Bridging skills demand and supply in South Africa: the role of public and private intermediaries

Demand-led skills development requires linkages and coordination between firms and education and training organisations, which are major challenges considering that each represents a ‘self-interested’ entity. The need for a ‘collaborative project’ involving government, firms, universities and colleg...

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Main Authors: Petersen, Il-Haam, Kruss, Glenda, McGrath, Simon, Gastrow, Michael
Format: Article
Published: Routledge 2016
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34349/
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author Petersen, Il-Haam
Kruss, Glenda
McGrath, Simon
Gastrow, Michael
author_facet Petersen, Il-Haam
Kruss, Glenda
McGrath, Simon
Gastrow, Michael
author_sort Petersen, Il-Haam
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description Demand-led skills development requires linkages and coordination between firms and education and training organisations, which are major challenges considering that each represents a ‘self-interested’ entity. The need for a ‘collaborative project’ involving government, firms, universities and colleges, and other bodies is thus increasingly recognised. However, the crucial role of intermediaries has been largely overlooked. The article addresses this gap by investigating the main roles of public and private intermediaries across three case studies: sugarcane growing and milling, automotive component manufacturing, and the Square Kilometre Array sectoral systems of innovation. The research highlights the need for a move towards systemic thinking, to bridge across public and private objectives. It shows that private intermediaries play a larger role than is recognised in policy; that public–private intermediaries play crucial roles in coordination; and the potential for public intermediaries to contribute more effectively to systemic functioning.
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spelling nottingham-343492020-05-04T17:55:49Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34349/ Bridging skills demand and supply in South Africa: the role of public and private intermediaries Petersen, Il-Haam Kruss, Glenda McGrath, Simon Gastrow, Michael Demand-led skills development requires linkages and coordination between firms and education and training organisations, which are major challenges considering that each represents a ‘self-interested’ entity. The need for a ‘collaborative project’ involving government, firms, universities and colleges, and other bodies is thus increasingly recognised. However, the crucial role of intermediaries has been largely overlooked. The article addresses this gap by investigating the main roles of public and private intermediaries across three case studies: sugarcane growing and milling, automotive component manufacturing, and the Square Kilometre Array sectoral systems of innovation. The research highlights the need for a move towards systemic thinking, to bridge across public and private objectives. It shows that private intermediaries play a larger role than is recognised in policy; that public–private intermediaries play crucial roles in coordination; and the potential for public intermediaries to contribute more effectively to systemic functioning. Routledge 2016-06-21 Article PeerReviewed Petersen, Il-Haam, Kruss, Glenda, McGrath, Simon and Gastrow, Michael (2016) Bridging skills demand and supply in South Africa: the role of public and private intermediaries. Development Southern Africa, 33 (3). pp. 407-423. ISSN 1470-3637 Sectoral intermediaries skills development South Africa sugarcane growing and milling Square Kilometre Array automotive components manufacturing http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0376835X.2016.1156518 doi:10.1080/0376835X.2016.1156518 doi:10.1080/0376835X.2016.1156518
spellingShingle Sectoral intermediaries
skills development
South Africa
sugarcane growing and milling
Square Kilometre Array
automotive components manufacturing
Petersen, Il-Haam
Kruss, Glenda
McGrath, Simon
Gastrow, Michael
Bridging skills demand and supply in South Africa: the role of public and private intermediaries
title Bridging skills demand and supply in South Africa: the role of public and private intermediaries
title_full Bridging skills demand and supply in South Africa: the role of public and private intermediaries
title_fullStr Bridging skills demand and supply in South Africa: the role of public and private intermediaries
title_full_unstemmed Bridging skills demand and supply in South Africa: the role of public and private intermediaries
title_short Bridging skills demand and supply in South Africa: the role of public and private intermediaries
title_sort bridging skills demand and supply in south africa: the role of public and private intermediaries
topic Sectoral intermediaries
skills development
South Africa
sugarcane growing and milling
Square Kilometre Array
automotive components manufacturing
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34349/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34349/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34349/