Development Southern Africa

ISSN: 0376-835X (Print) 1470-3637 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cdsa20

Skills in South Africa: The journey towards credible

planning

Marcus Powell, Vijay Reddy & Andrea Juan

To cite this article: Marcus Powell, Vijay Reddy & Andrea Juan (2016) Skills in South Africa: The
journey towards credible planning, Development Southern Africa, 33:3, 298-311

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0376835X.2016.1153456

Published online: 21 Jun 2016.

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 DEVELOPMENT SOUTHERN AFRICA, 2016
VOL. 33, NO. 3, 298–311
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0376835X.2016.1153456

Skills in South Africa: The journey towards credible planning

Marcus Powella, Vijay Reddyb and Andrea Juanc
a
Director, Centre for Employment Initiatives, United Kingdom, Llangollen, UK; bExecutive Director, Education
and Skills Development, Human Sciences Research Council, South Africa; cResearch Specialist, Education and
Skills Development, Human Sciences Research Council, South Africa

ABSTRACT KEYWORDS
Since 1994 the state has instituted active labour market policies to Skills planning mechanism;
redress the apartheid skills legacy. The skills planning challenge labour market intelligence;
continues to be how to coordinate efforts for the provision of the South Africa; skills supply and
right skills to support inclusive economic growth, ensuring an demand
alignment is achieved between what is required in the labour
market and the supply from the education and training system.
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This article traces the South African journey of skills planning from
late apartheid until the current time period in 2014 through a
historical analysis of the political economy. The analysis reflects on
the relationship between state formation in South Africa and the
role of the state in directing skills development, and in the more
recent period how skills planning responds to both the demands
of the economy and ameliorating the historical legacies of
education and skills exclusion.

1. Introduction
The key research question addressed in this article is what role the South African state has
played and should play in supporting an effective and credible skills planning mechanism.
The term credible means that the planning mechanism is capable of achieving the func-
tions originally intended, especially around accurately identifying skill demand and
helping to ensure that a match is achieved with the skill from the education and training
system. At the heart of this debate is the government’s need to support employment and
economic growth in defined priority areas, and the important role played by skills devel-
opment in facilitating these processes. The accurate identification and subsequent devel-
opment of skills can improve labour market access and enable people to raise their income
levels. This raises the questions of what type of mechanism is required to identify skills in
demand and translate this intelligence into supply.
Pre 1994, South Africa used manpower planning to serve the needs of a small minority
(McGrath, 2004:12). Since the end of apartheid significant reforms have occurred in the
skills development landscape, with extensive reforms occurring in the post-1994 period,
and again in the post-2009 period. During the former of these periods, emphasis was
given to redress the imbalances of apartheid and to move towards a more inclusive

CONTACT Marcus Powell marcus@cei-international.org Centre for Employment Initiatives, United Kingdom,
Llangollen, UK.
© 2016 Government Technical Advisory Centre (GTAC)
 DEVELOPMENT SOUTHERN AFRICA 299

pattern of skills development. This involved attempts at setting up an initial skills planning
mechanism, essentially as an information system. The later period of reforms attempted to
ensure synergies occurred between identification of skill demand and the provision of edu-
cation and training, helping to move towards a more responsive delivery system.
This article critically reviews the skills planning mechanism and information system
during each of these periods against the landscape of the changing nature and function
of the state. Using the lessons from the past South African and international experiences,
the last part of the article proposes a conceptual and practical approach to skills planning
in South Africa. This historical analysis of the political economy for each period is impor-
tant since policies are shaped by internal and external economic and ideological forces.
These are, in turn, influenced by the numerous, complex historical legacies that influence
contemporary debates (Busemeyer & Trampusch, 2012:3).
Skills planning involves two interrelated processes (Green et al., 1999:86). The first of
these are the labour market information systems and processes associated with data col-
lection, analysis and the production of labour market intelligence. The second process is
how this labour market intelligence is utilised by a range of actors to inform planning pro-
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cesses at the national and sector levels for skills development, especially around how
resources are invested to produce occupations that have an identified demand. These pro-
cesses and systems do not operate in a vacuum, and it is important to understand that they
are influenced by developments in the wider political economy, including the govern-
ment’s approach to managing the economy and political support for skills development,
as well as the accompanying institutional structures (Green, 2013:162).
There is a growing body of research on skills development, but there is very little theor-
etical knowledge about skills planning and the science related to the identification of the
appropriate set of skills needed for any society and economy and the subsequent trans-
lation into supply. South Africa has attempted skills planning initiatives and the
purpose of this article is to contribute theoretically to this field of skills planning.

2. Approach of this study

The objective of this article is to explain the relationship between state formation in South
Africa and the role played by the state in supporting skills development, particularly
around the mechanism for skills planning and how this links to the country’s wider
socio-economic and political development. An historical analysis was undertaken of
three key periods in South African history where significant reforms to skills planning
occurred: during later apartheid, the immediate post-apartheid period 1994–2008, and
the period 2009 onwards.
Four main approaches were used to collect and collate data and validate the analyses,
including: a review of relevant reports, documents and policies; interviews with key infor-
mants who worked in skills planning in South Africa; a series of workshops to engage with
the findings; and the personal experience of one of the authors who played a role in the
development of the skills planning mechanism in South Africa during the post-apartheid
period from 1999 until 2003. Using the historical approach provided the opportunity to
learn from past approaches to skills planning and to offer reflections on how to develop
a more inclusive mechanism for skills planning that supports the country’s socio-econ-
omic development in a strategic and pro-active manner.
 300 M. POWELL ET AL.

The focus of this argument is on mid-level skills development, typically characterised

by technician and middle-management occupations. This skill level was chosen because
of its assumed importance in facilitating development amongst middle and upper-
income countries like South Africa.

3. State intervention in skills planning

There are a number of theoretical debates concerning skills development, most of which
account for why countries follow certain pathways for skills development and why some
approaches are more successful than in other countries (Busemeyer &Trampusch, 2012:3).
Successful approaches can be explained by a country’s development path, the type of insti-
tutional structures established by the government, the relationship between capital and
labour, as well as the state’s role in supporting relationships between the different
actors involved in skills development (Sung & Raddon, 2014:5). Developing countries
in Latin America and Africa, and to a lesser extent Asia, as opposed to their western
counterparts, have been more inclined to focus upon political reform, often at the
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expense of longer national and economic development.1 However, what is neglected in

this literature is the complex role played by the state in mediating the relationship
between the different actors and institutional structures, and the role(s) skills planning
should play in these processes. Put simply, at a national level skills planning is ultimately
concerned with the role of the state in the labour market and the degree of intervention or
control to promote skills planning.
Current research and theoretical approaches for understanding these issues have fluc-
tuated between advocating strong, interventionist states and states that have a lighter
touch. Under the lighter approach the state has a minimal role, intervening only when
markets fail (Sung & Raddon, 2014:2). Normally, this intervention would attempt to
ensure that a better match is achieved between the demand and supply of skills. The
nature of the strong interventionist state in skills development is more complex and it
is possible to distinguish between two different approaches to managing policies. The
interventionist state can act in a more strategic manner, anticipating change and respond-
ing with appropriate investments in skills development before skills shortages or gaps
occur (Ashton et al., 2002:6). In contrast, state intervention can be more bureaucratic
and drive the skills agenda according to rigid pre-defined national targets or frameworks,
regardless of which changes are taking place in the economy or what is actually required
(Sung & Raddon, 2014:5).
Relying on individual rationality to choose to pursue skills will not in all likelihood
result in a skills pool that is in line with the developmental needs of a country (Green,
2013:144). Similarly, relying on the market is not likely to result in an optimal balance
between investments in skills that lead to productivity and growth, especially inclusive
growth and investment in skills that respond to the short-term needs of the market. In
developing and middle-income countries this situation is more extreme since markets
are much more distorted and not likely to result in resources being invested to tackle stra-
tegic needs (Green et al., 1999:86). The assumption is that the state is better positioned to
1
It should be noted that the South East Asian Tigers are an exception to this rule because they combined political and
economic reforms.
 DEVELOPMENT SOUTHERN AFRICA 301

perceive the nature of skills demand as it would have access to superior labour market
information. This allows the state to develop longer-term, strategic plans and to
support interventions that are more likely to benefit the wider society. In addition, the
state should have the necessary power to modify the skills demand should the need
arise (Green 2013:156).
The debates surrounding education and skill achievements are multifaceted and Green
(2013) attempts to explain them in terms of policy frameworks, with some being more
appropriate than others in certain contexts (2013:141). Green argues for the need to
develop a framework that integrates social and economic perspectives on skills and the
skilled worker. Using this approach, Green emphasises the need to understand that
markets exist for skills and how these co-exist with a market for skill formation. This
dual approach allows for a full consideration of the supply and demand components
that influence skills and skill formation in any country.
Other more multi-disciplinary approaches have been developed to help explain how
education policies can result in different outcomes. The most noticeable piece of work
is by Busemeyer & Trampusch (2012), who argue that there is a need to move beyond
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the narrow political economy approach because education outcomes are influenced by a
variety of factors besides political actors. Instead they emphasise the significance of under-
standing in detail the governance of education systems and how public policies impact on
the distribution of authority and power within a country’s education systems. They also
emphasise the significance of not only cultural and socio-economic factors, but the influ-
ence of what they call international pressures. Busemeyer & Trampusch (2012:4) point to
the political and historical foundation of education systems and how they should be
explored together; one should not be excluded at the expense of the other.
A narrow instrumentalist approach to skills development (human capital development)
has been criticised by many commentators. Removing the sociological aspect from the
skills development process, especially in the South African context, would be very limiting.
The human development accounts of skill formation as a tool for fostering social justice,
transformation and democratic citizenship is argued by Vally & Motala (2014). The
authors argue that a ‘narrow, reductive and economic determinist perspective which is
today the dominant approach drowning out important ideas on education and society
must be rejected’ (2014:16). Any analysis of education and skills development must
examine questions of unequal power and its impact and the underlying structural impedi-
ments which are barriers to change.

3.1 Models of skills planning

State intervention in skills planning can vary depending on the extent of centralisation of
decision-making and the degree of coordination employed. The centralisation of decision-
making refers to the formalisation of state control through laws, rules, judicial decisions
and administrative practices that constrain, prescribe and enable the planning of skills
for the labour market (Kooiman &Van Vliet, 1993:64). We identify three models of
skills planning based on the type of state intervention therein.
The first model refers to the strong interventionist states in Asia (Singapore, Korea,
Taiwan) that have been strategic in their approaches to match skills supply and
demand whilst still pursuing the redress agenda (Green, 2013:159). Such examples
 302 M. POWELL ET AL.

highlight the importance of the socio-economic and political contexts of the country in
question (Ashton et al., 2002:6). In such contexts, the traditional market-failure approach
proved to be inadequate. Here, the state assumes responsibility for the country’s human
resource development process and in so doing they can determine the most suitable
path for the country’s growth patterns, taking into account society’s varied needs
(Green et al., 1999:87). At the heart of the developmental state approach is an identifi-
cation of the priority sectors for future development, as well as the type of skills that
need to be produced by the country’s education and training system. The developmental
state approach also assumes that alignments are achieved between strategies for growth
and those for education and skills development. Another key assumption of the develop-
mental state approach is the neutrality of the civil servants working in the system and the
commitment of employers to middle-level skills in the country’s priority sectors (Ashton
et al., 2002:6).
The second model is the Scandinavian or Nordic social partnership model adopted by
countries such as Sweden, the Netherlands and Finland (Green, 2013:156). In this model,
all decisions that impact on human resource development are agreed upon by social part-
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ners, ensuring that a consensus is reached on the most suitable policies for human
resource development and their subsequent implementation.
Finally, the sector-based model has been used by countries, such as the USA, the United
Kingdom and Canada, to deliver their skills-based strategies. This approach involves an
attempt to understand the direction of priority sectors and to help ensure that skills are
aligned to such development (Green, 2013:157). The typical characteristics of the
sector-based approach are an identification of a number of priority sectors for support,
the establishment of sector bodies involving stakeholders and the development of strat-
egies that influence the quality and type of skills developed (Sung et al., 2006:53).
The present article incorporates the methodological and conceptual issues, especially
those around the need for a multi-disciplinary approach to explain, analyse and unpack
the journey towards credible planning for skills planning. This involves placing the
debate in historical context, tracing how approaches to planning have been shaped by dis-
tinct periods in South Africa’s history. A political economy dimension is also used to
account for how different actors have shaped these approaches to planning, as well as
how the relationship to the state and the education system have changed over time. An
added dimension of our approach is that it contributes towards the existing knowledge
focusing upon South Africa. The vast majority of existing approaches have researched tra-
ditional advanced industrialised countries or the Tiger economies of South East Asia, and
none have focused upon approaches to skills planning and how this has changed over time
in the South African context.

4. The skills planning mechanisms in South Africa for three periods (late
apartheid, 1994–2009, 2009–present)
Considerable effort has been placed on the development of a skills planning mechanism,
both during the apartheid period and following the transition to a democratic society.
Three distinctive approaches to skills planning can be identified in South Africa, each
of which reflects the ideology, composition, aspirations and institutional structures
involved in skills planning at these three points in the country’s development.
 DEVELOPMENT SOUTHERN AFRICA 303

Considerable differences existed between approaches to skills planning in the apartheid

and post-apartheid period, reflecting shifts in the desire of the new democratic state to
be more developmental and inclusive. However, as the analysis will show there is signifi-
cant divergence between the state’s desire to adopt an inclusive skills path to development
and the reality, partly reflecting the ambitious nature of government plans, limited
capacity amongst those involved in these processes and inappropriate assumptions over
how this mechanism would operate.
Within each of these periods there were and are defined structures to support planning,
but there are no formalised mechanisms to articulate the skills planning process. Our analy-
sis interprets what constitutes the approach to skills planning during each of these periods
and identifies the extent to which the state facilitated the development of a formal planning
mechanism, the institutional structures involved in this process as well as the degree of
coordination among such institutions. The impact of the wider political economy within
each of these three periods is also analysed, especially around how the government
managed the economy and the degree of perceived political support for skills development.
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4.1 Skills planning in the late apartheid period

Under apartheid the relationship between the state and skills formation was relatively
straightforward. The key to understanding this relationship was the structures and policies
of the state and the small number of white elite who controlled decision-making processes
about the economic paths followed and the type of skills developed (McGrath, 2004:12).
Any decision surrounding skills development reflected the vested interests of this small
group. Such interests primarily centred on the use of the education and training system
to produce a cadre of civil servants to manage the state apparatus and a small group of
technicians for the extractive industries that produced minerals for export. For the vast
majority of black Africans there was very limited access to education or training, especially
at the technician or middle skill level. Most of the legislation and institutional structures
during this period reinforced this demarcation between skilled white and non-skilled black
African workers, most noticeable of which was the colour bar (Mines and Works Act No
12 of 1911). Together these practices helped ensure that there was an alignment between
the needs of the early apartheid state and the type of skills produced during this period
(Cross, 1986:192).
The mining sector was not large enough to absorb the size of the white labour force,
especially the disposed rural Afrikaner workers who came to the urban centres in
search of work. As a consequence, the apartheid state started to encourage the develop-
ment of a manufacturing base through a number of techniques. This ranged from the
levying of tariffs, and subsidised infrastructure development, to the use of inexpensive
food subsidies to white workers in the manufacturing sector (Cross, 1986:188). Accompa-
nying these measures, the state continued to ensure the operations of a labour market seg-
mented by skills and race. The development of skills amongst whites to work in the
manufacturing sector was facilitated by the setting-up of industrial training boards, the
precursor of the Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) and an apprentice-
ship system. Once again these measures guaranteed employment in protected state indus-
tries for poorer whites, with the apprenticeship system channelling poorer whites into
trades mainly located in the railways sector and other infrastructure areas.
 304 M. POWELL ET AL.

The skills planning mechanism during apartheid was based on the principles of man-
power planning (Cross, 1986:192). The apartheid state support for skills development was
interventionist since it ensured that strategies and institutional structures were specifically
developed to target a small white minority; and at the same time exclude the majority of
black Africans in the area of skills development. Within the closed economy it was relatively
easy for the apartheid state to anticipate what type of skills were required amongst a small
group of white workers. When the nature of skills became more complex, the apartheid state
introduced the training boards to perpetuate dual paths for skills development at the sector
level, consisting of a low-skilled path for black Africans and a skilled path for whites.
The planning period during apartheid represents the characteristics of an autocratic
state, under which a small elite are in control of structures and resources. This situation
ensured that the small elite could facilitate the type of skills development, and also the
process of skills formation, which served their own interests. However, the contradictions
of capitalism and the need for the state to accumulate more revenue and develop different
types of skill levels helped the break-down of this approach. At first the state was able to
introduce more structures to ensure that differentiations of skill occurred based on race,
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but as we shall see in the next section this started to break down following the democra-
tisation of the state.

4.2 State formation and skills planning in the 1994–2009 period

The end of apartheid saw a radical change in the structure and functions of the state. The
democratic state sought to follow a more inclusive strategy of skills formation that targeted
the black majority. The new strategy replaced the manpower planning
with a new framework based on: greater co-ordination and planning (to be met primarily
through new institutions at the national and sectoral level); greater stakeholder consensus;
and improved funding arrangements which cede to the state and the new Sectoral Education
and Training Authorities (SETAs) real leverage over the direction of training initiatives.
(Kraak, 2004:116)

The Department of Labour (DoL) was responsible for setting up the new planning
mechanism, comprising a framework and a number of institutional structures, including
the National Skills Authority (NSA), the SETAs and a Skills Development Information
System.
Under the new policy framework, the National Skills Development Strategy (NSDS I),
clear targets were identified for the up-skilling of black Africans from 2000 to 2005, with
emphasis being given to workforce development (DoL, 2001). Responsibility for approv-
ing the NSDS rested with the new NSA. The composition of the NSA was more democratic
and contained representatives from capital and labour. The SETAs were the key insti-
tutions tasked to understand current and future skills in demand in their sector. The
SETAs were supposed to identify priority skill areas for their sector, develop plans and
identify strategies to tackle their shortages or gaps (Kraak, 2004:119). Other important
partners in this process were the education and skill providers who worked with employers
to deliver the skills. This new top-down and bottom-up approach to skill planning would
ensure a closer alignment was achieved between the demands of the economy and type of
skills developed, as well as addressing the inequalities of the past.
 DEVELOPMENT SOUTHERN AFRICA 305

Within the new planning mechanism the Skills Development Information System
structure in the DoL was responsible for generating data to understand the supply and
demand for skills, and to support the policy process. Access to this part of the planning
mechanism was Web-enabled. The rationale behind such an approach was that the
SETAs and other stakeholders could access information that was collated and analysed
to inform planning and decision-making processes. This would lead to more evidence-
based strategies for skills development.
The setting up of a new skills planning mechanism demonstrates the commitment of
the state to raising the skill levels of black Africans neglected under apartheid manpower
planning and responding to the needs of the economy. This commitment occurred at the
national and sector levels through the setting of targets and allocation of funds for work-
place learning. Despite the commitment of the state to more inclusive and responsive skills
development, the question must be asked as to how effective this new planning mechanism
was and how can it be assessed?
The overall performance of the skills planning mechanism can be judged using a
number of measures. On a quantitative level it is possible to look at the degree to
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which the pre-defined targets identified in the NSDS were met. The establishment of
targets was intended to provide a means of tracking progress towards eradicating the
inequalities of the apartheid and introducing a measure of accountability for those struc-
tures involved in implementation. According to the government’s own implementation
report, the evidence was mixed (DoL, 2005). On the one hand some of the NSDS
targets were met, especially around skills development of the employed, unemployed
and small and medium enterprises. What was more disappointing was the failure to
meet equity targets for black Africans. Similar trends were apparent in the NSDS II and
subsequently the government decided to remove targets from their national strategies,
possibly reflecting the difficulties of collecting data or the reluctance to reveal the difficul-
ties associated with meeting equity targets.
Another way of measuring the performance of the skills planning mechanism is to
investigate the extent to which the right type and quality of skills are being produced
for the labour market by the skills system. The growing lists of skills shortages during
this period raise questions about whether such skills are being produced (Kraak, 2009).
The publication of lists of scarce skills by different groups also raises questions about
the effectiveness of current planning mechanisms.
This evidence raises serious questions about the performance of the skills planning
mechanism. Despite the good intentions of the state there are a number of reasons for
the poor performance, ranging from the difficulties associated with the bottom-up and
top-down approach to planning, the limited capacity of the SETAs and Skills Develop-
ment Information System, a general failure to link with the country’s industrial strategy
and incorrect assumptions about how the mechanism would work.
At the heart of the problem surrounding skills planning at the sector level is the
large number of tasks that the SETAs are expected to perform in producing their
Sector Skills Plans. In theory the planning mechanism is comprehensive and enterprise
plans are expected to feed into Sector Skills Plans, and in turn these are supposed to
feed into the NSDS. At the same time, the National Skills Development Plan
provides the framework for the Sector Skills Plans and these feed down to the enter-
prise level.
 306 M. POWELL ET AL.

The top-down, bottom-up approach to planning did not work according to expec-
tations. Financial incentive was supposed to encourage enterprises to submit their Work-
place Skills Plans (WSPs) to the SETAs (Kraak, 2004:138). Unfortunately, because of the
bureaucratic nature of the submission process, many firms regarded this process as a tax
and failed to submit their WSPs. Moreover, the WSPs became more concerned with doc-
umenting delivery, rather than identifying anticipated skills needs at the enterprise level.
Furthermore, the planning cycle for most enterprises was totally different to that followed
by the SETAs and government departments. In practice this meant that the WSPs failed to
feed into the planning process.
Another key part of the planning process was how skills produced under the NSDS sup-
ported South Africa’s industrial strategy, enabling a pro-active approach for skills devel-
opment. Responsibility for developing this industrial strategy rested with the
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the DoL, along with the SETAs (DoL,
1997). Together the former bodies were supposed to translate demand signals into skills
needs and facilitate the delivery of such skills in the workplace. This is a complex task
and a review of the DTI webpages reveals that they have many different strategies,
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ranging from small and medium enterprise development and industrial development, to
trade and exports. It was clear that the DoL and SETAs did not have the capability to inter-
pret these signals from the DTI into their planning process, or communicate this intelli-
gence to employers or providers.
A closely related problem with the mechanism for this period is the capacity of the
SETAs to develop their own sector-based plans. The expertise of planning and labour
market analysis is a key skills shortage in most countries and takes many years to
develop. Given these circumstances it was unrealistic to expect the SETAS to develop
this. An attempt was made to support the SETAs with their planning through the estab-
lishment of a Skills Development Planning Unit in the DoL. It was unrealistic to expect
staff at the Skills Development Planning Unit to suddenly become involved in complex
planning and labour market analysis, most of which was beyond their job functions.
In the post-apartheid period there is no doubt that the democratic state was more com-
mitted to skills development and introducing a more inclusive planning mechanism,
including systemic changes to the strategies and structures for supporting and delivering
skills development. The philosophical assumptions underpinning how the new mechan-
ism would operate influenced the way in which institutions related to each other and
the process around decisions for skills formation. In South Africa, despite the develop-
mental state discourse, the nature of processes associated with the skills planning mech-
anism was voluntary. For instance, it was assumed that information would be supplied
on skill shortages, plans would be developed, priorities would be identified and providers
and learners would respond to the market signals.
The evidence clearly shows that planners and stakeholders did not have a clear under-
standing of what are the priority skill areas, and what areas they should target; learners did
not have information about what skills are in demand and will only understand the rel-
evance or value of their skill once they have finished their programme; and the limited
understanding of priority skill areas means that providers deliver programmes of skills
training, based on their own resources or expertise, rather than what is required in the
labour market or defined in the industrial policy. The philosophy underpinning the volun-
tary or market-based approach has helped to contribute towards a supply-led skills
 DEVELOPMENT SOUTHERN AFRICA 307

development environment in which there is a limited understanding of priority skill areas,

few linkages with industrial development needs and a general failure to anticipate or fore-
cast future scarce skills.
Besides workplace training administered by the DoL, the Department of Education was
also responsible for the provision of education. The providers under the Department of
Education that were specifically concerned with middle-level skills development were
the technical colleges, the precursor of the further education and training (FET) colleges.
Following the end of apartheid, the state made considerable efforts to reform provision in
this area. Attempts were made to redress the imbalances of the past through the creation of
a more coordinated, accessible and responsive system for post schooling. During this
period, the FET Act (RSA, 1998) was enacted and subsequently replaced later by the
FET Colleges Act (RSA, 2006). This Act was later amended to transfer responsibilities
of FET colleges from the provincial to the central Ministerial level, under the newly
created Department for Higher Education and Training (RSA, 2009).
Despite the good intention of the reforms, the FET colleges continued to experience a
number of difficulties, most significant of which was poor-quality education programmes
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and the lack of responsiveness to the local labour market (McGrath & Akoojee, 2007:150).
These deficiencies were a reflection of the short-coming in their planning and a general
failure to understand demand at the local or national levels. Within this planning
process, no attempts were made to link with government local plans or those skill plans
being developed by the DoL or the recently established SETAs. As a consequence, most
of the decisions surrounding what type of programmes to develop or the number of stu-
dents to enrol were based on their institutional capacity and past experience, as opposed to
any strategic planning or anticipation of needs.
The end of apartheid saw the move towards democracy and the emphasis for skills
planning was about access and redressing the imbalances of the past through the
setting of new structures and forging of relationships with new partners. The capacity
of these new structures and relationships were not strong enough to help South Africa
move forward to a performance-based planning system in which people were provided
with the right type of skills to engage in productive employment. The post-apartheid
state resembles the characteristics of a post-conflict state in which emphasis is about
relationships and the building of structures, as opposed to actual outputs. In the next
phase of state development, emphasis is given to moving forward with an output-
driven system, but this may not be as simple as it seems.

4.3 Skills planning and state formation in the post-2009 period

The short-comings in skills development saw the government, in its third elected term,
establish a performance-based system for government departments, based on 10 govern-
ment priority outcomes. In doing so, emphasis was given towards ‘joined up’ thinking
amongst government departments, as well as ensuring that they were more forward
looking in their strategies. The latter area was supported through the setting-up of a
National Planning Commission. Once again this demonstrates the state’s commitment
to skills development and attempts at improving the former skills planning mechanism,
with moves to establish a new one based on the principles of more joined-up government
and strategic thinking.
 308 M. POWELL ET AL.

The organisational changes that occurred in this post-2009 period involved the creation
of the single portfolio of Higher Education and Training. This represented an attempt to
integrate the formal education and training system within the skills system, instead of
seeing them as two separate streams. In order to support this vision, the NSDS, SETAs,
NSA, National Skills Fund, National Qualifications Framework and South African Quali-
fications Authority were removed from the DoL and transferred to the new Department of
Higher Education and Training. Other significant issues impacting on the skills planning
mechanism included the setting-up of improved governance functions for the SETAs, and
changes in the funding regulations so that more resources could be utilised to support
learning at formal education providers. All of these changes helped reinforce the skills
planning mechanism.
Another factor influencing the establishment of a new skills planning mechanism and a
new approach to skills development was the White Paper on Post-School Education and
Training (DHET, 2013). This White Paper was based on extensive analysis of the perform-
ance of the skills system and provided a response through identifying a vision for the post-
school education and training system (DHET, 2013). Essentially, the White Paper envi-
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sages an expansion of skills development at all levels of the system. One of the key
ways for ensuring that the system is made more effective at the different levels is
through the establishment of a skills planning unit.
Another significant series of reforms during the post-2009 period, which have impli-
cations for the skills planning mechanism, are the number of growth initiatives introduced
by government to boost the economy and provide employment opportunities for its citi-
zens. These include the Strategic Integrated Projects (led by the Presidency), the new
Growth Path (from the Department of Economic Development), the Industrial Policy
Action Plan (from the DTI) and various provincial and city growth initiatives. The
Cabinet also approved the National Development Plan. Most of these initiatives have sig-
nificant skill components, but there have been limited attempts for any coordination or
alignment between skills demand and supply. Other government departments have also
started to focus their efforts on skills development, most noticeable of which includes
health, agriculture as well as the extended public works department. The question is
how do we analyse the skills needs for these initiatives and how does this demand for
skill inform the skills planning mechanism in a systematic manner?
Another significant feature of the 2009 administration is the setting of 12 priority out-
comes that government will pursue in the five-year electoral period (DPME, 2010:7).
These 12 priority outcomes underpin the strategic direction of government. Priority
Outcome 5 refers to a skilled and capable workforce to support an inclusive workforce
(DPME, 2010:13). This strategy recognises that progress has not been optimal and that
achievements have not taken place on the required scale. Therefore, the objective is to
orientate the education and training systems towards the delivery of quality outcomes.
The Department of Higher Education and Training is the lead agency for the delivery
of Priority Outcome 5, and the sub-outcome refers to the setting-up of a credible mech-
anism for skills planning.
This article must thus ask the question: are the conditions in place for a performance-
based planning system in which people are now provided with the skills to gain productive
employment? The evidence clearly shows there is more commitment from the state to
skills development and moving towards a performance-based system. There are also
 DEVELOPMENT SOUTHERN AFRICA 309

many elements of a developmental state now present as a result of the latest series of plan-
ning reforms, amongst which the most significant characteristics are: alignments between
industry and trade policies and those for skills development, and synergies between pol-
icies for education and skills development. Some of the elements associated with the devel-
opmental state are not so strong in South Africa, such as the strong commitment from
employers in the priority sector for skills development. An alternative scenario, and one
that would impact negatively on skills development, is for skill planning to move
towards a compliance model in which decisions are only made in accordance with pre-
defined targets. The experience of the United Kingdom shows the negative consequence
of following such a path to skills development.

5. Conclusion: towards an inclusive state model for skills planning in South

Africa
The move towards a model of skills planning in South Africa has applied and conceptual
dimensions. On an applied level, any effective skills planning mechanism must encompass
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the technical processes associated with data collection, collation, analysis and dissemina-
tion, as well as the political processes associated with decisions over how investments in
skills development are made using such intelligence. The skills planning mechanism
then refers to the intelligence, institutional structures and processes for undertaking the
planning; and is located in the wider political economy which influences decisions on
how resources are allocated for skills development.
An inclusive socio-economic skills planning approach would be appropriate for South
Africa. This involves both raising the levels of basic and post-school education and train-
ing in the country and reading the signals of demand from the economy, government
growth strategies and industrial policies. Government, with partners, will use then this
labour market intelligence to ensure better alignment between skills demand and an
inclusive skills development strategy.
Figure 1 shows an overview of what the new skills planning mechanism could look like
and this provides the basis for explaining how such a mechanism could work. The struc-
tures highlight the relationships among the different organisational structures involved in
the skills planning process and the type of plans that should be produced. In order for the
different structures to work together effectively there is a need for valid labour market
intelligence that feeds directly into the planning processes. Within this planning process
emphasis will be given to a top-down and bottom-up approach to skills planning.
At a conceptual level, the approach being followed by the South African state represents
a response to the unique historical and political challenges faced by the country. The
theoretical approaches for interpreting skills formation, especially the South East Asian
model or the European model, are not totally adequate for explaining or accounting for
the unique circumstances faced by the South African state in moving towards a more
inclusive model of skills planning.
Despite the limitations of existing models, they can still provide guidance for helping to
understand the situation in South Africa. The European model assumes an inclusive
approach in which either the market or social partners drive decisions over how resources
are invested in skills development. Typically in Germany and Scandinavian countries,
social partners determine all decisions around development, ensuring that a consensus
 310 M. POWELL ET AL.
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Figure 1. Proposed skills planning mechanism for South Africa.

Notes: DHET = Department of Higher Education and Training, Dpt = Department, E&T = education and
training, gvt = government, NDP = National Development Plan.

is reached upon the most suitable policies for skills development and their subsequent
implementation. By contrast, the United Kingdom represents are more voluntary frame-
work whereby markets help determine which types of skills are developed.
By contrast, under the South East Asian development state model, the state assumes
responsibility for the country’s human resource development process and in doing so
they can determine the most suitable path for the country’s growth patterns, taking
into account society’s varied needs. At the heart of the developmental state approach is
an identification of the priority sectors for future development, as well as the type of
skills that need to be produced by the country’s education and training system. The
South East Asian model represents a much more top-down approach.
The South African model represents a hybrid in that it combines elements of the top-
down approach of the South East Asian state and the bottom-up approach of the European
social partners. It also encompasses elements of the market-driven system in that many
decisions are left to providers. The model also has a strong redress and equity imperative
with a commitment to change the racial nature of the labour market. The South African
model appears to be in transition and the glue that binds many of the partners and
institutions together has yet to set. The inclusive socio-economic model of skills develop-
ment in South Africa will be different to any other and the key to success will be the ability
of the state to put in place the appropriate mechanism for ensuring that social partners
are committed and involved in the planning skills process, as well as subsequent
implementation.

Acknowledgements
This article is based on the Labour Market Intelligence Partnership (LMIP) Project. The LMIP
project was undertaken by a research consortium led by the Human Sciences Research Council.
 DEVELOPMENT SOUTHERN AFRICA 311

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Funding
The LMIP project is funded by the Department of Higher Education and Training.

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