Finance and Economic Opportunities

To address youth unemployment, the Department focuses on skills training in response to industry demands. The Department actively drives a work placement programme (Work and Skills and Artisan Development programme) and various Enterprise Development initiatives.

a. Skills Training

The attainment of higher levels of employment for youth is supported by programmes that aim to address systemic challenges. These programmes look to improve the following:

• Education attainment levels
• School and higher education retention rates
• Career awareness levels
• Life and job readiness skills
• Effective delivery of education and training curricula to address industry needs
• Coordination across a number of stakeholders as it relates to policy, planning implementation and funding of skills development programmes and projects

The Skills Training Programmes are rolled out across the Province based on industry needs and are either supply or demand - led interventions. These are delivered with partners in order to complement existing training programmes, that are conducted or funded by SETAs, DHET and Industry players.

Included amongst these training programmes are:

(i) Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) Programme: aims to assist employed and unemployed people to fast track their competence to become trade test ready.  Candidates with prior learning experience in demand led priority sectors will be identified and made aware of RPL opportunities.

(ii) Mentorship: The Programme aims to provide experienced or qualified employees with soft skills, mentoring and coaching skills. It is believed that this intervention will assist with the placement of youth. It also assists qualified artisans and people in priority skilled occupations in the workplace, to become mentors to artisanal candidates.

(iii) Sector Technical Training: This programme focuses on the Software Development at Schools Skills Program. It exposes youth at school level to foundational coding and software development skills.

b. Work Placement

The Work & Skills programme and the Artisan Development Programme aims to expose youth to work placement experience for a period of 3 to 18 months across the Province, and to equip them with appropriate skills to increase their employability in the following sectors:

• Oil and Gas including boat building, manufacturing and ship repair
• Tourism and Film
• Agri-processing
• Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and ICT
• Water and Energy

The training and work placement programmes, have been supported by employers who are increasingly looking for people with academic achievements and practical experience.

c. Enterprise Development

The Department is focused on customised support interventions where the demand raised, is focused on youth unemployment in areas such as Paarl and Hanover Park, through the whole of society approach. Small businesses play a vital role in creating jobs, increasing produce volumes, increasing exports, promoting innovation, and promoting entrepreneurship (DSBD, 2017). One of the challenges we are confronted with, relates to how we develop an entrepreneurial culture through the establishment of an effective support ecosystem for potential entrepreneurs and building an entrepreneurial mindset, starting with the youth. The Department has included youth as part of their initiatives being rolled out. The Enterprise Development unit assists small businesses and entrepreneurs across the Western Cape in the following manner:

(i) The Advanced Emerging Business Support Programme (EBSP) provides high-quality low-cost training, aimed at improving the economic and business outcomes of SMMEs. It focuses on improving the managerial and entrepreneurial capabilities of business owners. This programme focuses on equipping one hundred (100) small business owners and entrepreneurs with the relevant business knowledge and skills to enhance the growth, viability and sustainability of their businesses. The two-day training course covers the following topics: growth and strategy management; growth marketing; financial management; and communication skills. Through practical business education, entrepreneurs have the opportunity to increase their business acumen and management skills, which are key determinants of small business success and growth. Managerial capital is critical to strengthening the knowledge, skills and confidence that business owners need to grow sustainable, job-creating enterprises.

(ii) The Western Cape Funding Fair provides a platform for entrepreneurs, funders and business development support organisations to connect, with the goal of seeing successful projects secure funding. This initiative aims to address the obstacle of access to finance faced by many enterprises based in the Western Cape.

(iii) The Public-Sector Supplier Development Initiative is focused on ensuring that businesses become compliant in terms of registration such as the Central Supplier Database, Western Cape Supplier Database (now Supplier Evidence Bank), and tax compliance, to enhance their ability to access government procurement opportunities.

(iv) The Supplier Development Programme works with businesses on a one-to-one basis to improve their performance and expand their capabilities for the benefit of the business owner. It focuses on the oil & gas and agri-processing sectors and assists small businesses (including youth-owned) in areas such as Doringbaai, Stellenbosch, Malmesbury, Cape Town, Piketberg, Darling, Saldanha, Langebaan and Vredenburg.

(v) The SMME Booster Fund, a R22m allocation, solicited calls from organisations seeking funding assistance to enhance their current businesses development support programmes. The Fund aims to support organisations that are operational in, and servicing rural and township-based SMMEs, however, other SMMEs (e.g. metro-based or sector-specific) where job creation and retention is a real possibility, are not excluded. Youth and women-owned SMMEs were also highlighted as a priority. The Fund will provide financial support to organisations in the business development support environment with existing programmes that are aimed at supporting SMMEs.

  The key objectives of the SMME Booster Fund are, inter alia, to:

• Ensure that the objectives of job creation (or sustaining and minimising job losses) are adhered to;
• Ensure the sustainability, growth and development of SMMEs; and
• Provide appropriate business development support services to contribute towards business resilience.

          One of the categories of the Fund considered proposals addressing youth owned businesses. The Fund will provide financial support to institutions who have existing programmes that provide business development support such as capacity building, training, mentorship, marketing and operational support (including machinery and equipment) to SMMEs (including social enterprises) with either high growth opportunities, who are youth and/or women-owned.

(vi) The Western Cape Entrepreneurship Recognition Awards (WCERA) forms part of the Western Cape Government’s SMME support programme to recognise the achievements, passion, and talent of entrepreneurs in the Province. The Department strives to recognise successful entrepreneurs through hosting the WCERA which is an annual public event in recognition of success through entrepreneurship. The WCERA will showcase, recognise and support inspiring, high-potential entrepreneurs, including youth-owned businesses.

  The objectives of the WCERA is to:

• Create awareness about entrepreneurship and its potential;
• Provide a platform to inspire individuals to become job creators as opposed to job seekers; and
• Provide entrepreneurs and business owners with public exposure and portray them as heroes which enable them to speak about their journey and share their experiences.

(vii) SMME Forum - In partnership with organisations such as the Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda) and the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) as partners of the DEDAT established and co-ordinated Provincial SMME Forum that comprises all government departments and agencies (e.g. IDC, DTI) supporting small business and entrepreneurship.