Ms Refilwe Mtsheni-Tsipane, the premier of Mpumalanga, hosted a breakfast session on job
massification and improved skill development on Tuesday, August 2. The session’s goal was to get
businesses and training centres on board with allocating the necessary resources for the province’s
job massification project. During the State of the Province address, the premier called for the
creation of 9000 new jobs in the financial year 2023–2024.

The key attendees included the Sector Education and Training Authority, Further Education and
Training Institutions (FET), business chambers, the banking sector, and accounting firms among
others.

The session also aimed to develop solutions that will amplify the government’s ability to create
sustainable and dignified jobs “Today we wish to showcase and give additional impetus to the
Provincial commitment to job creation, skills development and poverty eradication, amongst our
people.” The premier said. 

This is an economy that has not yet fully recovered from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic but
was limping for many years also, due to the Global Financial Crisis of 2008-9.

As a result of the conflict in Ukraine, geopolitical tensions between nations, rising living expenses,
supply-chain bottlenecks, and unfavourable weather conditions and events, our world economy will
underperform, with the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growing at 3% rather than 3.5% last year. The
International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast that South Africa’s economic growth will slow from 1.9%
last year to 0.3% this year due to energy insecurity and its manifestations like “load shedding” or
“power outages,” among other problems.

Our country and our Province continue to face unprecedented levels of youth unemployment.
“The unemployment rate for youth of working age (15-34 years) was 52.1%, whereas the
unemployment rate for adults (35-64 years) was 27.2%. Notably, the female youth unemployment
rate of 61.5% was significantly higher than the male youth unemployment rate of 44.6%.”
A provincial answer to the problems of unemployment and a lack of opportunity noted properly that
the private sector is going to be responsible for the majority of job growth in our economy.

However, this needs to be complemented by a government or a public sector that plays its role with
short-term interventions or temporary jobs and medium-term strategies that lay a foundation for a
labour absorbing economy through skills development and structural reforms.

“Job massification will involve thousands of employment opportunities, amathuba emisebenzi that
are being created through infrastructure and social programmes that are implemented by various
departments in the province.”

“In this financial year alone, we are targeting some 90 000 job opportunities. Together with our
Municipalities, we will create strategic partnerships to ensure that our people get the employment
opportunities that they desperately need. “the premier further added.

They have collaborated with SETAs in a variety of career paths, including diesel mechanical
engineering, construction, supply chain management, ICT, Infrastructure, local government, and
hospitality.