Sector Skills Plan for Fasset sector

Recognising that skills shortages across all sectors of the economy is a constraint to South Africa’s economic growth and development, based on information supplied by the Sector Education and Training Authorities (Setas), the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), publishes a National Masters Skills list for South Africa, on an annual basis. The latest list has just been published.

This list, which identifies scarce skills, provides the DHET, the Department of Labour and public education and training providers, schools, Further Education and Training (FET) colleges, universities and universities of technology with a set of course development and career guidance indicators that need to be actioned, in order to address skills shortages.

The list also assists the Department of Home Affairs with a basis for establishing a Work Permit Quota list.

In addition, Setas are required to update their Sector Skills Plan (SSP) on an annual basis, based on research conducted which may include Workplace Skills Plan (WSP) submissions. (Fasset’s updated SSP for 2010/2011 appears on the Fasset website: www.fasset.org.za).

The SSP provides a holistic overview of the sector, including a sector profile, a worker profile in terms of occupation, population group, gender, age and disability, drivers of change, information on current employment and the skills of the current workforce, employment trends, staff turnover, employer’s growth expectations, the availability of skills in the economy, the development of skills of the existing workforce, the identification of scarce skills and critical skills, and the growth in demand and supply of scarce and critical skills.

Having identified scarce skills and critical skills and the growth in demand and supply,

Setas in partnership with their stakeholders are able to devise and implement strategies that will enable the sector to not only meet current skills needs and skills gaps, but to also address future skills needs.

Fasset (the Seta for Finance, Accounting, Management Consulting and Other Financial Services) is cognizant of the fact that finance, accounting, management consulting and other financial services skills play a critical role in the sound functioning of the South African economy. Fasset recognises too, that the sector serves as an incubator for skills development for the rest of the economy.

Most accounting trainees change employment after completion of their learnership contracts, often accepting positions outside the Fasset sector.

When referring to scarce skills in the sector, Fasset is referring to a shortage of people with the required attributes to fill positions available within the labour market. A long-term vacancy rate of 5% or higher, was the determining factor for inclusion of an occupation in the list of scarce skills. A number of factors may contribute to skills shortages including difficulties experienced in retaining skills due to external demand and competition among employers; difficulties in recruiting candidates to these positions; upward pressure on remuneration; and no spare capacity in the form of unemployed people who can fill positions in the particular occupations.

Skills shortages were identified in five broad categories: Managers, Professionals, Clerical and Administrative Workers and Sales Workers. In the category Managers, the sector is currently experiencing a skills shortage of ICT Project Managers. A vacancy rate of 5.9% was reported. The Professionals category includes Accountants, Auditors and Company Secretaries; Human Resource and Training Professionals; Information and Organisation Professionals; and Business and Systems Analysts and Programmers.

In the category, Accountants, Auditors and Company Secretaries, skills shortages were identified in the Trainee Accountant, Accountant (General), External Auditor, and Internal Auditor occupations, with vacancy rates of 6.1%, 6.1%, 15.9% and 8.3% being reported respectively.

Skills shortages are more acute at the high-end of the spectrum among professionally qualified accountants, specifically Chartered Accountants (CAs). Here, it is important to recognise that all four broad occupational categories draw from the same pool of people, which is currently too small to meet the market demand.

In the category Human Resource and Training Professionals, skills shortages were identified in the category Human Resource Advisor, and Training and Development Professionals. Vacancy rates of 7.3% and 5.9% were reported respectively.

In the category Information and Organisation Professionals, skills shortages of Statisticians and Economists were identified. Vacancy rates of 20.9% and 60.7% were reported respectively.

While the latter, represents the most acute skills shortage overall, within the Fasset sector, the former represents the third highest skills shortage within the Fasset sector.

In the category Business and Systems Analysts and Programmers, skills shortages are being experienced in the occupations Systems Analysts and Software Engineers, with vacancy rates of 31.1% and 6.3% reported respectively. The former represents the second highest scarce skill within the Fasset sector.

In the category Clerical and Administrative Workers, Accounting Clerks, Bookkeepers and Purchasing Officers were identified as scarce skills. Vacancy rates of 6.7%, 6.5% and 14.0% were reported respectively.

Skills shortages at the level of Bookkeeper and Accounting Clerk are relatively new: these have never been identified previously. Despite high levels of unemployed matriculants, these individuals are not perceived to possess the requisite skills to fill either of these positions.

Mention should be made of the fact that respondents from professional bodies and training providers were of the opinion that even professionally qualified young people entering the labour market, lack the requisite work readiness skills.

In the category Sales Workers, a skills shortage of Insurance Agents was identified. A vacancy rate of 6.4% was reported.

While Fasset is mandated to address skills shortages and to address skills gaps, it is important to recognise that the provision of sufficient numbers of new entrants starts at school-level.

Schools need to produce sufficient numbers of matriculants with Mathematics and Accounting subjects, and with university exemption. Insufficient numbers of matriculants currently meet these requirements. In 2007 only 15% of learners, who sat the Senior Certificate examination, obtained matric exemption, and only 7,3% passed Mathematics on the Higher Grade. The low number of Mathematics passes clearly limits the pool of candidates, who are able to study Accounting.

Despite the relatively low percentage of matric exemptions and the limited number of learners with Mathematics as a subject, the output of public Higher Education and Training (HET) institutions in the field of Accounting and Commerce, Business Management and Business Administration has grown consistently, between 1995 and 2004.  This augurs well for the future.

The National Learners Records Database (NLRD) maintained by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) reveals that in 2004, 297 000 graduates had qualifications either in Accounting or in Commerce, Business Management and Business Administration. However, of these only 23% (67 000) majored in Accounting. It is important to recognise, that the number of Accounting graduates has increased by 8.5% per year from 29 590 graduates in 1994 to 67 052 graduates in 2004. However, this number needs to increase markedly.

Particularly encouraging is the increase in the number of Black Accounting graduates. In 1994, 85% of all graduates who majored in Accounting were white, and only 3% were African, 2% were Coloured and 7% were Indian. In 2004, 62% of the pool of Accounting graduates were white, while the proportion of Africans has increased by 22%.

The lack of qualified Black people in the higher-level occupations and professional designations remains a challenge. Most of the professional qualifications in the sector are obtained through learnerships. Fasset has registered 21 learnerships.

As at December 2008, 14 211 learners had completed learnerships, of which 13 517 led to the qualification Chartered Accountant: Auditing. The number of new learnerships increased significantly during the period 2005/2006. These learners will only, however, qualify in 2009/2010.

Important inroads are also being made in terms of transforming the sector’s racial profile: and this should assist the sector to make in roads in terms of Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) targets. In 2001/2002 approximately 40% of new enrolments were Black learners. In 2008/2009, this rose to 54%.

The Fasset sector has a well-established and diversified education and training system that spans all components of public and private education sectors, professional bodies and employers. New skills are able to enter the sector direct from school, via learnerships, national qualifications, professional qualifications, national qualifications followed by a learnership, and via national qualifications followed by an internship programme.

Despite an overall positive picture of the sector, the sector is faced with the reality of too few learners from previously disadvantaged groups moving up the higher and professional qualification levels, areas where skills are often scarce. The challenge as a sector, is to maximize support for these individuals in the short to medium-term.

(Article supplied by Fasset)