Current Research

Since the inception of the research unit, six research projects have been undertaken with a view towards determining our sector’s scarce and critical skills. The titles of these projects are listed below:

1. Analysis of Workplace Skills Plans submitted in year 6
2. Analysis of Discretionary Grants awarded in year 6
3. Review of CHIETA companies’ annual reports for skills training strategies
4. Review of Jobs advertised within the chemical sector
5. Audit of CHIETA companies’ Scarce & Critical Skills (June 2006)
6. Development / update of the SSP 2006

A brief overview of the projects is given below.

The project aimed to use the submitted WSPs to review the trainings planned by CHIETA member-companies in order to determine the training priorities and strategies employed by CHIETA companies. The report provides an indication of the following:

• The current areas of skills needs within the various sub-sectors (scarce & critical skills)
• The occupational group for which most training is planned
• The gender, race and age group for which most trainings are planned
• The types of training programmes planned for the year
• The types of training interventions (i.e. whether they are learnerships, skills   programmes, internships etc)
• The ratio of planned trainings which are accredited (credit-bearing)
• The costs of planned training programmes

The aim of the research was to determine the most common projects for which CHIETA Discretionary Grants were awarded in the 2005-2006 financial year. The results of the project contributed towards providing an indication of the current areas of skills priority within the sector.

The research aimed to collate and review information on company training priorities and their alignment with Employment Equity (EE) and Black Economic Empowerment (BEE).

This project is ongoing and involves an audit of advertised employment positions related to the chemical sector. The audit is conducted quarterly and comparative analyses are carried out between quarters. The results of the audit serve to provide an indication of the demand for skills within the sector.

• Review of jobs advertised within the Chemical Sector (January to March 2006)
• Review of Jobs advertised within the Chemical Sector (April to June 2006)
• Review of Jobs advertised within the Chemical Sector (July to September 2006)

The project aimed to identify the sector’s scarce and critical skills. Data was collected from over 170 CHIETA member companies and was aligned to the Department of Labour’s Organising Framework for Occupations (OFO).  The completed list was incorporated into chapter 4 of the Sector Skills Plan 2006.

The research unit has been busy with the update of the annual SSP, which is due for submission to the Department of Labour on 30 November 2006.