South Africa's Failing Schools Pose Threat to Growth
Friday, February 25, 2005 at 03:45PM
TheSpook
Sasol Ltd. can't find the mechanics,
welders and riggers it needs among South Africa's 4.6 million
unemployed workers as the country's biggest company alters its
refineries to meet government demands to phase out leaded fuel. "We
will have to import, for the peak of the workload, about 2,000
qualified artisans,'' says Jannie van der Westhuizen, 55, human
resources director at Johannesburg-based Sasol. Almost 11 years after
the end of apartheid, South African schools are struggling to overcome
the legacy left by white- minority governments that refused to prepare
blacks for skilled jobs. Employers from computer-services companies to
builders and dental clinics are seeking to fill as many as 500,000
positions. The scarcity of skilled workers may slow the expansion of
Africa's biggest economy, which accelerated to a four-year high of 3.7
percent last year. President Thabo Mbeki, in his state of the nation
address Feb. 11, promised 21.9 billion rand ($3.7 billion) over the
next five years to train workers. [more]
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