‘I wanna die a slow death when I’m busy with that annual training report….’: Why employer engagement for skills planning in South Africa goes wrong

This paper explores systems in South Africa to obtain skills needs information from employers, build employer-engagement, and direct training funds to the training required by employers. We argue that the system is not achieving the key goals for which it was set up. The system is by no means ‘employer-led’ or ‘demand-led’; instead, the system has limited leadership from employers. A complex set of incentives and regulations backfire in some instances, leading to poor data about skills needs. This unwieldy system has many layers of collecting data, leading to information that is not useful for planning purposes, while alienating employers from strategic engagement. The complexity of the tools used to gather data from employers on skills needs undermines the integrity and validity of the data. The link between funding mechanisms to support training and the mechanisms for gathering data on skills needs skews the picture of needs, and does not facilitate provision planning. The complexity of the system deters high-level strategic engagement with employers on the skills trajectory of the sector, and leads to problematic sectoral and national planning. The rules and systems for disbursing funds get in the way of strategic support of provision that meets the needs of employers and of the economy. Poor steering of provision of training is a huge lost opportunity given the existence of a payroll levy with large amounts of money being available for training. In short, this complex attempt to use a regulatory state to steer provision has led to an unwieldy system with many layers of collecting information which is not useful for planning purposes as the primary sources of the data are generally flawed. There are some ways in which, based on our findings, the systems could be improved. But even if this were done, what must be recognised is that employer-engagement is complex, inherently limited, and not the magic bullet for VET relevance often suggested. Our research brings attention to this, together with showing the many ways in which well-intentioned policy has not achieved its goals in this regard. • South Africa’s employer-engagement systems fail to understand skills needs or support relevant training. • Overly complex systems and incentives distort data on employers’ skills needs. • Complex funding disbursement doesn’t support long-term employer needs or relevant provision. • Complexity reduces strategic engagement, alienating employers who engage through consultants or for specific grants. • Employer-engagement is complex, limited, and not the quick fix for VET relevance often claimed.