manufacturing director, Joan
Busquets, said the carmaker
was investing significantly
in skills training and
development to address the
shortage of skilled engineers
and operators in South
Africa.
“I agree that
it’s up to the
manufacturers
to provide
the necessary
skills training
– especially
in new
technologies.
Provided
there are
good tertiary
education
facilities that
provide the good base set
skills, we can build great
engineers and technicians
from there,” he said.
It’s such a delicate
balance in the South
African reality where
we face a massive
unemployment rate.
– Garth Strachan
