Sarah Babb, Managing Director of skills development consultancy The Skills Framework, says the only successful way to close this knowledge gap is through effective work readiness programmes: "Simple induction programmes just don't go far enough. They usually focus on an orientation to the environment an employee is entering and are predominantly procedural and geared towards company specific policies and the office layout."
Babb says the graduate knowledge gap is costing South African business hundreds of thousands of rands every year and is potentially damaging to fledgling careers if not managed properly.
"It also raises the debate as to exactly who is responsible for ensuring graduates have adequate soft skills such as communication, business etiquette, presentation skills and conflict management skills as well as business skills like research, IT know-how, business writing and self management. Both personal development and interpersonal skills are required.
"The reality is that most secondary and tertiary institutions do not provide an environment where these skills can be developed which means new entrants into the workplace face the added pressure of delivering to their job expectations as well as having to develop critical skills that are required to successfully function within any workplace."
Babb notes that some businesses believe the costs or time needed to run effective work readiness programmes is a deterrent but points out that the true costs are much less than the recruitment cost of hiring a new employee.
"If you pay a headhunter 14% to find an employee who earns R100 000, that is a cost of R14 000 plus the opportunity cost of lost time on the job. It soon adds up and underlines the need for and the financial sense of work readiness initiatives."
Babb says that the work readiness programmes can be run in conjunction with the orientation or induction programme. The workplace readiness programme would add value to the learnerships, internships, graduate development programmes or as part of SETA training initiatives in line with the NSDS targets.
