By Akani Nkuna
An expert-led panel at the Transport Education and Training Authority (TETA) Transport Month Dialogue has identified information and networking gaps as major barriers hindering the meaningful participation of small businesses in the transport sector.
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Speaking during the joint TETA and Inside Education dialogue on Thursday in Sandton, executive director of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, Catherine Larkin, said opportunities often emerged through professional networks, making it important to guide and educate young people on the value of networking.
“Often we find opportunities travel through networks; it is not always what you know but who you know. I think when it comes to youngsters, we really need to guide and teach around networking,” Larkin said.
The panel also featured South African Express Parcel Association (SAEPA) chief executive officer Tony d’Almeida, and Gautrain Management Agency executive manager for knowledge management, Viwe Mgedezi.
The discussion focused on the topic “From Capability to Participation: Enabling an Inclusive Transport Sector”, which explored how capable individuals and enterprises could be supported to participate meaningfully in the sector.
Larkin urged entrepreneurs to maintain professionalism when marketing their businesses, highlighting the importance of identifying and promoting the attributes that set them apart from competitors. She also emphasised the use of the internet to expand their reach and attract a wider customer base.
She said that a strong branding strategy was essential to business success, noting that while professional qualifications were important, they alone were not enough to guarantee success.
Mgedezi identified policy and legislative constraints as some of the barriers hindering business growth, calling for certain policies to be relaxed to create a more enabling environment for businesses to operate.
During one of the breakaway sessions, participants discussed ways to address the barriers preventing enterprises from meaningfully contributing to an inclusive transport sector.
The discussions highlighted the inadequacy of TETA’s budget allocations to support skills development on a wider scale, as well as lengthy funding procurement processes, some of which can take years to complete.
Participants noted that such delays risk rendering the qualifications for which organisations initially sought funding irrelevant by the time the funding is approved.
The session also highlighted the need to reduce the six month waiting period between the completion of learnership programmes and the writing of the External Integrated Summative Assessment (EISA).
Participants recommended that relevant stakeholders, including the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO) and Education and Training Quality Assurance (ETQA) bodies convene to review the process and ensure that learners write the EISA shortly after completing their learnerships.
The discussions also emphasised the importance of tracking learners after completing their programmes to support their smooth transition into the industry and ensure that theoretical knowledge is translated into practical workplace skills.
Participants recommended that future curriculum development take technological advancements into account to ensure that training remains relevant, innovative and responsive to current and emerging challenges in the transport sector.
As measures of success, participants agreed on the need for quarterly meetings among stakeholders to strengthen collaboration and monitor progress.
They also identified the absorption of learners into the workforce after completing their learnership programmes as a key indicator of effective skills development and industry integration.
