Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Agricultural colleges are in the process of being moved back to residing under the auspices of the National Department of Agriculture (NDA), and discussions are already underway to allocate funding to this vital, but neglected cog in the wheel to skill future agricultural employees.
This announcement was made by John Steenhuisen, minister of agriculture, during the last session of this year’s Nation in Conversation discussion held at NAMPO on Friday. Agricultural colleges currently reside under the National Department of Basic Education.
“We need to keep in mind that new skills are required, because the future of agriculture will require a higher degree of skills (from agricultural workers),” Steenhuisen said, adding that the closure of many technical colleges has left a gap and have robbed the country of valuable technical skills. “Skilled technicians are just as valuable – if not more – than those seated in offices in management positions.”
Hundreds of vacancies
Stephan Nel, managing director of Case IH Southern Africa, said currently at least 800 to 1 500 technicians are needed just to service the tractors and implements that are currently operational in South Africa. “It’s a very competitive market and a company needs to raise salaries every single year. If you were to slip up one year, you will go out of business because you will lose your people to competitors.”
While he encouraged students to stay in school, Nel added that even an apprentice with matric that’s trained in-house could earn a very decent salary.
More private training needed
Nel said currently training facilities, such as Sol-Tech, does a standup job at training but that more are needed. “Sol-Tech can train 200 to 300 people per year, but they don’t all stay in South Africa as there really is a global shortage.”
The reason why these skilled workers are critical extended further than merely the agricultural sector, Nel added – it could recreate the country’s rural economy. “Our rural areas are dying off. We need to create better livelihoods in towns and rural areas again.”
Dr Dirk Strydom, managing director of NAMPO, said a new training entity, NAMPO Tech, has been called to life to address the training challenges. The dream is to create a leading accredited artisanal training institute for the agricultural sector, that will produce future-ready artisans who drive productivity and sustainability.
“NAMPO has a vast network, and we would like to use that network to enable young people to choose a clearly defined career path,” Dr Strydom said.
German inspiration
Agricultural attaché of the German embassy to South Africa, Maximillian Berger, said one of the reasons why Germany has an impeccable ability to train technically skilled people is rooted in the country’s post-war strategy to strengthen their economy. “To be a blue-collar technician in Germany is a very respectable job and one can easily raise a family on the salary that you earn from this skill.”
Additionally, there are strong working relationships between training facilities and companies where the young people can receive their on-the-job training. “Companies also pay for the training of these youngsters, because it’s been shown that once that person has been trained, they become an asset to the company within six months. In fact, companies are looking for young people to train, not the other way around.”
Berger said while South Africa could potentially follow the German model, it was important to realise that this is not something that could be done overnight. It would take many years to build this type of system. – Susan Marais, Plaas Media
