"I am selfishly investing in the South African economy for myself, because when I go out to recruit, I want to have a bigger pool to choose from, of local people at a local price point."
I'm pessimistic because there seems to be no political will to tackle this problem. South Africa is going to fall further behind other countries. Dr Jacques Steyn, head of the IT faculty, Monash University.
Gerald Naidoo's situation is not atypical for business leaders across the country struggling against not only a lagging economy, but very real constrictions that threaten their sustainability.
The added pressure for him is that as CEO of a small but expanding ICT services provider called Logikal Consulting, the feeder pipe of people with the most basic of skills is worryingly thin.
"There's a lack of experienced technical skills, a finite pool of local resources that have real 'trigger-time'. What I mean by that is that someone just certified on IBM may not be able to apply those skills effectively because a very important component of the IT sector and being able to deliver services is on-the-job experience," he says.
This situation is compounded by the lack of international ICT skills, which means importing the needed personnel is also not a clear-cut solution.
Naidoo says that apart from the added cost of hiring such skills are the challenges around the impact on a company's BEE scoring, the onerous task of arranging work permits, and the very real possibility that the imported skills will leave once their contract is up.
Two-way street
"There's also a skills gap on the client side," he says. "Most projects fail, in my view, because the customer has failed to manage the vendor correctly. Clients need to have skilled people who are able to direct the vendor and make decisions on the fly."
Not satisfied with being held ransom to the market, Logikal Consulting has implemented its own training and skills development initiative. This programme identifies graduates or people with potential and places them with a women-owned IT provider that is able to provide real-world experience and further training.
"Rather than cry about it, we've tried to do something about it," says Naidoo. "After 12 months, these people will have been trained and gained some experience and are then transitioned into the client without any recruitment fee."
Taking matters into one's own hands is not unique to Naidoo. Many local and global companies have identified the need to improve the skills base and are pumping serious resources into these efforts. (See sidebar on Samsung's programmes in Africa.)
Dr Jacques Steyn, head of the IT faculty at Monash University in Johannesburg, admits that while there are many different initiatives and that 'small can be powerful', he is most concerned about the lack of political leadership on the issue.
No political will
"I'm pessimistic because there seems to be no political will to tackle this problem. South Africa is going to fall further behind other countries. And what is really shocking is that we were ranked second last out of 1 443 countries for the quality of our math and science education.
"The introduction of mathematical literacy means students are not prepared for this world," says Steyn.
Monash University is in a unique position in that it attracts a large number of students from the continent, and its higher fees tend to make it more exclusive. The quality of graduate is therefore higher, but this has not completely negated the need for the introduction of a bridge year to get some students fully up to speed.
"Why should we have to bridge that gap? Why are companies having to invest in corporate projects in education," he asks rhetorically, pointing to the failure of the basic education system.
He suggests that the entire system needs to be addressed, starting with the personnel at schools that often lack the training and aptitude to effectively teach these critical skills.
"It will take a generation. It takes years to get teachers sufficiently trained and visionary leaders are needed. If we don't start with the small steps, we won't change in a generation.
"There will have to be cultural changes, and to manage that is extremely difficult. We don't have the answer, but the problems will have to be addressed if we want to be part of the global knowledge economy."
The Holy Grail
This issue of competing internationally is one that drives Naidoo as well. He dismisses skills and enterprise development programmes that promote handicrafts and such arts, posing the question: "What is exportable about that? For us to become internationally competitive, we have to urgently look at IT, and I'm trying to do something about that. The only way we are going to create jobs and become competitive internationally is if we are seen to be creating technical skills in our young people.
"The hope is that once we have the skills created locally, we'll begin to create products and intellectual property that the rest of the world will buy, and that is the Holy Grail. But we have to be realistic and have short, medium and long-term goals."
He acknowledges that the global shortage of IT talent continues to drain the country of these essential skills, but believes this could be overcome if the right environment and opportunities are created locally.
"Once we have more high profile and complex projects, that's when the net effect of this critical mass will be felt," he says.
First published in the October 2013 issue of ITWeb Brainstorm magazine
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