SUBSECTOR SKILLS PLAN

EXPLOSIVES

DRAFT: 16 SEPTEMBER 2014

CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................1

2. STATISTICAL OVERVIEW................................................................................................................2

3. KEY CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES........................................................................................4

4. SKILLS DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES................................................................................................5

5. PRIORITY AND SCARCE SKILLS.......................................................................................................6

ANNEXURE A Methodology used to weight WSP data to sector totals................................................7

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1. INTRODUCTION

The Chemical Sector Education and Training Authority (CHIETA) consists of five chambers that represent the nine subsectors of the Chemical Sector. The five chambers are:

Petroleum and Base Chemicals Fast Moving Consumer Goods and Pharmaceuticals Explosives and Fertilisers Speciality Chemicals and Surface Coatings Glass.

Skills planning is a core function of all SETAs and according to CHIETA’s constitution, this function cascades down to its constituent chambers. According to the CHIETA constitution the chambers are (among other things) responsible to consult with the nine subsectors in areas of skills development and planning. The ultimate objective of such consultation is to compile a SSP for the Chemical Sector that takes into consideration areas of skills demand, skills supply, and scarce and critical skills as they manifest in the respective subsectors and a strategic plan that addresses the needs of the total Chemical Sector and its subsectors.

In 2013 the CHIETA commissioned subsector skills plans for each of the nine subsectors. These documents provided detailed analyses of each of the subsectors and were meant to assist the respective chambers in skills planning and to reflect the skills needs of and skills planning for each of the subsectors.

In 2014 the CHIETA decided to prepare much shortened versions of the subsector skills plans – with a strong focus on the most recent challenges and opportunities identified in the respective subsectors and the skills development priorities identified by the chambers responsible for the subsectors.

This shortened version of the subsector skills plan consists of the following sections:

Statistical Overview

This overview is based on the levy payment information for the 2013-2014 financial year and the workplace skills plans (WSPs) submitted to the CHIETA in March 2014. The data was weighted in order to extrapolate it to subsector totals (see Annexure A). The statistical overview provides information on the organisations in the subsector and the employees working in the subsector.

Key Challenges and Opportunities

At a series of chamber meetings held in July 2014 the key skills development challenges facing the Chemical Sector as a whole (as identified in the 2014 SSP update) were presented and discussed. The ways in which each of the subsectors and chambers were affected and reacted to these challenges were highlighted. Challenges and opportunities that were unique to each subsector were also identified. These discussions form the basis for this section in the subsector skills plan.

Skills development Priorities

The skills development priorities that each of the chambers set for itself are reflected in this section of the subsector skills plan.

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Scarce skills

A list of occupations in which skills shortages exist in the Chemicals Sector was compiled for the 2014 SSP. This list was based on the scarce skills information provided by employers in the WSP submissions of March 2014. In the last section of this subsector skills plan the skills shortages identified by employers in this particular subsector are listed in table format. The table is an extract from the scarce skills list of the total sector and contains information on the number of vacancies identified in the subsector. It also provides a sector perspective, i.e. whether it is regarded as a priority skill in the Chemical Sector as a whole, total employment in this occupation in the Chemical Sector, the total number of vacancies in the Chemical Sector and vacancies and percentage of total employment.

This subsector skills plan is a draft document for further discussion in the chamber meetings that will be held in October 2014.

2. STATISTICAL OVERVIEW

ORGANISATIONS IN THE SUBSECTORNumber of levy-payers in subsector 9Percentage of levy-payers in the Chemical Sector 0.5Percentage of levies paid in the Chemical Sector 2

EMPLOYMENT IN THE SUBSECTORTotal employment 3 986

PROVINCIAL DISTRIBUTION OF EMPLOYEESProvince N %

Eastern Cape 6 0.2Free State 20 0.5Gauteng 2 424 60.8Kwazulu Natal 17 0.4Limpopo 126 3.2Mpumalanga 133 3.3North West 467 11.7Northern Cape 77 1.9Western Cape 716 18.0Total 3 986 100.0

AGE DISTRIBUTION OF EMPLOYEESAge category N %Younger than 35 1 267 31.835 - 54 2 044 51.355 - 59 432 10.860 and older 243 6.1Total 3 986 100.0

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OCCUPATIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF EMPLOYEESOccupational Group N %

Managers 360 9.0Professionals 404 10.1Technicians and associate professionals 1 109 27.8Clerical support workers 235 5.9Service and sales workers 121 3.0Skilled and related trades workers 229 5.7Plant and machine operators and assemblers 1 113 27.9Elementary occupations 293 7.4Learners 122 3.1Total 3 986 100

EQUITY

Race and gender distribution of employeesFemale Male Total

N %* N %* N %*African 556 13.9 1 895 47.5 2 451 61.5Coloured 181 4.5 459 11.5 640 16.1Indian 22 0.6 55 1.4 77 1.9White 174 4.4 644 16.2 818 20.5Total 933 23.4 3 053 76.6 3 986 100.0*Percentage of total employment in subsector.

Number of women and Blacks per occupational group

Occupational GroupWomen Blacks

N %* N %*Managers 61 16.9 128 35.6Professionals 100 24.8 210 52.0Technicians and associate professionals 178 16.1 905 81.6Clerical support workers 134 57.0 166 70.6Service and sales workers 36 29.8 112 92.6Skilled and related trades workers 15 6.6 163 71.2Plant and machine operators and assemblers 321 28.8 1 095 98.4Elementary occupations 36 12.3 272 92.8Learners 52 42.6 117 95.9Total 933 23.4 3 168 79.5Percentage of employment in occupational group.

Number of disabled people employed 30Disabled people as % of employment 0.8

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HIGHEST EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS OF EMPLOYEESNQF Level N %

Below Level 01 123 3.1Level 01 96 2.4Level 02 145 3.6Level 03 56 1.4Level 04 961 24.1Level 05 812 20.4Level 06 280 7.0Level 07 99 2.5Level 08 90 2.3Level 09 35 0.9Level 10 26 0.7Undefined 1 263 31.7Total 3 986 100

3. KEY CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

Some of the more general challenges facing the Chemical Sector as a whole also have an effect on the Explosives subsector. These include:

Poor maths and science education at school level. CHIETA as well as companies in the sector are contributing towards the building of the skills pipeline through bridging and school support programmes.

Weaknesses in the public FET sector. High drop-out and low throughput rates. Lack of relevance of qualifications. However, the subsector is working closely with

institutions to ensure the relevance of learning programmes, for example the Explosive Technology course that is offered by UNISA and which is a requirement for all managers in the subsector. This course should be included in the CHIETA qualification matrix and it should be mapped against the correct OFO code.

Challenges related to the education and training of engineers. A plateau was reached in the awarding of engineering qualifications over the past two years notwithstanding the fact that engineering skills were in high demand. Engineers that qualified/graduate were not registering with the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA).

Low output on the Government Certificate of Competency (GCC). The subsector also needs people with this certificate and the low output on this exam remains a challenge.

The training of Chemical and Mechanical Engineers. There are partnerships with various universities of technology in place (Cape, Vaal and Tshwane universities of technology). There is, however a concern that employers are reluctant to employ students from the universities of technology with BTech degrees and that they prefer candidates with BSc Engineering degrees.

The need for structured relationships between universities and industry in respect of the provision of industry-targeted qualifications.

Work integrated learning (WIL) and access to workplaces. WIL is a national priority both in terms of in-service training to complete qualifications as well as post qualification workplace experience. Some of the companies in the sector provide WIL to students. However, CHIETA bureaucratic requirements and the amount of paperwork involved are blockages in the efficient functioning of the system.

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Lack of career guidance and access to learning opportunities. Shortage and capacity of education and training providers including experienced workplace

mentors. Transition between education and the labour market. The majority of new entrants to the

labour market find it very difficult to obtain first entry. Lower skills levels in rural areas. Delays in QCTO processes and uncertainty about managing the transition on quality

assurance issues. Lack of articulation between qualifications.

For the Explosives subsector the recognition of prior learning (RPL) remains a priority.

4. SKILLS DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES

For the Explosives and Fertiliser Chamber the following are priorities:

Multi-skilling of people in the manufacturing and engineering fields, for example fitters and quality inspectors.

Encouraging engineers (qualified with both BTech and BSc degrees) to obtain the GCC and ensuring that programmes are in place to prepare people for the examinations (company guidelines should be explicit regarding any requirements).

Continuing to support the UNISA Explosives Technology course as a critical qualification for employees to progress to supervisory levels.

Implementing RPL and gap training in relation to a range of occupations. Providing work placement opportunities to FET college, university and UoT

students/graduates as part of building the pipeline of new entrants to the subsectors. Ensuring sufficient accredited skills development providers of key programmes (such as

Chemical Operations Levels 1 to 4) in geographical areas where required including Richard Bay.

Consolidating the strong existing relationships with public FET colleges, universities and UoTs.

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5. PRIORITY AND SCARCE SKILLS

Occupation Name Prio

rity

Skill

? Ye

s/N

o

Tota

l Em

ploy

men

t in

Chem

ical

Sec

tor

Scar

ce S

kill

in C

hem

ical

Se

ctor

Empl

oyer

s Who

Id

entifi

ed S

carc

e Sk

ills

Tota

l Vac

anci

es in

Ch

emic

al S

ecto

r

Vaca

ncie

s as %

of

Empl

oym

ent

Comments Vaca

ncie

s Exp

losiv

es

Mining Technician YES 33 YES 2 17 50.8 1Millwright YES 1 114 NO 9 51 4.6 1

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ANNEXURE A Methodology used to weight WSP data to sector totals

The information that employers submit annually to the CHIETA in their Mandatory Grant applications (WSPs/ATRs) provides detailed information on employment in the sector. In order to compensate for organisations that did not submit mandatory grant applications, the data was weighted to sectoral figures. This was done by using the size of the levy amount paid as a proxy for employment. Weighting was calculated separately for each subsector and for the different size organisations in each, because of wage differentials that occur between subsectors and organisations of different sizes.

In each of the subsector-size categories the weights applied were calculated as follows:

Weight = Levy amount paid (all organisations)/levy amount paid (organisations who submitted WSPs)

The weights were applied to the individual employee records and were used throughout the analysis of the sectoral profile. The weights that were applied to each subsector are shown in the table below.

Subsector

< R100 000

R100 000 - R999 999

R1 mil –R4 999

999

R5 mil –R9 999 99

9R10 mil +

Base Chemicals 4.5 1.1 1.3 1.0Explosives 1.0 1.0FMCG 2.2 1.1 1.2 1.0Fertilisers 3.7 1.2 1.0Glass 5.3 1.7 1.0Petroleum 1.9 1.3 1.3 1.0 1.0Pharmaceuticals 1.8 1.1 1.3Speciality Chemicals 1.7 1.1 1.0 1.0Surface Coatings 2.0 1.1 1.0

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