BusinessLive reports that a top European Union (EU) official has expressed great concern about the mismatch between SA’s education system and the skills required for the job market.  

Stefano Manservisi, director-general of the EU’s directorate for international co-operation and development, says the country must take steps to bridge the skills gap — the difference between the skills required and those employees have attained.  He was in SA for the fifth SA-Italy summit aimed at expanding the business and investment relationships between the countries.  Quality education would set SA and other African countries on a sustainable growth trajectory, Manservisi noted.  But, such growth might remain a fanciful hope if the quality of education was poor.  The World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global information technology report 2016, that examined the increasing proliferation of technology and its effects on advancing global prosperity, ranked SA 137th out of 139 countries for the overall quality of its education system.  It placed the quality of SA’s maths and science education last out of the 139 countries.  The deficient education outcomes do not bode well for economic growth and job creation in SA.  They also hamper the country’s ability to foster strategic partnerships with trade partners such as the EU.  The EU is the largest exporter to Southern Africa, with the value of the union’s exports at R1.2-trillion.

• Read this report by Siseko Njobeni in full at BusinessLive

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