South Africa’s travel industry takes active steps to contribute to job creation
Tourism is an important sector for job creation in South Africa. The sector employed 1 in every 21 employed individuals pre-COVID – a staggering 4.7% of the total workforce, according to Stats SA.
“The travel and tourism sector holds the potential to become an even greater contributor to job creation in the country,” says Bonnie Smith, GM FCM. “Researchers at the University of Cape Town predicted that tourism could account for 20% of new jobs created between 2019 and 2028.”
Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic put a damper on the sector’s rapid growth, but according to Smith everything is back on track. A The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) report revealed that 2021 saw the beginning of the recovery for South Africa’s Travel & Tourism sector. This recovery equals 20,000 Travel & Tourism jobs, representing a 1.9% rise to reach almost nearly 1.1 million.
Smith explains FCM has a long history of working with organisations committed to upskilling people with disabilities. Post Covid, the company partnered with SSD Training to offer youth with disabilities a scholarship to study business administration.
"Aside from the bursaries offered for the business course, we invested in the youth by covering travel expenses and meals so they could take full advantage of this educational opportunity," says Smith.
The programme also prepares youth for the job market by including interview training and resume writing CV. Mpho Mofokeng, one of the nine participants who benefited from the programme in 2021, said: "This means growth for me as an individual and a chance for me to have a better opportunity to work."
Increasingly travel companies are recognising the importance of investing in up-and-coming talent. For example, BON Hotels created a unique Learnership programme designed for high school graduates who want to pursue a career in the hospitality industry. And Taste Malay, a Cape Town-based company, introduced free cooking classes to help the unemployed get back on their feet.
“As the private sector, we need to come together and tackle the unemployment crisis head-on,” says Smith. “Especially the travel and tourism industry is currently seeing an important staffing shortage. Some hotels are currently operating at 40% occupancy because they are struggling to bring staff back after the pandemic. Although this is presenting an important challenge for the travel industry, it also creates important opportunities for job creation and training initiatives.”
Earlier this year, President Ramaphosa urged the private sector to continue contributing to job creation. He said: “As we work to grow our economy and create employment, there is much debate about the relative roles of the state and business in pursuing these goals. Some people have suggested that we must make a choice between, on the one hand, a developmental state that plays a vital role in economic and social transformation, and, on the other, a vibrant, expanding private sector that drives growth and employment. The reality is that we need both. We need a capable developmental state and a dynamic and agile private sector. We need them to work together and complement each other.”