Tseliso Mohlomi, newly appointed Senior Director at the Institute for the Future of Work (IFOW).
Tseliso Mohlomi, newly appointed Senior Director at the Institute for the Future of Work (IFOW) said that partnering with the PSETA is a step in the right direction in our quest to play a leading role in the discourse around the future of work.
“Through the Institute for the Future of Work, the University seeks to close the gap between academia and the industry, thus the public sector as one of the biggest employers in the country is a critical stakeholder.”
“This partnership will enable the identification of needs and enhancing collaboration between the IFoW and government in championing skills for the future in the public sector,” explained Mohlomi
According to Dr Vathiswa Papu-Zamxaka, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research, Innovation and Engagement, the University is tremendously confident that bringing the two parties together will produce a transformative partnership through which knowledge to benefit the public sector will be co-created.
“The timing of our partnership with PSETA is quite opportune. We are currently at the forefront of providing knowledge that works, knowledge that will contribute to solving societal challenges. This partnership provides opportunities to develop and optimise new innovative ways and future skills for public servants. We look forward to the successful completion of the project and the positive impact it will have across the public sector,” said Dr Papu-Zamxaka.
The pilot research projects will focus on two areas:
- Skills development of ICT support staff: A study on future ICT skills needs and baseline ICT skills analysis of ICT staff working in the public sector.
- Future Skills for the public sector in South Africa: A research intervention focusing on the future of skills in the public sector.
Dr Vathiswa Papu-Zamxaka, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research, Innovation and Engagement.
The two research projects will commence immediately and should conclude in March 2023. Researchers from the Faculty of ICT will undertake the first project and researchers from the Faculty of Humanities the second one.
The Executive Dean of the ICT Faculty and task team member for IFoW’s Technology Hub, Dr Etienne van Wyk, indicated that their team will link up with the South African government department responsible for the organisation and administration of the civil service, i.e. the Department of Public Service and Administration, in order to successfully conduct this research. “The DPSA requires verification of current ICT capacity to effectively position the public service for the future of work and the fourth industrial revolution. Hence, we will conduct a baseline study to determine the skills development needs for ICT support staff,” he said.
“Since the 4IR is driven by ICT technologies, it is worrying that only 0.3% of public sector staff is currently in ICT functions. This emphasises the need to prioritise the upskilling and reskilling of public servants towards the capacitation of ICT functions,” Dr van Wyk concluded.