The South African government has invited businesses in the country to submit expressions of interest in the pilot of the Trusted Employer Scheme in a bid to attract skills and services from abroad.
The announcement was made by the Department of Home Affairs against the backdrop of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (Sona) in which he said the government would be reviewing its visa application system to make it easier for foreigners to travel to the country for tourism, business and work.
Operation Vulindlela, a initiative of the Presidency and National Treasury to accelerate the implementation of structural reforms and support economic recovery, conducted a review of the work visa framework to identify and remove barriers related to the attraction and retention of skills needed for economic growth in the country.
The Department of Home Affairs said on Thursday that it was inviting corporate employers to apply for the TES.
“To qualify for membership to the TES an employer, investor, or business needs to demonstrate that it has the financial strength to employ a foreign national, that it runs training programmes for South African citizens and that it is a good corporate citizen,” the department said.
It said the employer who was granted access to the TES would qualify for priority processing of their visa applications because of reduced requirements and supporting documents.
“The TES membership will be acceptable for local applications, as well as at all South African High Commissions abroad. Current corporate account clients are encouraged to apply,” the department said.
There has been a skills shortage in South Africa for some time, with the loudest plea being for more skilled employees at Eskom.
The business sector and analysts have been calling for more skilled people to be employed at Eskom as the country finds itself in the worst energy crisis in its history.
The manufacturing sector needs skills
Another sector that needs more skilled workers is manufacturing.
This is according to Mark Wilson, CEO of SYSPRO EMEA and APAC.
The manufacturing sector is an important part of South Africa’s economy, contributing to the national gross domestic product and formal sector employment, and playing a crucial role in supplying goods and materials for export markets. However, as an ageing workforce nears or enters retirement, skilled workers’ valuable legacy knowledge is leaving the industry without knowledge transfer having taken place.
Wilson said this was causing strain in an industry that was crucial to the South African economy.
Manufacturers have found that many new graduates lack foundational workplace readiness skills.
Graduates who have completed an internship programme are far more likely to find permanent employment because of their exposure to the real-world work environment.
“As a company that supports the manufacturing industry, we believe that we have a responsibility to develop the skills needed in this critical industry to help the ongoing digitalisation of the manufacturing industry in Africa,” Wilson said.
“With this challenge in mind, it made sense for us to launch an internship programme that not only introduces vital skills into the manufacturing sector, but that also addresses the skills mismatch between employers and new graduates.”
BUSINESS REPORT