The question has been posed, 'Why have several volumes of Skills@Work have been dedicated to Regional and Local Economic Development (RLED)'? This is a very good question, because it takes one to the essence of the problematical situation in South Africa, namely our high unemployment rate, and particularly the problem faced by many out-of-work young South Africans who, given the demographics of South Africa, consist mainly of black youth.

Put very simply, unless we can grow the economy, we cannot absorb labour. The economy grows through the expansion of current business with the challenges of retention, retraining, promoting and recruiting when it comes to staff. Regional development is usually spurred on through the development of business into the value chains of globalised industry. On the other hand, Local Economic Development, as government policy, also places emphasis on communities which, for one reason or another, are not easily accommodated in this process of globally driven growth. Here comparative advantage becomes an issue. In South Africa we are going through a phase led by a policy of New Growth, articulated in the National Development Plan (NDP) and taken forward through the developing policies of the various government departments with a particular interest in economic development. In particular, policies promoting new business development nodes through Industrial Development Zones (IDZs) and incubators are currently popular.

No matter what vehicles are promoted, from infrastructure development, incentivised policy frameworks and business promotion, work requires appropriate skills. Skills for work are usually divided into those requiring higher order theoretical constructs (usually associated with Universities) and application skills (where higher technological appreciation is necessary). There is also the essential level of operator skills. All work today requires a more appreciative understanding of the rapidity of change, the importance of innovation and the essential nature of relationship skills linking producer and consumer dynamics.

Ultimately, RLED is dependent on appropriate skills. In previous journals, as with this volume, there is an emphasis on the emergence of the RLED professional and the skills base he/she requires to be a broker of new opportunities that lead to decent jobs. While it is critical to provide this emerging profession with the intellectual and professional skills required by RLED professionals, it is also important to emphasise the skill sets required in the emergent economy. This edition takes us a step nearer to this goal.

Regards

Marius Venter
Director:  CENTRE FOR LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (CENLED)
Director: PASCAL Observatory Africa
Chairperson: Economic Development Council of South Africa (EDCSA)
Deputy Chairperson: Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA)

www.cenled.co.za