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SSP Stakeholder Consultation Process
Stakeholders inform skills priorities in the COVID -19 period
The W&RSETA is committed to ensuring continuity on skills development during these uncertain times to ensure that the sector is positioned to respond to the impact of COVID-19. This was one of the main themes of this year’s Sector Skills Plan (SSP) stakeholder consultation process which commenced on 3 June 2020. It is the first time that the sessions are being conducted virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic and we are pleased with the stakeholder participation as we navigate through the new normal. Sessions have been conducted for the Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga and Free State provinces.
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The update to this year’s SSP will assist the W&RSETA to align critical skills needs including Hard to Fill Vacancies (HTFVs), scarce and critical skills gaps. Importantly, the process will assist the W&RSETA to identify urgent skills needs that are required to respond to COVID-19. During the sessions, stakeholders engaged on the challenges that they are facing as a result of the coronavirus and how the sector and the SETA should respond to these. The W&RSETA also outlined its COVID-19 measures and key interventions that are being implemented. Chantel Butler, Head of Organisational Effectiveness at Woolworths, provided an overview on how the Wholesale and Retail Sector has been affected by COVID-19. Butler emphasised the need of reskilling employees on digital programmes in order to respond to the disruption brought about by the pandemic. Leadership skills would also need to be a key focus requiring the W&RSETA to review its management programmes. The W&RSETA Retail Leadership Chair at Durban University of Technology (DUT), Yunus Doba, presented on the pre, during and post COVID-19 economy, particularly the impact on the Wholesale and Retail Sector.
During the Mpumalanga session, Sarah Koster, Director at Mica Nelspruit, shared her perspective on the impact of COVID-19 on the hardware sub-sector in terms of supply and demand during the lockdown. Koster further indicated the challenges of online shopping which had affected mainly small hardware retailers due to insufficient resources for digital shopping.
The main areas of engagement are around the following: • What priority skills interventions to implement when responding to labour market disruptions? • What are the occupational changes as a result of COVID-19 disruptions? • What are the key focus areas to avoid massive job retrenchments? • What are the 3 skills priorities areas for the sector? • What type of support is required in order to simulate growth for small and informal businesses?
Chantel Butler, provided an overview on the impact of COVI D-19 in the W&R sector
The sessions will be concluded in July 2020 with the final draft of the SSP due for submission to the Department of Higher Education and Training on 31 August 2020. Please refer to page 12 for details on the outstanding sessions.
Stakeholders can continue to provide input to these focus areas by sending an email to Mxolisi Maphakela on mmaphakela@wrseta.org.za.
