Posted on January 19, 2011

Dr B.E. Nzimande, Minister of Higher Education and Training
In June 2010 I wrote about the proposed Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) Landscape and how it would impact on the Cultural Heritage and Creative Industries. In the blog, organisations and practitioners in the sectors were encouraged to participate in public hearings that were to take place in October 2010. In November 2010, the Minister of Higher Education and Training (DHET), Dr. Blade Nzimande, announced the 2011 to 2016 SETA Landscape in Parliament, with various changes to the landscape for the next five year-period. These changes include the re-allocation of the Heritage-related sectors into three SETAs, as opposed to the four-way split that was initially proposed. The new arrangement will come into effect on the 01st of April 2011 and will be implemented as follows:

1. Media (Film, Electronic and Print Media) and Advertising will be transferred from MAPPP-SETA and amalgamated with Information Systems Electronics Telecommunication Technologies Sector Education and Training Authority (ISETT) resulting in the formation a new SETA to be known as the Media, Information and Communication Technologies SETA (MICTS).

2. Creative Industries and Heritage (Performing Arts, Visual Arts and Cultural Heritage) will be transferred from MAPPP-SETA and amalgamated with Tourism, Hospitality Sport Education and Training Authority (THETA) resulting in the formation a new SETA to be known as the Cultural Activities, Tourism, Hospitality and Sport SETA (CATHSSETA).

3. Publishing, Printing and Packaging will be amalgamated with the industries falling under the Clothing, Textiles, Footwear and Leather SETA (CTFL) as well as those falling under the Forest Industries SETA (FIETA) resulting in the formation a new SETA to be known as the Fibre Processing and Manufacturing SETA (FIPROMSETA).

The Minister's decision on the new landscape to be rolled out as the third phase of the National Skills Development Strategy (NSDS III) was informed by the Government's key strategic priorities which are also reflected in the revised Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP II) and the New Growth Path.

According to the MAPPP-SETA, the re-organisation of the economic sub-sectors that belonged to the MAPPP-SETA, and the transfer and amalgamation of its various industries to the three new SETAs, will be a challenging but exciting project. Plans will be put into place to embark on stakeholder briefing sessions and to inform the sector of participation arrangements. However, one of the challenges that have been put forward in this regard is the short time-frames as this may impact on broad and effective stakeholder consultation. In addition to this, sub-sectors such as the Publishing sector have already contested the new arrangement by making a direct submission to the Department of Higher Education and Training. Also, the framework for data collection for the demand and supply analyses was criticised as being be flawed by the Minister in recent media reports. The data for scarce and critical skills that are submitted to all SETAs by employers for training interventions is not accurate as it has become a mere number-crunching exercise.

For Heritage as an industry, data collection as determined by the NSDS I (2000-2005) and NSDS II (2006-2010) was always problematic as a result of the lack of organised business (employers) and organised labour (unions). For this sector, the demand and supply analysis for skills development was even more flawed. In response to this, the MAPPP-SETA embarked on a research project wherein the methodology was not limited to only data collection from Workplace Skills Plans (WSP) submitted by employers. The SETA made use of a mix of models that included focus groups, interviews, advisory councils and online surveys as means of addressing data constraints and weak sectoral organisation. During this research Cultural Heritage, however, was treated as a separate industry to Performing Arts, Visual Arts, Film, Print Media and Publishing. To add value to the research, elements of the Department of Arts and Culture (DAC) strategic plan were integrated.

A key challenge that was identified by this research is finding a clear and all encompassing definition of the industry because of its vastness and overlaps with other industries. According to the research report, the impact that the Cultural Heritage sector has on sectors such as Film; Publishing and Performing Arts in terms of intangible heritage stimulates the production of content. In addition to this, the Tourism sector accelerates growth of the Cultural Heritage sector, specifically with regards to the Craft sub-sector. The focus group for the research for the sector skills plan for the Cultural Heritage sector comprised of representatives from the Cradle of Mankind, The National Heritage Council, the Department of Arts and Culture, Freedom Park, Gauteng Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation, and Underpressure Agency. The first recommendation that was made by the focus group was to determine the scope of the sector and the identification of overlaps and connections with other sectors. This then got me thinking that perhaps a definition of the sector may be required before this sector can effectively organise in order to benefit from national initiatives that are aimed at developing this sector.

According to the MAPPP-SETA research findings, critical skills in the sector that have to be addressed during the next five years are Heritage Resources Management, Heritage Conservation, Generic Project Management, Archiving, Conservation, Development Tourism, Funding Proposal Writing and Business Writing. The identified scarce skills are Heritage Conservation, Indigenous Knowledge Systems, and Heritage Resources Management. The strategies to be undertaken to address these skills gaps will have to be implemented by the new SETA, the Cultural Activities, Tourism, Hospitality and Sport SETA (CATHSSETA). In the new SETA, Creative Industries and Heritage may form a sub-sector that will also include Performing Arts, Visual Arts and Cultural Heritage. However, sectors such as Film and Publishing are to amalgamate with Information Technology and Manufacturing industries, respectively.

With only two months to go before the decisions of the DHET Minister are implemented, the Creative Industries and Heritage sector as defined in the new landscape is still largely in the dark regarding NSDS III and the processes thereof in ensuring that thorough engagements take place. In the new dispensation the sectors will join Tourism and Travel Services; Hospitality; Gambling and Lotteries; Conservation and Guiding; and Sport, Recreation and Fitness sectors from THETA. According to THETA CEO, Mike Tsotetsi, the tourism SETA has put nothing in place for the incoming sectors. THETA is waiting for the MAPPP-SETA to engage with stakeholders before any action can be taken. I recently attended two "Heritage" conferences, a Museums Conference in Durban and another on Oral History in White River, where the scope of "Heritage" as a sector was debated, alongside this debate was the concern regarding the lack of articulation with the Libraries and Archives sectors. That concern has yet to be addressed even in terms of skills development for "Heritage"; or Cultural Heritage; or Creative Industries and Heritage sectors or whatever we choose to name this sector.

For more information on the NDSD III, please visit:

http://www.mappp-seta.co.za/

http://www.theta.org.za/

http://www.isett.org.za/

Xolelwa Kashe Katiya is the Deputy Director of the Archival Platform and a Research Fellow of the Archives and Public Culture Research Initiative