Air Products has implemented numerous programmes over the years to strengthen the company’s Skills Development efforts and to ensure the growth of employees and diversity in the workplace. As a leader in the industrial gas industry, Air Products, like many other businesses in South Africa strive to contribute towards the growth and development of their employees, but more importantly, the South African workforce as a whole. Skills Development no longer only impacts individual businesses, the impact on the economy as a whole is evident.

At the heart of Skills Development, the team who oversees this portfolio ensures compliance to legislation, navigates the company through the complex landscape of Skills Development and ensures that the relevant deadlines are met.

According to Zodwa Tomile, Learning and Development Manager at Air Products, Skills Development plays a critical role in gaining, improving, and expanding the abilities of employees which can be done as formal, informal and on-the-job training. There are numerous advantages of enabling employees to improve their skills set as it equips them to adapt to changes in the work environment, improves their employability, assists them to achieve their professional goals and it contributes to the overall performance and success of the organization.

Skills Development, a key element within the Human Resources (HR) portfolio

Skills Development plays a pivotal role in HR, specifically within Air Products, as it ensures that the skills and knowledge required by employees are in place. Most importantly, it looks at the trends in the industry / sector in terms of scarce and critical skills, sourcing and implementing relevant interventions. Tomile explains that the industrial gas industry is specialised and technical, which requires a workforce with specific skills sets. It is important to equip the employees with the knowledge and relevant skills they require to function optimally in their roles. Furthermore, Skills Development assists in creating and strengthening a talent pool within the company.

Tomile, who joined Air Products in 2016, explains that she has worked tirelessly to change the status quo and the company has experienced positive outcomes as a result, due to the support and buy-in from all internal stakeholders. She further mentions that learners and programme participants are the heart of all the training interventions that they implement.

Unpacking Skills Development and legislation

Organisations within all industries are required to compile and submit the Workplace Skills Plan (WSP) / Annual Training Report (ATR) to their respective Sector Education and Training Authority (SETAs). This information is consolidated into the Sector Skills Report, which in turn informs the National Skills Plan. The National Skills Plan determines the skills needs for the country and issues a directive to relevant institutions for implementation.

Skills Development is underpinned by a number of South African regulations such as the Skills Development Act, Skills Development Levies Act, Employment Equity Act and BBBEE Act to mention a few. 

However, as an industrial gas manufacturing organisation, Air Products is affiliated to the Chemical Industries Training Authority (CHIETA) Sector Education Training Authority (SETA). CHIETA plays an important role in identifying the skills needs and gaps within the chemical industry and partnering with the industry in addressing those skills / training needs.

The manufacturing industry is constantly evolving, and there is a definite shift from manual assembly lines or techniques towards more technologically advanced automated processes. In order to be sustainable as an organisation, it is crucial that companies invest in developing its most important resources, the employees.

Skills Development in action at Air Products

Tomile further describes that she compiles and submits the Workplace Skills Plan (WSP) and Annual Training Report (ATR) to the primary SETA, the Chemical Education and Training Authority (CHIETA) on an annual basis. This report informs the SETA on which training was implemented in the previous year as well as the training planned for the current year. This information is then incorporated into the Sector Skills Plan which determines the priority of skills for the chemical industry which in turn informs the national skills needs (National Skills Plan).

Commenting on the challenges of Skills Development, Tomile comments: “There has been a shift in the Skills Development landscape that came into effect on 1 July 2024. This has brought many changes and challenges in the field, with most, historical qualifications being replaced by QCTO Occupational Qualifications. The introduction of Occupational Qualifications aims to align the learning programmes to the occupations in the workplace, in accordance with the Organising Framework for Occupations (OFO) Codes, which is basically a skills-based classification system for jobs in South Africa”.

Even though there are several challenges with regards to Skills Development, Tomile highlights that Air Products has success stories to share. The implementation of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) in technical and non-technical fields has yielded the desired results as employees who participated in various learning programmes attained Certificates of Competence and Red Seal Certificates. Through these programmes, the unemployed youth are now permanent employees within Air Products and their Skills Development Absorption Partners. Over the years, they have also partnered with various Skills Development Providers to implement programmes for unemployed learners with disabilities and placed over 80% in permanent employment. Through these initiatives, individuals have not only obtained certificates or qualifications, but there has also been a significant improvement in their self-confidence, increased employment opportunities, and subsequently, improved livelihoods. 

Tomile concludes: “As a leader in the industrial gas industry, it is imperative that Air Products, as an organisation ensures compliance to legislation, but more importantly, that we create opportunities for our employees to improve their skills and knowledge in order to excel and contribute to the future success of the company”. My axiom is changing lives, one at time, through Skills Development. In the words of J.P. Morgan, the first step toward getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are”.