IN a bid to empower youth and ensure that they are equipped to participate meaningfully in the digital economy, KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube has aggressively embarked on the journey to drive the province as one of the technology hubs of the country.

Dube-Ncube attended the second day of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) Skills and Technology Development Bootcamp held on Wednesday at the Archie Gumede Conference Centre in Mayville.

The two-day bootcamp saw 280 learners, including eight inmates from Westville Correctional Services Centre, being trained in various skills, including cyber security, data analytics, robotics, coding, broadband and e-sporting.

Since assuming office in August, Dube-Ncube has prioritised the implementation of the Connected Smart Province Project, as part of accelerating the digital revolution and has aggressively embarked on the journey to catapult KwaZulu-Natal as one of the country’s technology hubs.

Speaking to the youth at the bootcamp, the Premier said the provincial government wants to ensure that the province moves at the required pace in terms of implementing the Fourth Industrial Revolution as the new frontier of economic growth and the pillar on which industries of the future will be built.

“Our view remains that if we let the opportunities brought about by the 4IR miss us, we risk putting the future of our next generation into bleakness. This is a reality we can no longer postpone because it will have dire consequences for our development prospects.

“The sky is not the limit for the youth in our province hence we are creating an enabling environment for them to have the skills set and entrepreneurial acumen to be part of the multi-trillion dollar digital economy,” Dube-Ncube said.

She added that the provincial government is now rolling out bootcamps in all the districts where they are fast-tracking skills and technology development in the 4IR space among young people.

“We want the young people gathered here today to help create smart solutions to solve daily challenges such as using smart technology to find missing bodies that were washed away by the floods in April this year,” Dube-Ncube said.

The first 4IR bootcamp, which was held at the Durban Exhibition Centre in November benefitted over 450 young people.

Mobile digital skills lab

Meanwhile, as part of putting the province on the 4IR digital path, the Premier recently opened a Mobile Digital Skills Lab in Pietermaritzburg, which is being used to train young people in Business Intelligence and Data Analytics.

The Premier said the programme will be rolled-out to all the districts in the province.

She said 20 young people are currently on training, with 75 more being recruited for laptop and cellphone repairs, so that they can be empowered to open their own businesses.

Dube-Ncube firmly believes that the Fourth Industrial Revolution must contribute towards growing the provincial economy.

“For this to become a reality, the province is investing in advanced Information Technology systems and infrastructure to benefit all citizens, especially rural and township communities. 

– SA GOV

Chinese scientists say they have introduced a human brain gene into mice, which resulted in improved learning and memory skills in behavioural tests.

The study could provide insight into how the brain develops and potentially into treatment for intellectual disability, according to the research team from the State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Zoology in Beijing.

Their findings were published in the peer-reviewed journal Cell Discovery on November 22.

The team, led by Professor Jiao Jianwei, said they had been looking at the connection between human intelligence and the structure of the brain.

They were particularly focused on the cortex – or outer layer – of the brain. It plays an important role in consciousness and is believed to contribute to higher cognitive functioning such as attention, thought, perception and episodic memory.

Its many folds have given humans and many “higher mammals” the intelligence to cope with more complex issues. The wrinkled cortex can contain billions of neurons in a limited cranial space, and these can form large-scale neural circuits that increase intelligence.

Cortical folding is regarded as key to brain development, but the molecular and cellular mechanisms of this process have remained unclear.

Jiao’s team wanted to find out more after their previous research identified the human gene SERPINA3 as a potential candidate associated with cortical expansion.

Using this human gene, they created mice using gene-editing technology. The gene successfully expressed and was translated into protein in the neural cells of the mice.

The researchers found that an overexpression of SERPINA3 protein had increased the number of neural stem cells in the animals’ brains during neural development. According to the paper, single-cell sequencing analysis of the cerebral cortex also indicated better neuron activity.

Behavioural tests – measuring spatial learning and memory – also showed enhanced cognitive skills in the genetically altered mice, with improved working memory and learning ability.

“The result shows the overexpression of SERPINA3 in mice induced cortical development and improved cognitive abilities,” Jiao said in the paper. “Further, SERPINA3 increased the number of neurons.”

The researchers noted that further research was needed but said the results of the study indicated that the human gene was linked to the formation of the cortex folds.

“Our work could provide a better understanding of human cortical folding and cognitive development. It will enrich the understanding of neocortical expansion and provide insights into possible treatments for intellectual disability,” Jiao said in the paper.

“Several questions still need to be further explored. We will provide more direct evidence in neural science to show that the improvement in cognition resulted from cortical folding. And provide a better model that describes the exact neural circuit changes in mice.”

Daily Bulletin

PC vendor Lenovo SA, in partnership with the Durban University of Technology (DUT), has launched the Robogirl 2022 programme aimed at preparing young female learners for the fourth industrial revolution and beyond.

This comes amid calls to equip local youth, particularly young girls, with the skills to respond to the demands and opportunities of a technology-immersed future.

According to Lenovo, the programme will see over 120 girls from 15 schools in grades 10 and 11 from the eThekwini area − particularly from historically disadvantaged communities − being exposed to and taught coding and robotics skills.

It will also culminate in a competition between schools, which will allow the various teams to witness their peers’ innovation and different approaches to the same challenge, says the company.

Yugen Naidoo, GM of Lenovo Southern Africa, says: “Both in South Africa and indeed around the globe, men continue to outnumber women in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields, particularly technical fields, such as engineering and computer science.

“Lenovo is extremely passionate about upskilling women and female learners in the technology arena and helping to bridge this gender gap. We believe the most innovative solutions can’t be created without diverse perspectives, and therefore we are investing in such programmes.”

The launch comes just ahead of the new South African coding and robotics curriculum, which recognises that computer science, computer programming and languages need to be components of a basic education.

The Department of Basic Education said in August that its coding and robotics curriculum pilot in select grades is “progressing well”.

The department resumed the pilot project this year, after it was forced to halt it as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

For its Robogirl 2022 programme, Lenovo is working with the DUT’s Department of Information and Technology, focusing on empowering under-represented communities with access to technology and STEM education.

Ebrahim Asmal, senior lecturer at DUT’s Department of Information Technology and programme coordinator, comments: “There is a gender disparity in the STEM workforce, as well as at higher educationacross the globe. Decreasing the gender disparity in STEM fields will provide more opportunity for women to generate fair income, as well as encourage professional and productive environments for women.

“Not only this, but the engineering industry can also tangibly benefit from an increase in gender and racial diversity because a workforce made up of varying genders and minorities creates team dynamics conducive for better problem-solving, produces better overall business management, and reflects today’s increasingly differentiated customer base, all of which leads to improved business performance.”

Naidoo adds: “At Lenovo, with programmes like Robogirl 2022 and others, we aim to play our part in helping to address this gender disparity, and let young girls and women see for themselves the possibilities of entering the IT space as a career and be empowered to enter the jobs of the future.

“We look forward to seeing the short-term and indeed longer-term positive results of our investment in Robogirl 2022 and wish the Durban University of Technology and all the learners on the programme every success.”

FOOTBAL for schools in Africa is kicking off, again. FIFA’s football youth development programme is underway in Ivory Coast, the first West African country to host it.

The project was initially launched in 2019 but had to be paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It was launched just before World Cup 2022 in Qatar.

“The school’s football gives us human development, gender development, because it is for girls and boys,” says football coach Adelaide Koudougnon.

Coming back with a budget of $100 million from FIFA, the programme aims to get footballs to 700 million elementary school children, almost half of the world’s children aged between 4 and 14.

“The Ivory Coast is the first country in West Africa to launch Football for Schools, and the fifth in the CAF region, after Mauritania, Djibouti, South Africa and Malawi,” says Fatimata Sow Sidibe, director of Football for Schools.

“With the launch of the Football for Schools programme, FIFA has accompanied the FIF (Ivorian Football Federation), and the Ministry of National Education, with the delivery of about 27,000 balls and the launch of the Football for Schools app in French.”

The goal is to reach children in the poorest or most remote corners of the world.

India alone requires one million balls, which will likely have to travel the length and breadth of the country by road to reach children at around 10,000 schools.

In total, eleven million Adidas footballs will be sent to tens of thousands of schools. Schools will also get access to training via a free smartphone app.

Those involved with the project say that changes the game because it will allow any teacher to coach with the help of dozens of practice sessions designed for children.

And it may help find the next generation of talented stars.

FIFA believes there’s more than half a billion willing young children out there who still don’t have enough contact with the world’s most popular game.

“What brings me to sports is when I watch the professionals playing, for example, Sadio Mane who is my idol and Lionel Messi, who does his dribbling, that encourages me, that encourages me to play better football,” says student and football fan Jean Pierre Ano Kouadja.

africanews

STAFF REPORTER|

THE Department of Basic Education has launched a probe into allegations of cheating in the recent national senior certificate exams involving more than 1 000 pupils from six provinces.

The allegations were reported to the Department of Basic Education through its WhatsApp hotline.

On Sunday, Department of Basic Education confirmed that it was investigating the allegations and that the director-general Mathanzima Mweli has approved the creation of a task team to investigate the allegations.

Departmental spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga said that the subject identified in the Mpumalanga exam cheating scandal was economics.

Dozens of Mpumalanga learners are alleged to have paid teachers up to R1500 to join WhatsApp groups, where answers were posted on the platform during exam sessions.

It is alleged that in addition to posting answers on the WhatsApp groups, invigilators provided answers to pupils during toilet breaks and even passed notes to them in exam halls.

One of these WhatsApp groups was allegedly called “Road to Varsity” and provided answers to Maths and physical science exam questions.

The whistleblower claimed that over 370 grade 12 students from three Mpumalanga schools were part of the “Road to Varsity” WhatsApp group.

There are also allegations of learners using various cheating methods in Maths Literacy, Economics and English papers in Gauteng, Limpopo, the North West, Eastern Cape and Western Cape.

Mhlanga told the SABC that there could be criminal charges because in recent years the department has been working with the Hawks on matters of irregularities involving exams.

“So, we are exploring all options to make sure that the punishment is severe and serves as a deterrent. If there is a Whatsapp group it means that people are coordinating within that platform. Several things could happen,” said Mhlanga.

“1. They could be asked to rewrite. 2. They could be banned for 1-3 years from writing their exams which means their lives would have to pause because of what they have done. But Umalusi would also make the final decision.”

INSIDE EDUCATION

HARSHIL GALA

TECHNOLOGY has transitioned the world. The digital revolution, also known as the Third Industrial Revolution, led to the merger of technology with industry to significantly improve the quality and efficiency of human life. The benefits of automation in industrial processes are obvious to anyone living in the 21st century. Key inventions and innovations disrupted the existing sectors while also creating new industries. Education is no exception. Different aspects of different sectors can benefit from automation, and the same holds true for education.

According to UNESCO reports, the pandemic interfered with 1.5 billion students’ academics around the world. However, the outbreak of Covid-19 led to the digital transformation of education sector. Online and hybrid learning models began to become more popular and have continued to grow ever since! Easy access to internet and its affordability has made many educational institutions adopt automation and online learning systems even in small cities in India.

Automated schools need of the hour

The McKinsey Global Teacher and Student Survey indicates that teachers put in an average of 50 hours a week of additional effort. Along with management responsibilities, the increased workload of lesson preparation work includes tedious administrative tasks like ongoing lesson material compilation and worksheet creation, etc. These time-consuming but necessary tasks take up a lot of time that would be better spent educating and evaluating students’ performance to identify the learning gaps.

No matter how big or small, School automation is essential for efficient management. The necessity of the hour is for seamless administration, whether it be in a traditional setting or an online classroom supplied by NEP 2020 and the pandemic. For an institution to succeed, you need technology-enabled administration. A smart LMS is also beneficial for administrators since it streamlines and simplifies the day-to-day tasks of school administration.

ERP solutions

With the aid of a centralised database system, the New-Age automation solution reduces redundant data entry, which is essential for seamless school management. Schools can work with a data-driven strategy and smoothly manage operations remotely by implementing ERP software. The technological solution also enables educational institutions to meet the needs of both students and parents. The students not only have access to top-notch educational opportunities, but even the parents receive real-time updates on their children’s academic progress and continuing activities. With the use of modern technology, schools have been able to realise their goal of going completely paperless!

Additionally, the classic report card format has been modernised thanks to ERP technologies. The teachers and parents may easily access and use the electronic report cards to identify pupils who are falling behind academically and provide them with the assistance they require.

Interactive learning through automation

The core intellectual engine of a school is the classroom. Carefully shaping and cultivating the teacher-student connection is necessary to help the students feel at ease.

The use of automation as a solution has significantly improved students’ educational experiences. By splitting lesson plans according to students’ classes, it provides students with streamlined, technologically advanced learning. To make it simple for parents to monitor their child’s progress, the programme even allows teachers to customise lesson plans based on students’ exam schedules and provides a thorough status report.

Automates mundane administrative process

Automation can greatly assist school management by turning the entire facility into an online and digital environment. In the past, fee management entailed physically updating a ledger, either offline or online. However, the complete charge management structure can be automated with the aid of a fee management system, virtually eliminating the human effort involved in fee collection and related grievance redressal. To ensure prompt payment of the fees by the parents, the ERP software also sends reminders at the appropriate times along with payment links. Modern technology allows parents several options for fee payment by credit card, debit card, or net banking and effortlessly interacts with payment gateways.

In the current era, when physical education has fallen out of favour and online learning, hybrid learning, and virtual classrooms have taken centre stage. Automation has been a blessing in disguise and has assisted in effectively bridging the gaps between schools, parents, and students. It is becoming the new norm for schools, offering a wide range of advantages and experiencing a boom in acceptance.

(Harshil Gala, CEO, Navneet Toptech (100 percent subsidiary of Navneet Education Limited)

LEARNERS from six schools across the Joe Gqabi District Municipality and surrounding areas took part in the Inter-Departmental Learner Dialogue by the The Eastern Cape Department of Education together with the Department of Social Development, and the Eastern Cape AIDS Council (ECAC) recently.

ECAC leads in the coordination of World AIDS day commemoration. Interdepartmental dialogue was one of the build up events which precedes the world AIDS day. The buildup aimed at raising awareness and to get the youth and entire community to converse on HIV/AIDS, TB, STI, LGBTQI+ and other social behavioural issues and focus on the implementation of CSE.

Maletswai learners entertained the crowd with educational performances which were then followed by the DOE Debate which was facilitated by the Learner Support Agents (LSA).

The debate topic was: The Department strives to have healthy schools which are inclusive centers for learning and teaching, and accommodative to LGBTQI+ community. Learners debated on whether LGBTQIA+ community should be accommodated in schools or not.

The second dialogue was led by Department of Social Development, Social Worker, Noxolo Hendricks, who is a facilitator of “YOLO” which is a Social and Behaviour Change Programme targeting youth between the ages 15-24 years, both in and out of school.

“YOLO has 5 building blocks with 12 sessions. Today we implemented in Session 7: Risky Behaviours. The purpose of the program is to change Social and individual behaviors to reduce issues of HIV transmission, STI and teenage pregnancy”, said Hendricks.

Grade 8 learner from Mehlomakhulu SS School in Hersherl, Okuhle Tapane, who took part in the learner dialogue said that from the Risky Behaviours topic, she learned that learners are always trying to impress friends and end up getting involved with older men who promise to buy them nice things and a fancy lifestyle.

“I believe that this leads to unprotected sex and being infected with diseases. I would advise learners to focus on school and self love, money won’t buy you happiness or help you progress in school” said Tapane.

Acting Director, School Health, Safety and Learner Enrichment, Pam Gxuluwe stated that it is the duty of the directorate to oversee the health of learners and to make sure that children perform well at school.

“Today’s programme is very important in  building awareness on World AIDS Day and understanding what the day is all about. We have learners that are affected and infected by HIV/AIDS, some were born with it and some lost their parents to HIV/AIDS.

Living with a parent who’s HIV+ can be hard on children and can badly affect their performance at school. This is why we implemented this programme as a tool to empower and educate them that living with HIV/Aids is not the end of the world.”

She added that the learner dialogues will help children to talk about their experiences and challenges. It will help them heal and know that there are others living with the same conditions and where to go for help.

Siphosethu Zimba| Eastern Cape Education News

THE National Student Financial Aid Scheme reportedly spent over R12 billion on student accommodation, but many students have been living in unfavourable housing conditions that are taking forever to be resolved and improved.

CEO of the NSFAS, Andile Nongogo, says NSFAS spends a significant amount of money on student accommodation and should therefore have a significant influence on how that money is spent.

Therefore, NSFAS has decided to take a proactive role in regards to student accommodation for students funded by the bursary scheme.

Nongogo said this would be done through the scheme’s administration of the entire student accommodation approach, as well as increasing student accommodation capacity for NSFAS beneficiaries.

“Last year, we spent approximately 12 billion [Rand] on student accommodation, yet we had no say in costings and we were not part of the process of accrediting accommodation. The decision was made for NSFAS to be fully involved in the process to manage costs and prevent susceptible fraudulent instances”, said the CEO.

Accommodation is a major concern for students who are NSFAS beneficiaries, as there is a frequent struggle to secure a place at campus or private residence’s, due to the common shortages of university accommodation.

In order to curve some of the difficulties students face when trying to find accommodation, NSFAS is in the process of creating a “Student Accommodation Portal.”

The portal will reportedly allow the accreditation of accommodation providers, grading of the proposed accommodation, assigning the cost-based grading, and allocating accommodation to students.

Additionally, students will be able to log queries on the portal related to their allocated accommodation, such as maintenance and relocation requests. This process will apply to both privately and institution-owned accommodation.

The creation of this Portal would be to ensure that places of residences meet the requirements to properly be accredited by deploying a team to assess the state of accommodation registered on the portal.

“As part of the consultative process, NSFAS held a student accommodation summit in June 2022 and Public, Private Partnerships (PPPs) on student accommodation provision was one of the topics that took Centre stage,” he stressed.

NSFAS will provide accommodation funds based on the grading system residences would have to undergo. This process will also allow NSFAS to determine and decide what it is prepared to pay, thus making savings in the process. NSFAS will work with DHET and DBSA (as it has a model to determine the cost) in assigning costs to grades.

Although students may find success when it comes to finding and securing accommodation, the living conditions make the experience unbearable.

The University of Zululand (UniZulu) serves as one such example.

Complaints of “inhumane” conditions in reference to student accommodation, struggles to find accommodation, and compromised safety while at off-campus residences have been plaguing the thousands of students at the university.

The gloomy conditions students find themselves living in have made their university experience unbearable. The students have said that not only was their accommodation uncomfortable, but it has also affected their ability to study.

Most toilets have no doors and electrical wiring hangs loose from the ceiling in the bathrooms. Students have complained that there was no hot water to shower, and that on some weekends, the electricity trips and they were left without power to cook and charge their phones until the Monday, when someone would arrive to fix it.

A room meant for two people now houses six, students do not have desks, have to cook in the rooms because there are no communal kitchens and only have two tiny cabinets to store their groceries and clothes.

On top of the stressful living conditions, students also live in fear of the crime in the area, worried for their safety as they are targeted by criminals.

“You can’t study here. We just come here to eat and sleep and study at the library. But the library closes at 11pm. And sometimes you want to come back and study, but you find someone chilling with their friends and you can’t chase them away, or you find another person cooking. It’s just chaotic. It’s hell, actually,” said one of the students.

In order to deal with the situation of students who are stranded or otherwise living in unfavourable accommodation conditions, the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) has taken steps to ensure that the institution builds more residences by undertaking a feasibility study.

NSFAS beneficiaries are often last on institutions’ accommodation lists due to the perception of non- or late payment.

To avoid this, a potential beneficiary will be required to indicate whether they are in need of accommodation when they apply for funding. Once registered at an institution, they will be required to upload their proof of registration on the portal and will be assigned accommodation.

This process will consider issues of proximity to campus, especially for first-year students, with the aim of providing certainty to students regarding accommodation, ideally before they leave home in pursuit of their studies.

Skillsportal

WENDY MOTHATA

Community violence often gives rise to subsets of associated violence that impact on schools, according to Gauteng MEC of Education, Matome Chiloane.

Chiloane was speaking at the department’s school safety indaba held in Boksburg on Saturday.

He said that schools in violent communities often exhibit traits of violence.

He said these are schools wherein learners attend with very life-threatening weapons such as knives, pangas and, in some instances, pistols.

“It’s important that as we address the topical matter of school safety, we must not do so devoid of context,” said Chiloane, adding that schools are a microcosm of their communities.

“By implication, a school will always reflect the community in its immediate environs. In a way, what transpires in our communities will, without fail, manifest itself in our schools.”

Chiloane said non-violent communities breed peaceful schools, while “the contrary is also true.”

“Another example is that communities where drugs are easily accessible and substance abuse is rife will invariably have a spillover effect on our schools,” he said.

The MEC said that the Department must find a way to cushion schools from social ills that are troubling the communities.

“It goes without saying that social ills such as violence and substance abuse cannot coexist with a conducive, quality learning and teaching environment.”

“The learner to learner and learner to teacher violence that is now so prevalent because it is usually captured on phones and made to trend on social media must be condemned with all the contempt it deserves. It is for this reason that when dealing with possible solutions to school safety, we will need a collaborative, holistic, and comprehensive approach that involves all stakeholders.”

“These solutions must not just be limited to infrastructure safety, they must also include how we will ensure the safety of our learners, educators, and the entire school community at large.”

As part of the immediate interventions, Chiloane said almost all the no fee schools will have a minimum of four patrollers keeping the schools safe during the imminent holidays.

“In total, we will have 5378 patrollers deployed to our schools, and the visible policing (VISPOL) unit has also been alerted to pay particular attention to the 245 identified hotspots.”

Chiloane used the opportunity to address the backlog of school infrastructure in the province.

“I feel compelled to also share that to address the backlog of school infrastructure in the province, the Department has introduced a Self-Build program. This program enables schools that are competent and able to build additional classrooms to accommodate the needs of the school.”

“Through this program, we will cumulatively upgrade and refurbish 100 schools by the end of this term of office. This program sees the department transfer funds directly to schools, and this fund is then managed by our principals.”

INSIDE EDUCATION

South Africa’s skills policies are not in line with its environmental commitments and the country needs to significantly improve its technical and vocational education and training (TVET) ecosystem to produce the skills required to develop and capitalise on the just transition.

“Environmental challenges are cross-cutting issues. They do not belong to one sector, and the transition involves multiple systems, but our skills system does not have the capacity to deal with cross-cutting skills requirements,” University of the Witswatersrand Future of Work Programme research centre director Presha Ramsarup said this week.

Part of the aim of the Future of Work Programme is to develop a mechanism to coordinate the development of green and just transition skills.

“We are working to determine how jobs will change. Employers do not understand what about a job will change. South Africa needs to develop employer, sectoral and system level tools for sector education and training authorities to identify changes in skills requirements and adapt training courses in line with the needs of industry,” she said.

For example, the centre is investigating whether domain knowledge within occupations is changing, whether the materials, tools, products and services in occupation are changing and, from this, whether the researchers can define what occupational changes will be, Ramsarup noted.

“This will help us to identify hotspot areas where jobs are starting to change. From this, occupational analysis and research will help to inform skills planning methods and models required for a just transition.”

Meanwhile, energy industry organisation the South African National Energy Association (SANEA) conducted a desktop study of more than 200 reports relating to South Africa’s skills and education systems.

“South Africa does not have an integrated view of what is needed to support the just climate transition, although many skills are common across many of the technologies, including renewables energy generation and green hydrogen for example,” said SANEA secretary-general Wendy Poulton.

The skills interventions are also not market-driven, neither are they based on value chains, she added.

“South Africa’s economy is also coal-based and the impact of the energy transition will be much bigger than for less carbon-intensive economies. From our research, we are seeing that the energy skills gap is widening amid deteriorating energy security. These are significant issues for South Africa in terms of climate change adaption and decarbonisation,” she said.

There are a few no-regret options open to the country that are common in all the modelled scenarios, namely increasing renewable energy generation and energy efficiency measures, as well as a drive to prosumerism, Poulton highlighted.

However, questions about the timing of changes in the energy market remain, including when and how green hydrogen will be introduced amid declining coal and oil use.

“Lots of skills are required no matter what scenario or pathway is taken,” she noted.

Sectoral master plans can help role-players understand what the future demand will be, said Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) hydrogen and energy chief director Dr Rebecca Maserumule.

Understanding the demand for skills is necessary to ensure that the education and training system is responsive to the needs of the labour market and reduces mismatches, concurred Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) system monitoring and labour market intelligence director Mamphoku Khuluvhe.

“We need to ensure that skills are not a constraint to growth of the economy and specific economic sectors, nor to our efforts to address climate change,” she said.

Cooperation with industries to identify sectors that will be affected by the energy and climate transition of the economy is critical, and value chains must be included to ensure all stakeholders are part of the transition, Khuluvhe said.

“We need to think about what processes need to be in place to enable people to find employment in the short-, medium- and long-term, as the economy and economic sectors transition,” she emphasised.

It is critical that the TVET system be an active part of the transition in order to match the changes in industry with changes in education and training, noted Maserumule.

A green hydrogen development document, developed in cooperation with the DHET and SANEA, showed that, if South Africa were to move to using its sunshine and wind to produce green hydrogen and use it in many sectors, it could create up to 3.2-million jobs in the economy, with the highest number of jobs being created in the green iron and steel industry, followed by the platinum group metals sector and then the power generation sector.

“TVET colleges can be a critical enabler of the hydrogen economy. For example, the green hydrogen economy can revive the iron and steel sector, but we need to develop a clear master plan and need to understand how to transition education and training to develop new skills or reskill employees,” Maserumule illustrated, based on Hydrogen Society projections.

“We need to ensure adequate and sustained funding for TVET colleges, so that students can become the green artisans and technicians that we need.

“This will require capacitating colleges, improving governance within them and the TVET system, and ensuring accountability across the national departments responsible for progress, including the DHET and DSI,” she emphasised.

Meanwhile, funding for skills development to underpin a just climate transition is a global challenge, said United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) policies and lifelong learning systems director Borhene Chakroun.

“Green funds and economic stimulus packages for green transitions, such as that extended to South Africa, typically include allocations for education and training that are less than 3% of the total funding available. Therefore, it is important to speak about how green transition resources are allocated,” he said.

Attention is being paid to funding the green economy, but less so for education and training, which has implications for greening initiatives.

Further, and importantly, Unesco research has indicated that the first 1 000 days of a child’s life are critical, and investments must include foundational education and early childhood development, Chakroun emphasised.

Universities also play an important role in the green transition, in terms of research, experimentation and innovation, as well as to irrigate and feed the broader education system with skills and educators, he added.

However, there is little articulation of what feeder jobs will allow people to transition to new jobs in a green economy, noted Ramsarup.

South Africa’s national plans and sectoral master plans must think about occupational pathways for students entering the industry and for those currently employed, thereby avoiding graduates not having the required skills for future jobs and employees not being able to move to new jobs, she advised.

Engineering News