An accelerated programme of skills development is critical to address the serious skills shortage in the country. This is one of the strategies to address unemployment as well as to unlock the potential of thousands of aspirant small business and entrepreneurial ventures in South Africa.
 
The country is ill-equipped with many of the skills it needs for economic growth and job creation. The government’s challenge, aided by the private sector, is to create new jobs while improving the productivity of existing firms who are struggling to compete in the global economy.
 
Recent legislation to fast-track the development of scarce skills includes the Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition (JIPSA) which is part of the government’s  Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative (ASGI-SA). 
 
A key cog in the skills development infrastructure are the country’s Sector and Education Training Authorities (SETAs), who are currently in the process of implementing the second five-year phase of the government’s National Skills Development Strategy (2005-2010).
 
* The challenges and the priorities facing the skills development programme going forward and the obstacles to progress. Experts in their fields will pin-point what still needs to be done to further speed up the skills development process.
 
* The outlook for JIPSA - what are its main objectives and how will these supplement the current national skills development strategy?