Research projects

The Food and Beverage project aims to understand patterns of skill formation in a key South African manufacturing sector. This includes an analysis of where different industries (sub-sectors) lend themselves to different models of training provision, where they have specific needs; and which factors appear to be driving these different dynamics. It also includes an analysis of how, within workplaces and industries, skill needs are understood and met. Such an analysis takes seriously work, work organization, labour process, and perspectives from different people in workplaces.

The research is conducted through a contract with the Food and Beverage Manufacturing SETA as well as the SARCHI Research Chair in Skills DevelopmentWe started with 13 desktop studies looking at the 13 sub-sectors. These reveal that using a sub-sectoral lens may not always be the most effective approach for researching skill formation in the food and beverage manufacturing sector, with some exceptions in dairy, wine, beer and malt, fish, and meat processing sub-sectors. Additional regulation in some sub-sectors may impact training relevance. The lack of meaningful industrial policy at the sub-sectoral level highlights the importance of links between primary production and industrial transformation. Export destinations also influence skills formation, particularly for high-end products. Identifying food loss and waste 'hotspots' is crucial for targeted workforce skills development, but current education and training programs are lacking in critical areas like food processing and post-harvest loss. Practical skills training, such as apprenticeships, is also insufficient. The research faced challenges in obtaining comprehensive data, indicating a need for better provisioning information.

Highlights include the willingness of industry associations to participate in the research, insights from company and workplace interviews, and progress towards reaching the target of 50 companies/workplaces across Gauteng, KZN, and the Western Cape.

The JTCREW project has made significant progress in understanding the complexities of just transitions. One of the key achievements of the project is the commencement of occupational narratives focusing on solar and new energy vehicles (NEVs). The project is investigating various occupations, including those at risk, such as Diesel Mechanics and Petrol Attendants, emerging occupations like Solar Installers and PV Recycling Technicians, and transitioning occupations such as Battery Technicians, Mechatronics Technicians, and Electricians. The project will produce a discussion paper exploring the multifaceted aspects of just transitions, identifying at-risk and emerging occupations, and outlining the necessary adjustments to support workers through the transition. REAL will also produce a Just Transition skills strategy for the PCC. 

The centre worked on a project for the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ) from November 2023 to July 2024. The project was titled ‘Economic and labour market analysis for a just transition in South Africa: creating learning pathways for a just energy transition’. The project was divided into two streams of work. The first stream assisted in providing a more coherent and comprehensive idea of how a just transition will affect the labour market. The aim was to highlight the constraints and the most promising opportunities to support a just transition. The second stream focused on the learning pathways required for entry-intermediate level work within the broader energy sector with the aim of promoting better employment prospects for young South Africans as we transition to a more sustainable and decarbonised economy.

The first stream of the research was conducted using the Employment and Labour Market Analysis (ELMA) methodology developed by GIZ: https://alnap.org/help-library/resources/guidelines-for-an-employment-and-labour-market-analysis-elma/. While the second phase mapped learning pathways and developed real life stories of people’s pathways into and within green energy sectors.

The ELMA showed that there was changing demand in the labour market as green sectors emerged. The implications of this changing demand, concerning the energy transition more specifically, on skills included a requirement of technical skills (linked to manufacturing, renewable energy, energy efficiency and grid management), environmental skills (linked to sustainable agriculture, ecological restoration and climate science), innovation and research, and social and economic skills. Some of the barriers we identified included high levels of unemployment, manufacturing job losses in heavy industries, and some occupations being at risk. These barriers we found could be overcome for the most part through upskilling and reskilling.

The research investigated barriers and opportunities to facilitate leaning pathways. The barriers included an overall inadequacy of training programmes, with data showing a dissatisfaction in the level of practical and hands-on experience, and an additional lack of soft skills training. Other barriers included job insecurity, financial constraints, safety concerns, and communication issues. Moreover, the precarious nature of project-based jobs and the need for continuous upskilling, given the rapid technological advancement, created a high degree of uncertainty.

Based on these finding we made a recommendation across the board to implement a holistic approach that centres on radical collaboration. This we noted had the potential to address the lack of coordination and integrated planning. This holistic approach would facilitate a mixture of collaboration and co-creation of solutions from top-down, strategic, and bottom-up perspectives that lead to sustainable current and future significant positive outcomes and benefits. As a first step in actualising this, we held a seminar on, ‘Transforming skills formation systems for a just transition. The seminar aimed to explore the challenges of conceptualising and implementing an agile and responsive skills system that addresses both current and future labour market demands in an uncertain policy and investment environment.

This analysis of South Africa's qualifications framework and occupational classification system, located in an analysis of systems internationally, was developed as our contribution to the Department of Higher Education and Training's Labour Market Intelligence Project.

Through the SARCHI Research Chair in Skills Development, research looking at the changing governance models of colleges was published in the Journal of Vocational Education and Training.

In close collaboration with the NBI, the Centre of Researching Education and Labor (REAL Centre) provided its expertise to map the skills ecosystem across four key regions identified in Phase 1 of the IRM project; Atlantis (Western Cape), Mandeni (KwaZulu-Natal), Mamelodi (Gauteng), and Kathorus (Gauteng). Building on the success of Phase 1, the REAL Centre expanded the project’s scope to include the Nkangala District Municipality, Gert Sibande, and the Saldanha Bay Municipality. The project aims to examine the skills ecosystem required for SMME development by looking at the enabling mechanisms, institutions, networks, and partnerships that support SMMEs. Utilizing the Spours local ecosystem model, the project examines how these relationships and institutions drive sustainable SMME growth. To date, data collection has been robust: Saldanha Bay has yielded 27 interviews and 124 surveys, Nkangala has recorded 22 interviews and 254 surveys, and Gert Sibande has seen 28 strategic interviews along with 280 surveys. This comprehensive mapping exercise has deepened our understanding of how policies, regulations, and institutional dynamics, as well as local networks and collaborations, interact to support SMME development in fostering a shared mission, leadership, and catalytic support for growth.

Identification of target occupations and skills levels – ILO

The project "Equipping South Africa’s workforce for a just transition through up-skilling and re-skilling" by the ILO focuses on identifying target occupations and skill levels necessary for a just energy transition (JET) in Mpumalanga. The project highlights several occupations at risk due to the transition, such as elementary-level jobs in coal mining and electricity generation, technicians, craft and trade-related occupations, automotive mechanics, petrol attendants, and auto workers. These occupations face risks due to low education levels, sector-specific skills, and the potential obsolescence of fuel-related jobs.

To address these challenges, the project developed criteria for prioritizing occupational focus areas, considering factors such as the cross-sectoral nature of at-risk occupations, the number of at-risk jobs in the province over the next decade, and sector-specific occupations. This approach aims to ensure that the workforce is adequately prepared for the transition, minimizing job losses and promoting sustainable economic growth.

The project will be hosting two social dialogues in Mpumalanga and Eastern Cape in April.

The Harambee project focuses on conducting a demand-side study to explore youth employment opportunities within South Africa's green energy sector. The project aims to identify entry-level job prospects, barriers to growth, skills gaps, and strategies for stakeholder engagement. By doing so, it seeks to provide actionable insights that can inform policy and program development.

Key conceptual ideas of the project include exploring inclusive green economy opportunities and understanding the skills ecosystem, which involves the interplay between various actors. Although the main findings and highlights are yet to be determined, the study's outcomes are expected to significantly contribute to creating sustainable employment opportunities for the youth in the green energy sector.

Working with the PCC the project aims to explore the hemp industry in Mpumalanga. Its focus is on exploring the feasibility of transitioning coalminers into the Hemp value chain. The project has completed a literature review and is currently in the fieldwork phase.

Efforts to partner with Mpumalanga University have faced difficulties, but this remains a priority area for engagement in early 2025.

The RPL (Recognition of Prior Learning) project focuses on advancing skills recognition in contexts with low unemployment rates, high informal sector employment, and significant youth unemployment and migration. Key highlights of the project to date include the extent of recent global developments in RPL, the emergence of a "Global standard" and supporting guidelines, and various country studies that provide valuable insights. Additionally, ongoing engagement with the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO) and the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) is crucial for aligning RPL practices with national standards. The main findings emphasize the importance of RPL in promoting social inclusion and economic mobility, particularly for marginalized groups.

With the Southern Centre for Inequality Studies, REAL is leading a research hub in Eastern and Southern Africa, focused on key sectors such as critical minerals mining, coal mining, renewable energy, and logistics, with case studies spanning Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and South Africa. This work promises to provide valuable insights into advancing an equitable and sustainable future for workers across the region. In 2024 we participated in an inception workshop with four other regional hubs in Sri Lanka and hosted the inception meeting of the Eastern and Southern African hub with promising research partners from in several countries across the two regions. The research teams are currently finalizing their research methodology, with support from us in the hub.

The INSETA commissioned a study to evaluate the impact of the skills development programmes on employed and unemployed learners who enrolled and graduated from these programmes during 2021-2022.  The overarching purpose of this impact study is to understand the extent to which the INSETA has met its development and transformational imperatives and outcomes in the period under review,  by collecting data on the impact of the various programmes on employed and unemployed learners, and thus, assisting the SETA in understanding its contributions (factors within the programmes that are useful and influence the ability of learners to access employment, further studies as well as income generation opportunities) and successes (the extent to which learners have accessed employment or other income generating opportunities as well as further studying opportunities) as well as the gaps (challenges that impact on the effectiveness of the programmes, as well as factors that inhibit learners to access employment and other income generating opportunities upon completion) that may limit the desired results within the interventions for unemployed youth.

Six programmes were evaluated namely, bursaries for workers, bursaries for unemployed youth, internships, learnerships for employed, learnerships for the unemployed, and work-integrated learning programmes. The impact study was conducted over a short period of four months. The Inception Report was developed and approved by INSETA in December 2024. Data gathering commenced in January 2025 and was completed in the third week of February. Out of a population of 6,312 approved unemployed learners, a statistically significant sample of 1,734 was drawn. Ultimately 2,350 numbers were called, of which 1,089 were successfully interviewed.