Triple E Training develops employability skills of redundant staff
Triple E Training has equipped many low- and unskilled employees with the foundational skills that they need to continue learning. This is so that these workers can also grow and develop in their careers and as individuals. Importantly, blue-collar workers who enhance their skills can better adapt to change. This is critical considering the rate at which blue-collar work is changing, spurred on by digital technologies and new state-of-the-art processes.
Employees with a diverse set of skills that go beyond their primary field of expertise can take on many different projects and tasks and participate in complex projects, making them indispensable team members. This also improves their employability should they have to find other jobs, a worrying reality in tough economic conditions. During the 2023/2024 financial year, beleaguered South African industries shed more than 22 000 jobs, alone, aggravating already high unemployment.
Having completed an array of Triple E Training’s adult education programmes, employees of a pet nutrition producer have a lot to offer future employers when they have to start looking for other work later this year. This factory is currently winding down operations as part of a large downsizing process. While some of these employees will be absorbed by the company’s other operations, the majority of members of the Gauteng operational team is being retrenched.
However, many of these factory workers possess employable workplace literacy and “soft” skills that will enable them to compete in the job market. These were taught via high quality adult education and foundational learning competence training, as well as Rapid Effective Accelerated Life-long Learning. Triple E Training has been facilitating these courses at the factory since 2014. They were motivated by the introduction of complex technology at the factory that required higher skills to operate effectively. Even so, there are many factory workers who have not yet undergone any upskilling, making them extremely vulnerable.
To ensure that they have marketable skills by the time that the factory stops operating, they are currently completing our adult education and training (AET). We are also facilitating select short courses that will enhance the affected employees’ CVs.
Those who have skills and those who do not
There is a growing divide between South Africans who have specialist skills and those who do not. This is fuelling wide inequality in the country.
According to a report by PwC, skilled jobs account for 25% of all employment in the South African economy. As of the first quarter of 2023, the country had 4,1-million skilled; 7,5-million semi-skilled; and 4,6-million unskilled workers.
The report notes that even in a struggling economy, demand for skilled employees remains high. Individuals with these skills are also more likely to recover quickly from an economic downturn due to the demand for specialised expertise to address unique business challenges. This is in addition to their ability to adjust to changing market demands.
On the other hand, unskilled jobs are at high risk of being made redundant when companies have to cut costs. This while semi-skilled jobs can easily be replaced by mechanisation and automation and changes in client demand.
Notably, only a quarter of the 6,2-million jobs that were created between 1994 and 2024 were low-skilled and 45% semi-skilled in nature. Conversely, the number of skilled jobs more than doubled over this period.
This trend continues as South African industry continues to evolve, resulting in significant skills shortages. Despite the high demand for specialised skills, the education levels of the South African employees remain low. Between the second quarter of 2018 and 2021, 12,2% and 10,8% of the employed held a degree and diploma, respectively. A shocking 34,4% had not completed secondary schooling.
Upskilling progresses as planned
Our client’s upskilling programme is progressing as planned with the remaining affected employees anticipated to have completed various levels of AET before the factory is decommissioned in April this year. This is in addition to various other useable skills via their participation in our short courses. Many will have completed our AET Level 4 which means that they will have a General Education and Training Certificate. This qualification is at a National Qualification Framework (NQF) Level 1, the foundational stage of formal education and training. Employees who have reached the first level of the NQF signal to future employers that they have a strong foundation for further learning and development.
To accommodate the factory’s tight four-shift system, online classes are also being facilitated together with classroom training at the workplace. This has ensured high attendance and, therefore, progression.
Learn more about Triple E Training, a leading provider of adult education to industry. www.eee.co.za