The tertiary education institution of the future towards 2030: scenarios for skills transformation

The research methodology used in this research was comprised of Inayatullah’s Six Pillars of Futures Studies, in which emphasis was placed on scenario planning and the creation of alternative scenarios for the tertiary education institutions in South Africa towards 2030. An environmental scan revealed the drivers of change in the education sector and in the world of work. Deepening of the future of education was done through Causal Layered Analysis (CLA) to facilitate the discerning of issues from various viewpoints in the creation and expansion of transformative stories so as to provide a window into possible futures for skills transformation. The four scenarios for the tertiary education institution of the future, namely “Stairway to Heaven”, “Highway to Hell”, “Bat out of Hell” and “Still Raining” were developed. These scenarios can be used as departure points by tertiary education providers to make strides towards the Global Sustainable Development Education 2030 targets and the attainment of South Africa’s Vision 2030 targets contained in the National Development Plan. Equally important, these scenarios make known what was previously unknown, exploring the possible and impossible, and encouraging new, innovative thinking for decision-makers. The “Stairway to Heaven” scenario supplies a future in which all stakeholders approve of and embrace the mandate of providing relevant skills and job readiness in a fast-changing world, and the benefits are maximised for all involved through co-creation. It is a scenario where industry, tertiary institutions and society have decided that the purpose of education should be lifelong learning for a viable, productive and sustainable world. The desired future of tertiary education is set against a backdrop of public and private sector collaboration, with the aim of turning the nation into an excellent hub for skills transformation. Furthermore, the scenario provides some insight on the vital measures required to embrace the innovation and the appropriate pedagogy. This research was motivated by the need to shine a light on the 21st century learner, rapidly obsoleting skills, no-collar worker, skills of the future, learning futures, and possible predictions about what new jobs may come into existence so that educationists can better prepare for the future. This research offers solutions on how institutions can prepare students for future jobs, especially considering the rapid changes in jobs and the unprecedented demise of certain jobs. The research closes a research gap through creating scenarios that offer various stakeholders in the tertiary education sector different insights and analysis into a number of interpretations of the potential paths that they can follow. The scenario application culminated in the formulation and creation of a “future vision of the tertiary education institution in South Africa towards 2030”, delivering a platform for skills transformation that will deliver adaptable workers, and sustainable and inclusive progress for all South Africans. To bring transformation into the present and design the future that embraces skills transformation, it is invaluable to interrogate the roles and choices that stakeholders of the educational sector make in determining the preferred future. The approach of this research makes it clear that, as the new world of work transpires, policymakers, students, labour, educational leaders, captains of industry and workers must proactively manage the workforce transitions. The focal issue is to discover the appropriate tools that will establish the confidence necessary to create the preferred future for skills transformation in tertiary institutions. This research has laid a platform for co-creation with various stakeholders in an effort to visualise a tertiary institution that contributes to skills development. The vision must accept that the South African jobs and skills historical profile is different from that of industrialised countries. Alternatively, the nation should respond to the double-barrelled challenge of participating in a high skills’ competitive environment on a global scale, as well as a local context that creates low-wage, blue-collar jobs to absorb the large numbers who are unemployed. The challenge is even greater for South Africa, because the economy – if highly service-oriented, with a big informal sector and a quality postgraduate education offering – is supported by a basic education system that is not producing enough critical thinkers who are equipped for university and work life. Thus, the system requires a double transformation to ensure student-centredness and meet the needs of a future worker

The readiness for the 4th industrial revolution by SARS towards 2030

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) is an autonomous agent that was established to collect taxes on behalf of the state. This mandate is shared across countries where the common thread of revenue collection agencies is that they all need to collect revenue, want participants within the system to act responsibly, the process to be fair and to act within the boundaries of legislation. It has become increasingly challenging for revenue collection agencies across the world to ensure tax compliance and ensure optimal revenue collection when unemployment rates are high, and the economy continues to struggle. It is a shared objective between revenue collection agencies to optimise revenue collection initiative and to narrow the tax gap. The technological advances in all sectors have grown at an exponential rate within a very short period. The WEF (2018) emphasised that the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) brings with it an era of unprecedented innovation, technical change and global connectivity. Technology has become the key driver in assisting SARS to achieve its objectives to inform taxpayers of their responsibilities, make it easy for them to comply and ensure compliance to the tax laws. The primary objective of the research study is to investigate the possible factors that could influence the future state of revenue services, develop a series of alternative scenarios, and provide the preferred future of the South African Revenue Services towards 2030. The Six Pillars of futures studies provide a theory of futures thinking that links method and tools, that is developed through praxis (Inayatullah, 2012). The Causal Layered Analysis (CLA) was the preferred research tool used in this study to deepen the future analysis. Emphasis was placed on scenario planning and the creation of alternative futures for the South African Revenue Services towards 2030. The drivers of change that impacted the economy were identified and how it can be utilised to close the tax gap. SARS has been a victim of seizure where the destabilising of corporate governance and efficiency was the core objective. It is therefore important to understand the past and present to enable better planning. This paper aims to better understand the disruptors to industry and the opportunity to improve efficiency and effectiveness using technology associated with the 4IR. SARS has great potential in being globally competitive with other countries, if government, stakeholders and SARS leadership have a shared vision of what the future revenue services will look like, what its capabilities will be and resource availability to ensure this vision is realized.Thesis (MBA) -- Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences , Business Administration, 202

The readiness for the 4th industrial revolution by SARS towards 2030

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) is an autonomous agent that was established to collect taxes on behalf of the state. This mandate is shared across countries where the common thread of revenue collection agencies is that they all need to collect revenue, want participants within the system to act responsibly, the process to be fair and to act within the boundaries of legislation. It has become increasingly challenging for revenue collection agencies across the world to ensure tax compliance and ensure optimal revenue collection when unemployment rates are high, and the economy continues to struggle. It is a shared objective between revenue collection agencies to optimise revenue collection initiative and to narrow the tax gap. The technological advances in all sectors have grown at an exponential rate within a very short period. The WEF (2018) emphasised that the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) brings with it an era of unprecedented innovation, technical change and global connectivity. Technology has become the key driver in assisting SARS to achieve its objectives to inform taxpayers of their responsibilities, make it easy for them to comply and ensure compliance to the tax laws. The primary objective of the research study is to investigate the possible factors that could influence the future state of revenue services, develop a series of alternative scenarios, and provide the preferred future of the South African Revenue Services towards 2030. The Six Pillars of futures studies provide a theory of futures thinking that links method and tools, that is developed through praxis (Inayatullah, 2012). The Causal Layered Analysis (CLA) was the preferred research tool used in this study to deepen the future analysis. Emphasis was placed on scenario planning and the creation of alternative futures for the South African Revenue Services towards 2030. The drivers of change that impacted the economy were identified and how it can be utilised to close the tax gap. SARS has been a victim of seizure where the destabilising of corporate governance and efficiency was the core objective. It is therefore important to understand the past and present to enable better planning. This paper aims to better understand the disruptors to industry and the opportunity to improve efficiency and effectiveness using technology associated with the 4IR. SARS has great potential in being globally competitive with other countries, if government, stakeholders and SARS leadership have a shared vision of what the future revenue services will look like, what its capabilities will be and resource availability to ensure this vision is realized.Thesis (MBA) -- Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences , Business Administration, 202

Possible future jobs in the republic of South Africa by 2030

The 21st century has experienced dramatic, fundamental and unprecedented changes that have seen many organisations having to reconsider their competitive strategies in order to remain relevant in the market place. Within the context of South Africa, these changes have resulted in the disappearance, dwindling or expansion of some jobs. The dawn of the 21st century marked the beginning of the Fourth Industrial Revolutions (Industry 4.0). Although Industry 4.0 can bring about great promises for the future, the patterns of consumption, production and employment created by it also pose substantive challenges in the form of technological unemployment requiring proactive adaptation by businesses, governments and individuals. This study aimed at identifying possible future jobs in the Republic of South Africa as we transition to 2030. Causal Layered Analysis (CLA) and Environmental Scanning were identified as the preferred methodologies to be utilised to respond to the research objectives of this study. A detailed literature study was undertaken to evaluate the existing body of knowledge on the research topic. The literature study revealed that technological advancements, economic, urbanisation, globalisation, economic, political, demographic and environmental factors are the major determinants of future jobs. Chapter 4 dealt with the application of the CLA. This research ought to be understood in the context that utility of CLA is not in predicting the future of jobs but in creating transformative spaces for the creation of alternative futures that are desirable for the country as we transition to 2030. Some of the key findings emanating for this study are that Industry 4.0 is poised to render routine manufacturing jobs redundant. Furthermore, the advancements in technology are posed to result in massive employment opportunities for developers of web tolls, applications, hardware design and engineers and those working in web-based businesses. More jobs are likely to emanate from greening the economy. Progressive emancipation of women is likely to result in occupations and working x arrangements that facilitate a successful compromise between work life and private lives resulting in social care jobs. A number of strategic considerations and recommendations were also sponsored with a view to respond to the trends shaping the future of jobs in South Africa

The incorporation of smart production in future factories within the fourth industrial revolution towards 2030

Industry 4.0 is impressively creating a lasting impact on the manufacturing industry and on the industry outlook on the benefits of the implementation of new technology. The concept currently trending entails merging cyber systems, the Internet of Things, and the Internet of Systems all together to construct the revolutionary ‘Smart Factories’. The use of advanced technologies brings about new methodologies to improve the results of manufacturing. Complex activities will be performed by machines equipped in using intelligent information systems and new technology to improve productivity, enhance quality, and reduce costs of manufacturing products. South Africa is at the height of the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’ (4IR) which will essentially change the way we work. This innovative rubric of high-tech modernisation is characterised by a merging of technologies from the physical, digital, biological, and neuro-technological spheres. The hesitation over jobs being substituted with co-bots, a robot envisioned to actually cooperate with humans in a communal workplace, is profound. Skills volatility is estimated to affect all industries. There are uncertainties that the underprivileged and non-skilled would be thrust into an even profounder deficiency with the upsurge of the digital age. Organisations regard robotics and modern technology as strategic corporate tools that are utilised to enhance short- and long-term profitability and achieve operating goals. In dissimilarity, the application of robotics and modern technology in the place of work increases labour stability concerns, anxiety of downsizings and terminations within the workforce. The purpose of this research was to heighten the comprehension of smart factories in the manufacturing industry by conclusively embracing a methodical examination of the factors which influence the outlook of those involved concerning smart factory implementation and also of assessing the readiness of the South African manufacturing industry for 4IR towards 2030. The ‘golden thread’ running through the study is the significance of the impact of the 4IR on the workforce and the creation of new jobs for the future, the reskilling of the workforce and the enhancement of capabilities of future factories in embracing the implementation and the incorporation of advanced manufacturing principles in production processes. This must form a substantial consideration in the preparation of the vision of the “Incorporation of smart production in future factories within the fourth industrial revolution towards 2030”. The results of the in-depth analysis of future studies practice and theory in this research study give credibility to the argument that the way in which planning for the future of the 4IR in the South African context is taking place requires insightful adaptation by all stakeholders. The development of new insights through the application of futures studies is vital to this planning process, as is progressively demonstrated in the propensity for present-day business to enable collaborative decisions and strategies that are established on, and informed by, futures studies. This research has attempted to gain insight into the possible future of the implementation of 4IR elements within the future manufacturing factories in South Africa through the creation of four scenarios towards 2030. These are defined as follows: The Fifth Element, which is the ‘best case’ scenario, and to which the country aspires; the ‘worst case’ scenario, in which everything goes badly; the outlier future founded on a surprising, disruptive, emerging matter; and ‘business as usual’ in which no change takes place. The research additionally made efforts to determine the preferred future for the 4IR from a South African perspective, as a base for the Future Vision of the 4IR in the South African manufacturing industry towards 2030. Throughout this study, Inayatullah’s (2008) pillars of futures studies were implemented as a guide in mapping the present and future, further deepening and widening the future through the development of scenarios and, lastly, by transforming the future by narrowing it down to the preferred future. The South African manufacturing sector must select which path to follow in the decisions surrounding the acceptance of the 4IR as the country progresses towards aligning itself with the global players in technology acceptance. Through a unique and innovative approach, the establishment of an atmosphere of trust and the sharing of purpose, values and benefits, a collective Future Vision of the implementing of 4IR elements such as smart production in future factories within South Africa towards 2030, is achievable. All stakeholders must be committed to operating in collaborative partnerships, with government, society, local communities and the workforce all treading boldly together into a sphere of technological, commercial, environmental and social innovation