Clarion call to professional bodies: Time is the first investment towards the African Dream

The CEO of GIFS is on a mission to get professional bodies to consider the skills that will equip South Africans to address the skills shortage and brain drain. Dr Kershen Pillay was invited to be the keynote speaker at a recent Independent Professional Body Forum (IPBF) webinar. Pillay centred his thought-provoking presentation on how ordinary South Africans with extraordinary dreams can realise their potential with just a small but significant mindset shift.

The webinar was the highlight of the IPBF meeting, chaired by Ms Angela Cherrington and included a panel discussion on ‘linking the importance of education with the next step: obtaining your designation and the role of designations in the workplace.’ The discussion was facilitated by the IPBF’s Ms Rianne Potgieter who’s also the CEO of the Compliance Institute of Southern Africa and comprised panelists Mr John Arnesen who’s an independent Post-School Education and Training and National Qualifications Framework consultant, as well as Japie Nel, who’s the Senior Manager: Registration and Recognition at the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA).

Pillay peppered his presentation with a video of the Ndlovu Youth Choir’s iconic America’s Got Talent performance from earlier this year. The electrifying rendition of Vicky Sampson’s African Dream brought worldwide attention to the Limpopo choir. The performance also shone a light on the lived reality of the choir members, some of whom are orphans who have to fend for themselves under incredibly difficult circumstances.

Pillay pointed out South Africa’s challenge with having one of the highest unemployment rates in the world which impacts young people the most. “The logic formula dictates high unemployment increases poverty and crime levels,” he said to underpin his clarion call to professional bodies to be the change the country needs to see. He added, “Individually we can’t do it but collective investment and knowledge-sharing are required.” Pillay added that through the IPBF and other networks, concerted effort needs to be placed on identifying skills shortages. He said the country’s trajectory could be significantly changed if we commit to using the transformative power of education to build a better South Africa for others to inherit.

Pillay referenced French philosopher Voltaire’s timeless quote, which now resonates arguably more widely thanks to its use in the Spiderman movies as a quote from Uncle Ben to his nephew Spiderman, “With great power comes great responsibility.”

Potgieter opened the panel discussion by asking Pillay to pinpoint the most common skills shortage to which he replied, “Soft skills are the hard skills of the future.” He explained that most industry bodies would point out technical skills, however the opportunity we sit with is that our resilience and agility given our history makes soft skills a key starting point.

Arnesen felt Pillay’s idea was brilliant but the burden of responsibility was being shifted back to professional bodies where there are financial constraints. Pillay clarified that he’s motivating for professional bodies to give up something that’s entirely free – time.

Pillay expanded that if one took resilience as the skill, the founding investment would be time. Organisations would need to identify strengths that could be contributed to other groups. He advised starting with workshops with member bases to come up with curricula that are customised to each industry.

Pillay had support from members of the audience when he said we speak of many ‘isms’ in the country especially racism but we tend to forget the unspoken ‘ism’ of classism considering where we come from. He pointed out that while professionals achieve the same qualification upon completion of their studies, they have walked entirely different paths to arriving at graduation. It is very important to teach the soft skills required for success in the world of work and if we’re able to get this aspect right, we would have made significant strides in South Africa given the deep inequalities experienced by people. Nel agreed that how people see education is important. He explained the power of reasoning or judgement should be seen from a SAQA perspective on how to inform on the required standard. He questioned who provides guidance to people on how to be ethical in the world of work, advocating that a standard should be considered.

Pillay used the opportunity to underscore how the world has changed. Speaking as a millennial, he used the examples of food delivery applications as one way where ensuring you have food to eat is attended to by a few taps on your cellphone. He explained that there needs to be a change to barriers of entry to education, pointing out that there should be multiple entry and exit points. Recognition of Prior Learning needs to be factored in more seriously. Pillay said there are people with years of experience who should be given opportunities to expand their education. Perhaps an oral assessment would then deliver them a qualification, or a demonstration of Work Integrated Learning would give them a designation.

Pillay’s closing comments were that in order to make significant change, we must work together to pull each other up. Rather than being in competition, professional bodies should work to make common cause. Arnesen profoundly added that there needs to be a shift in mindset from, “What’s in it for me to what’s in it for we – for us.” He called on professional bodies to share expertise and Nel rounded off by saying the right attitude will be a game-changer as it has significant influence on people.

09 December 2022