Nelson Mandela Bay organised business launches drive to address skills shortages

18 Feb 2025

The Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber on Tuesday launched its skills desk – an initiative to ensure that the expertise needed in the metro’s diverse manufacturing industry is addressed, but also to tackle staggering youth unemployment.

The Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber on Tuesday launched a skills audit to determine what the manufacturing industry would need to supply potential investors with qualified staff, but also to address raging unemployment in the province.

The audit is the first step in establishing a skills desk where potential investors can access local talent and skilled employees and professionals.

Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber CEO Denise van Huyssteen, commenting on the unemployment figures released by Stats SA on Tuesday, said the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey results for Nelson Mandela Bay “once again report a surprising improvement in the official unemployment rate for Nelson Mandela Bay”.

“It is our view that the unemployment rate for the Bay, and especially among the youth, remains unacceptably high.

“There were no major economic developments in the last quarter or, in fact, over the past year, which would have materially reduced the unemployment rate. In fact the local manufacturing sector is under severe pressure, as witnessed by recent factory closures and production volume reductions.

“Considering the serious challenges facing the manufacturing sector in particular, such as logistics inefficiencies, high level of crimes targeted at businesses and the high number of power outages recorded, it is more likely that the unemployment rate would not have improved.”

Big plans afoot

However, the chamber has a plan to address the metro’s skills shortage and youth unemployment problems.

The skills desk was launched on Tuesday to be funded by the Eastern Cape Development Corporation and work in partnership with Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator.

The launch of the desk is aligned with the work of the Chamber’s Local Economy Reinvention Think Tank, a collaborative initiative to reinvent the local economy as the key manufacturing base on the African continent.

“The technical skills shortage has been identified as a key focus area and, as such, the Think Tank has a dedicated workstream that assesses the challenges, requirements and the strategy which needs to be deployed to address this,” Van Huyssteen said

“This encompasses the rapid speed of change where new jobs are fast emerging, especially in areas such as artificial intelligence (AI) and the (digitisation) of manufacturing.

Read more: Dual engine needed to tackle youth unemployment and talent shortage crises

“The desk is designed to take an industry demand-led approach, ensuring that it is responsive to the specific needs of employers and the jobs in demand. Major existing manufacturers and incoming investors to the Bay are highlighting their technical skills requirements and to this end, it is vital that all the stakeholders work together to build a sufficient pool of skilled technical talent.

“This will also incorporate a match-making focus to ensure that displaced workers, with technical skills, are linked to companies which are being launched or are growing their operations,” Van Huyssteen said.

Acting president of the chamber Kelvin Naidoo said that recently, when the Mercedes Benz factory in East London reduced its operations by a shift, the early days of collaboration on this project made it possible for factories to absorb technically skilled workers in Nelson Mandela Bay.

Van Huyssteen said: “This initiative is also designed to help reduce youth unemployment in Nelson Mandela Bay by promoting the technical fields as a career opportunity while meeting the needs of existing and future investors.

“The targeted nature of this programme ensures that the training is not just theoretical, but is responsive to the speed of change and aligned with the actual needs of local businesses, making it a win-win for both employers and job seekers. It is also vital that underpinning these efforts, more scholars become proficient in mathematics core at a matric level and that there is greater awareness of the job opportunities which are available in the technical fields.”

Talent pipeline

Ayanda Wakaba, CEO of the Eastern Cape Development Corporation, emphasised the importance of creating a sustainable talent pipeline for Nelson Mandela Bay.

He said it was crucial to ensure access to the right talent to address current and future skills gaps and employment demands in the automotive and manufacturing sectors.

“This initiative will not only provide immediate training solutions, but will also help prepare the next generation of workers to contribute to the long-term sustainability of our local industries,” Wakaba said.

Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator’s chief opportunity development officer Stephen Shields said that the newly launched skills desk was aligned with Harambee’s goal to reduce the barriers young people faced to enter the labour market.

“We are working together to promote inclusive hiring with employers, increase access to earning opportunities, provide demand-led skilling and ultimately contribute to local economic development.”

Sybil Chabane, skills adviser at the Harambee, said that it was meaningful and impactful that this step is being taken by industry and that it was led by industry.

Naidoo said Nelson Mandela Bay already had the infrastructure to be a manufacturing base in South Africa. While the industries were diverse, they required fairly similar skill sets. Poaching staff from one another, he explained, just drove up costs, so it would benefit all to have an established talent pipeline.

“We need to know who is available and what skills they have. Some jobs need extensive experience, but others need extensive knowledge,” he said. “That is why the audit will be critical.”

“The next step is to decide how to go from where we are to where we want to be. That is where we will determine the skills we need.”

He said they will then think about five to 10 years in the future to figure out what skills will be needed.

“But we have to turn around de-industrialisation,” he said, referring to the reduction in manufacturing industries in the metro.

“I have a lot of staff who come and ask me if they can do their MBAs. I say no,” Naidoo said. “What I tell them is that we do not need more managers. What we need are leaders.”

Engineering, robotics

Gideon Smith from S4 Integration said in sectors such as manufacturing, energy, and IT, there was a growing need for expertise in electronic engineering, mechanical engineering and robotics.

“As an existing investor, we are prioritising these disciplines, as they are fundamental to innovation, automation and the development of smart technologies that enhance efficiency and competitiveness,” he said.

“Artificial intelligence is set to play a transformative role in the workplace, but rather than replacing human jobs, it will enhance efficiency, accuracy and problem-solving capabilities… The future of work will be about collaboration between humans and AI, ensuring that businesses can operate smarter while maintaining the personal touch that the customers value,” Smith said.

Andiswa Mbatha from Stellantis, one of the new investors in Nelson Mandela Bay, stressed the importance of building relationships with local stakeholders to ensure that the region’s skills development efforts aligned with the needs of businesses.

“Through these strategic partnerships, the chamber has been able to support the building phase of the Stellantis business with skills audits, matching skills to business requirements and forging strong relationships with trade schools and universities,” Mbatha said.

“Our future will likely be a hybrid model, combining human expertise with intelligent automation to maximise productivity and innovation. Prioritising these key skills will enable us to establish a world-class facility that drives economic growth and industry advancement,” she said.

Smith added that crucial skills needed include soft skills such as problem-solving and out-of-the-box thinking.

“Artificial intelligence is not coming, it is already here. We need to adopt and become competitive globally,” he said. It was essential for educational institutions to become more agile, as often by the time a student had finished their training, that technology had already become obsolete.

Read more: Bridging the digital divide with education as a catalyst for economic inclusion and growth

Also on Tuesday in Gqeberha, Minister of Employment and Labour Nomakhosazana Meth delivered the opening address at the G20 Employment Working Group. She said, “Cooperation is the bedrock of human civilisation.”

“Humanity has progressed through collaboration from the earliest forms of social organisation to the complex global systems we navigate today. Yet, in this era of unilateralism, protectionism and nationalism, the spirit of cooperation is under threat. We are witnessing a decline in the sense of common purpose, even as the challenges we face grow more interconnected and complex.

Read more: A strategic reset: How Europe can forge stronger ties with Africa amid global tensions

She said the G20 Employment Working Group would focus on addressing the profound transformation in the world of work which is driven by technological advancements, climate change and demographic shifts, adding that addressing youth unemployment was the first priority. DM

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Business Maverick

Big plans afoot

Talent pipeline

Engineering, robotics