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“Eliminating skewed participation in the sector a challenge for everyone”. Mkhululi Mankazana Chief Director: Sector Services. Young Professional Development Programme. Basis Skewed enrolments of students in Agriculture Poor graduate throughput rate of graduates in Agriculture
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“Eliminating skewed participation in the sector a challenge for everyone” Mkhululi Mankazana Chief Director: Sector Services
Young Professional Development Programme Basis • Skewed enrolments of students in Agriculture • Poor graduate throughput rate of graduates in Agriculture • Questionable capacity of South African Higher Education Institutions to generate the desired human resources needs of the country. • Demand for critical and scarce skills in agriculture
Drivers for skills demand in the sector • The land reform programme (redistribution of 30% of the Agricultural land) • The AgriBEE (sector transformation charter) • The National Medium Term Investment Programme that advocates for an increase investment in Agriculture to 10% of the GDP • The sector plan calls for an increase in investment in Research, Training and Extension to 3% of the GDP • The Accelerated and Share Growth Initiative of South Africa (AsgiSA) calls for: • Double the area under irrigation through the establishment of new and rehabilitation of existing ones • Livestock development (massification) • Biofuels • Land rehabilitation and development of agricultural corridors.
Known and needed skills in the short term • The extension recovery plan calls for recruitment of 5000 professionals in the next 5 years • It is estimated that the transformation of colleges will need well trained technicians and academics to the tune of 300 professionals in the next 2 years • The Bio Security Programme of DoA and the Agricultural Research Council in general need immediate attention • Others
The realties • The sector employs between 33 000 and 42 000 people with intermediate to high levels skills • Our institutions of higher learning have produce on average of 2400 graduates from 2000-04 onwards • This represents between 6.1% and 7.7% replacement demand • The question is it adequate? The more significant question are these graduates relevant to the needs of the sector • The answer is that majority are irrelevant particularly for the agriculture public sector
Present Dilemmas using 2004 scenario • The former Technikons produce more diploma graduate than the colleges of agriculture combined • A total of 2273 were produced in 2004 and only 8.7% and 1.5% were masters and doctorate graduates.
Graduation Trends by gender in 2004 There is still strong dominance of male graduates although the Universities of Technology have produced more females.
Racial breakdown of enrolments within the scarce skills categories
Gender breakdown on enrolments within the scarce skills categories
Racial breakdown of graduates within scarce skills categories: 2004
Gender breakdown of graduates within the scarce skills categories
What are doing? • We have a set of strategies and schemes and these are: • Agricultural Education and Training strategy • Agricultural Research and Development strategy • The Norms and Standards for extension and advisory services • The Norms and Standards for Agricultural Training Institutes (Colleges of Agriculture) under development • The External Bursary Scheme • The Internal Bursary Scheme • The Experiential, Internship and Professional Development Programme Policy and Schemes • The International Training Programme Policy • The International Training strategy
School going learner Undergraduate Graduate and Postgraduate Entrepreneurs How prospective learners can benefit Products and Services Products and Services Products and Services • Career awareness • A comprehensive external bursary scheme to cover: • - Learners requirements • - Monthly stipend etc • Experiential Training • Support if required • A comprehensive bursary scheme • Internship support • Enrolment to the Professional Development Programme to encourage postgraduate arrangement • The PDP get a higher allowance • Information on business opportunities • Enrolment to the Agri Industry Development Programme • Industry placement and provision of placement allowances • Currently influencing the SMME strategy to offer products targeting young people • The details will be provided by my colleagues this afternoon.