South Africa

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Access to FET colleges need to increase

September 10, 2010 in Education, South Africa | No comments

Minister of Higher Education and Training Blade Nzimande

Access to Further Education and Training (FET) colleges need to expand to meet the demand for increased training opportunities, says Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande.

“Enrollment at FET colleges must be expanded substantially if we are to come anywhere close to meeting both the need for mid-level skills and the demand from youth for increased training opportunities,” Nzimande said at the National Skills Summit on Thursday.

Nzimande said that while the department was mindful of the need to maintain and improve the quality of education and training, they must also be bold in expanding enrolment of such opportunities without compromising quality.

He said South Africa currently suffers from high unemployment and a shortage of critical skills needed to drive economic growth and social development.

“The skills shortage underpins many of the challenges government faces with regard to service delivery, the expansion of decent work and social justice.

“There is both anecdotal and empirical evidence of skills shortage in a number of occupations and economic sectors within South Africa. It is clear that there is a tangible problem arising from the mismatch between the supply and demand for skills in the South African labour market,” Nzimande said.

He announced that in a few weeks, the National Skills Development Strategy III, the overarching strategic instrument for skills development will be implemented to guide sector planning for the next five years.

The two-day summit brought together all relevant constituencies and stakeholders for a consultative engagement on the skills challenge, including the mismatch between the supply of and demand for skills in the labour market.

Among the issues to be discussed at the summit are the minister’s performance agreement which include the establishment of a credible institutional mechanism for skills planning, increase access to intermediate and high level learning for youth and adults, who do not meet entry requirement for post school programmes.

The outputs will also include increased access to occupationally directed programmes in needed areas with special focus on artisan training, increase access to high level skills in target areas such as in the fields of engineering, animal and health sciences, physical and life sciences and teacher education as well as research, development and innovation in human capital for a growing knowledge economy.

Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, who chairs the Human Resource Development Council, will in the evening outline government’s systematic response to the country’s skills challenge.

Source: BuaNews, idc.co.za, ucf.org.za,

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SA a top 20 priority global investment destination

September 9, 2010 in Global Trends, South Africa | No comments

South Africa ranks nineteenth in a league table of “top priority host economies” for foreign direct investment (FDI), which was released on Monday as part of the latest ‘World Investment Prospects Survey 2010-2012′ compiled by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) – hitherto, South Africa had fallen outside the top 20.

The yearly survey is based on responses to a questionnaire from 236 transnational corporations (TNCs) and 116 investment promotion agencies (IPAs).


The survey results showed that there was renewed optimism being expressed by TNCs and IPAs about prospects for FDI in 2010, pointing to a likely recovery from the recession-induced slumps of 2008 and 2009. The results also indicated that there could be further FDI growth in 2011 and 2012

As was the case in 2009, China headed the ranking of the top priority host economies for FDI, followed by India, Brazil, the US and Russia.


It was also the first time that the four major emerging markets (China, India, Brazil and Russia) all ranked among the top five investment destinations.

Unctad noted the continued rise of developing Asia’s relative importance as host for FDI, with six countries among the top 15, as against five in the 2009 survey.


By contrast, the attractiveness of developed countries declined slightly, with only six countries ranking among the top 15, with countries such as the UK and Australia moving down the list – the UK fell to seventh from sixth, while Australia declined from eighth to thirteenth.

The survey results, Unctad said, indicated that the global economic crisis had been less destructive to FDI than had been feared. “While investment budgets, including those for FDI, were squeezed during the crisis, TNCs did not engage in wholesale divestment of their foreign affiliates.”


The crisis did, however, accentuate the shifting in the geographical focus by TNCs from developed to developing and transition economies.

Further, of the leading 20 most promising investor countries nearly one-half were developing and transition economies. China occupied second spot, behind the US, and ahead of Germany, the UK and France – India ranked sixth and Russia ninth.


Developing country TNCs were more optimistic in the short-term about the global business environment and their investment prospects than their developed country counterparts. TNCs from developing countries, especially developing Asia, anticipate a stronger growth of their FDI expenditures from 2009 to 2012 than those from developed countries, especially Europe.

Global FDI inflows slumped by 37% to $1,1-trillion in 2009, having already fallen in 2008 from the record of around $2,1-trillion achieved in 2007.


Unctad reported in July that there were signs of a pick-up in FDI flows since the second quarter of 2009, but that it was not clear that a rebound in FDI was under way. Nevertheless, it was forecasting a “slow recovery” in FDI in 2010 and that the flows would gain momentum in 2011.

The survey found that 43% of respondents intended increasing their international investment expenditures in 2010 as compared with the low levels of 2009, while 58% of respondents predicted increases in 2011 and 2012.


“On the basis of the findings of the survey, as well as other indicators of TNC and FDI activity, Unctad estimates the level of FDI inflows in 2011 to reach a range of $1,3- to $1,5-trillion, rising in 2012 to between $1,6 and $2-trillion,” the survey stated.

FDI growth prospects for the medium term are considered better for the primary and services sectors than for manufacturing.

To download World Investment Prospects Survey 2010-2012 report Click Here

Source: unctad.org, mediaclubsouthafrica.com, engineeringnews.co.za

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South Africa Foreign visitors surge in 2010

September 6, 2010 in South Africa, Tourism and Travel | No comments

Foreign visitors to South Africa had risen by more than 350 000 for the first four months of this year as compared to the same period in 2009, Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk said.

Speaking ahead of the launch of the annual Tourism Month on Thursday, Van Schalkwyk said from January to April this year foreign arrivals totalled more than 2.5 million, compared to approximately 2.2 million in 2009, representing a growth of 16.3 percent.

Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk

“Our foreign arrivals continue to reflect the consistent growth of our tourism industry and I have no doubt that 2010 is going to be a very successful year,” he said, adding that the department expected 2010 to be a strong year in tourism, amongst others due to the recent World Cup.


“We have always understood, however, that the backbone of any tourism industry is its domestic market. We will continue to promote the richness of our destination to South African travellers and during Tourism Month we have a particular focus on showcasing our local tourism offerings,” he said.


Approximately 14.6 million adult South Africans undertook about 30 million domestic trips in 2009, with a total annual spend of more than R22 billion. In 2009, 75 percent of all tourist volume in South Africa was derived from domestic tourists, making it by far the biggest segment of the industry. Van Schalkwyk said the figures are also less volatile than foreign tourism and offer the industry and the country’s economy a steady income stream.


“South African Tourism’s (SAT) Sho’t Left campaign is specifically aimed at making travelling more accessible and affordable for all South Africans. Over the last six years we have invested approximately R70 million… this significant investment reiterates the fact that we are serious about strengthening domestic tourism as the foundation of our industry.”


South Africa celebrates Tourism Month annually in September and will also commemorate World Tourism Day on 27 September, with this year’s theme being “Tourism and Biodiversity”.


“In South Africa, the majority of our tourism offerings are rich in biodiversity. It is important for each and every South African to preserve this in order to ensure that we have a sustainable tourism offering,” explained SAT CEO Thandiwe January Maclean.

Source: BuaNews, fsa.tamu.edu, iufost2010.org.za, treehugger.com, careersoverseas.org

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SA needs to do business differently to succeed

September 3, 2010 in Skills Development, South Africa | No comments

Minister of Mining Ms Susan Shabangu

If South Africa is to succeed in extracting maximum benefits from its mineral endowment it must do business differently, says Mineral and Resources Minister Susan Shabangu.

“We cannot continue to mine and export ore and other raw materials for processing elsewhere, as this limit the benefits we can derive from the exploitation of our resources,” she said.

Speaking at the Africa Down Under Conference held in Australia on Wednesday, Shabangu said there was a need to increase value addition to minerals before they are exported, in line with government’s new industrialisation priorities.

“This will present enormous investment opportunities in the country for both South African and foreign investors. We, however, need to enlist the support of strategic international partners to facilitate skills and technology transfer for the benefit of local beneficiation,” the minister said.

Shabangu said the shortage of skilled human capital, particularly of mining engineers, technicians and inspectors, not only poses a major threat to the sustainable growth of the South African mining industry but also contributes to fatalities and injuries sustained in the industry.

“We have had to seriously examine our options in order to find effective solutions to deal with the challenge of skills shortage,” she said.

Among other things, the conference seeks to provide an excellent opportunity to strengthen commercial links in the sector.

Africa Down Under is one of the foremost international mining industry events focused on Africa.

Source: BuaNews, info.gov.za, mining.mines.edu

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Flex your science and tech muscle to help win SKA bid

September 1, 2010 in Science and Technology, South Africa | No comments

South Africans have been urged to help the country win the bid to host the world largest radio telescope, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), by highlighting their science and technology strengths.

Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor made this plea at the CSIR Biennial Conference on Tuesday in Pretoria.

Science and Technology Minister, Naledi Pandor

“In the run-up to the vital decision about who will host the SKA, all of us must make an effort to showcase our strong science and production capabilities across all of the areas that are required for the SKA to run successfully. We need to highlight that such a project has the power to strengthen science, technology, and innovation in Africa,” she said.

The minister added that all had a role to play in strengthening the bid, including researchers, the media and local industry.


South Africa and Australia are the only two countries shortlisted to host the SKA – poised to be by far the largest radio telescope in the world. SKA funders are expected to announce the host country in March 2012.

If South Africa wins the bid it would consolidate Africa as a major hub for astronomy in the world.


The core of the telescope will be located in Carnarvon in the Northern Cape, with about three antenna stations in Namibia, four in Botswana and one each in Mozambique, Mauritius, Madagascar, Ghana, Kenya and Zambia. Each antenna station will consist of about 30 to 40 individual antennae.


The minister said the SKA was a science project that offered immense opportunities for advancing technology development, engineering and innovation in areas that range from computing and information and communication technology, as well as the development of new materials to construct the satellite dishes, right through to innovative energy solutions to power the SKA.

Source: BuaNews, futuretimeline.net, salt.ac.za,

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