At the outset, I wish to inform you that I have no intention of "blowing the trumpet" of the CTFL SETA by highlighting our accomplishments over the last 5 years. Nor do I intend presenting you with a vast array of statistics to justify reasons for our continued existence. There are far more weighty issues to put on the table today.

It is my firm belief that if the South African public wants to know how well any SETA is doing, or not doing, then they should ask the clients of that respective SETA – that is – organised labour and employers who are here today. Alternatively, the Department of Labour, our reporting department, undertakes ongoing performance reviews of SETAs and are thus in an authoritative position to give informed and objective opinion on any SETA’s performance.

The purpose of my discourse is to present you with the scale of the human resource development challenge facing the clothing, textiles, footwear and leather sector and the problems encountered by the CTFL SETA in meeting this very considerable challenge.

There is a general consensus, supported by a proliferation of recent research studies done in our sector that the sustainability and growth of the sector depends to a large measure on the quality of the national workforce.

Research studies also show that given the high cost of manufacturing in SA, this sector is simply unable to compete in low cost, high volume segments of the market. This means that the sector needs to move up the value chain. However, with the low levels of skills, particularly at the intermediate and advanced end of the skills continuum, this sector will not become globally competitive, unless our skills response goes to scale.

Let’s start by asking 3 critical questions:

1. What targets must the sector meet between 2005 to 2010 to create a

globally competitive workforce ?

2. What targets has the CTFL SETA set for itself in this same period ?
3. How do we address the deficits between what is the needed targets by the sector (question 1) and what the CTFL SETA is resourced to deliver over the next 5 years (question 2) ?

Let’s assume that the clothing and textiles workforce is in the region of 200 000 people.

The total cost to meeting the target deficit is R2.639 billion. Pragmatically speaking, this figure is likely to be out of reach. The customised sector programme has projected a sum of R800 million over 3 years for HRD matters, which would be sufficient and realisable.

Given the problem with obtaining funding from other sources, we are desperate for a sum of R50 to R75 million per annum to kick start the process. But this would involve prioritising projects and making cutbacks on the quantum of the grants.

From a human resource perspective, it is evident that unless the deficit is bridged between what is needed to make the sector globally competitive and what is expected to be achieved by the CTFL SETA, the sector will be handicapped by a shortage of skills.

Global uncompetitive economic sectors in any part of the world are doomed for extinction – hence, the importance of meeting the HRD challenge for our sector.

Our income is in the region of R60 million a year – simply not enough to meet the scale of the HRD challenge in the sector.

There are 2 problems preventing the CTFL SETA from creating a globally competitive workforce: insufficient funding due to small levy income and prescriptions set by the Department of Labour on skills development spending.

How do we address this two-fold problem ?

• There is a need for the National Skills Fund to allocate additional funding to the SETA. This is based on the grounds that government has identified the CTFL sector as a priority sector for development and job creation. The Department of Trade and industry also has a role to play in supporting skills development activities in the CTFL SETA.
• The CTFL SETA delivered on its 8 NSF projects for 2000-2005. We exceeded our Growth and Development Summit target of 1080 by registering just under 1200 learners on learnerships.
• Our application for a further learnership grant of R24 million was rejected without any plausible reason by the Department of Labour.
• We desperately need funding to improve the national workforce.

• Skills spending for both mandatory and discretionary grants are rigidly prescribed by the Department of Labour and set in the Service Level Agreement of the CTFL SETA in terms of the National Skills Development Strategy.
• The major problem with a highly prescriptive approach is that the CTFL SETA is compelled to spend monies on skills development activities that may not necessarily be of critical importance to the sector as identified in the Customised Sector Programmes of the Department of Trade and Industry as well as the CTFL SETA Sector Skills Plan. In order words, training spend is diluted across a range of training initiatives, thus disabling the CTFL SETA from focusing on key areas of intervention.
• A special dispensation from the Department of Labour to pursue the skills development imperatives set out in the Customised Sector Programme is a way out of this conundrum.
• NSDS II appears to reinforce the disjuncture between various state departments and support agencies around human resource development (HRD) issues. As an example, the DTI is developing customised sector programmes for clothing and textiles and footwear and leather. NSDS II should give sufficient flexibility for the respective SETA to frame its activities around the skills development imperatives outlined in the CSPs. In order words, the skills strategy underpins the work, is informed by and resonates with the legitimate HRD needs of specific sectors. This is, in essence, a demand-driven approach to skills formation. This is not happening. The strategy does not allow this to happen. It will result in duplication and wastage of scarce resources.

• The importance of the CTFL sector lies in the fact that:

-this sector supports rapid industrialisation.

We will be doing the people of this country a huge disservice if we allow this sector to fail.

Thank you.

Dr Hoosen Rasool

CTFL SETA