Supply and demand of agricultural graduates in the agriculture sector Education, Science and Skills Development

This presentation: 1.Overview - output of agricultural education and training institutions 2.Examination of the size of intermediate to high skills labour force 3.Supply – demand and absorbtion 4.Key factors and themes affecting supply and demand 5.Recommendations

1. Institutional output Approximate total of 2550 graduates for one year 2003

2. Employment in Agriculture

Employment by industry Salary of >R2500 per month is proxy for intermediate to higher level skills Approximately workers But subtract workers with non-agricultural skills

Employment by occupation

9.0% Salary of >R2500 per month is proxy for intermediate to higher level skills Approximately workers But does not include other agriculture occupations eg: professionals, scientists etc.

Employment by field of study Salary of >R2500 per month is proxy for intermediate to higher level skills Between to workers But some of these may not be working in the agricultural sector

3. Contribution of output to cover demand LFS 2004 suggests that out of Skilled agricultural and fishery workers there are with degrees diplomas and certificates We have 2550 FET to HET graduates entering the labour market The replacement rate that can be sustained for intermediate to high skills work in agriculture is: Between 2 550/ = 6.1%

Changing labour market conditions Long term decline in employment but share for agriculture rises from 12% to 13% (1995 to 2002) - this gives a 24.7% increase in real terms (Bhorat,2005) Rising skills composition of the agricultural labour force

Labour market absorbtion

Absorbtion of graduates 1.5% of agricultural graduates experienced of a period of unemployment – but in proportion with total share of graduates in 2000 of 1.47% (Moleke,2005) Agricultural graduates finding work 93% successful after 6 months 80% successful among Humanities, Arts and Law graduates Note: Data for higher education only - not Colleges

Key findings: Demand signals Demand for skills rising with vertical and horizontal integration of product value chains Formalisation of industry organisations is evident with positive impact: Professional (eg:Soil Science Society of SA) Producers (eg: SA Avocado Growers Assoc) Service (eg: Field Guides Association) Consumer bodies (eg: SA Red Meat Industry Company)

Key findings: demand patterns Main demand for agriculture skills is in primary agriculture Skills required outside of the range of agricultural fields eg: Management and financial Chemical engineering Chemistry Food Technology

Key findings: demand patterns Occupational categories of skills upgrading needs: Growing interest among employers in R&D activities Sales positions have rising requirements Farmers and Farm managers Specific skills sets (Sectoral) eg: Animal feeds – Feed Formulator Seed manufacture – Seed Scientists Public Sector - veterinarians (inter alia)

Key findings: general issues Cross-cutting skills – life-skills, communication, teamwork, IT etc. Perceptions of employers about graduates Concerns regarding image of agriculture

Key findings: supply-demand Factors creating localised demand Wage differentials (Public – Private) Rural – urban differentials in supply Intra-sectoral labour market demand imbalances Time-based nature of demand Geo-climatic influences

Key findings: supply-demand How demand is being met: Substitution masks real demand Demand is partially met by short courses with focused high skills inputs Poor labour market information limits positive matches – but see role of associations Demand is being met by adaptation (BAgric) in career paths Demand can be met by conversions (BSc)

Recommendations Improve dissemination and use of information in private and public sector labour markets Dept of Agriculture website Annual HR/Training/HRD event Sustain quality and focus of agricultural study programmes Race and gender differentials Workplace skills in curriculum Agriculture as business Support for rural based institutions

Recommendations Support stronger cooperation between training providers and employers Support for industry associations Facilitate higher-education industry interaction re niche training needs Foster intergovernmental collaboration The mission of Agricultural Colleges The curriculum focus of Agricultural High Schools

Recommendations Strategically target scarce skills Target key occupations/programmes Consider R&D skills Support courses of shorter duration than programmes AGRISETA FET Colleges Upskilling and in-service training as NB as pre-service education Research Needs analysis of targeted sectors to encourage employers to train

Thank You

Equity parameters

Challenges for understanding demand and supply Measuring Labour force growth (and decline) Monitoring education outputs

Growth in education system

Areas of specialisation

Shift to formal work