Compulsory community service for graduates

Although the idea of community service was first cited by the Minister of Higher Education as far back as 2010, there are still questions around whether there is a need for such a scheme, can the country afford it and can it be successfully implemented?

Those supporting the proposal maintain that compulsory service is necessary in order to bridge the gap between formal tertiary education and workplace experience and skills required to make graduates more employable. Also the success of the health care model implemented in 1998 demonstrates that the model can work.

There is also a perception, based on a City Press feature in June 2012 which claimed that more than 600,000 graduates are languishing at home unemployed, that community service would create jobs addressing the issues of unemployment amongst graduates to some extent.

The Minister of Defence proposed using the under-utilised military infrastructure (facilities, engineers and various specialists) to support the community service programme to enable transfer of knowledge and skills. Graduates would be kept totally separate from military training and service.

Most of those in favour of compulsory community service agree that to make the programme a success, excellent planning and support will be required by all stakeholders.

At the other end of the spectrum we have those who feel this proposal of community service is a waste of time, it is unaffordable and the logistics of implementing on such a scale are not feasible. Some of the points raised in support of their argument are:

• Research conducted by the Centre for Development and Enterprise published in April 2013 concluded that the unemployment rate for graduates with degrees or higher qualifications is less than 5% whilst for those with diplomas it is 16%. The greatest number of unemployed people in the 19 to 29 year old category are those with only matric and those with less than 12 years of schooling. From the research one can deduce that most graduates with a degree or a post matric qualification diploma are more readily employed by the private and public sector and the compulsory service initiative will merely postpone early entry of graduates into the labour market.

• The White Paper on Post school Education and Training is clear on the Government's vision to transform the post school system by creating an integrated system of post school education and training with all institutions (colleges, universities, Sector Education and Training Authorities - SETA'S, National Skills Fund, South African Qualifications Framework and the Quality Councils) as well as public and private sector employers fulfilling their role as "parts of a coherent but differentiated whole". The new system is aimed at addressing the current and long terms critical skills and workplace experience requirements in the South African economy in order to boost the economic growth of this country. This system would then solve many of the issues that the Community Service programme is aimed at addressing.

• The learnership programmes for those with matric, degrees and diplomas managed via the SETA's and industry (public and private) should receive much more support and focus and the learnership grants, tax allowances and employment tax incentives should be made more attractive to get greater buy-in from employers to expand the programme.

• Government should focus on the creation of jobs in the rural areas through public sector projects and a system of economic incentives for the private sector to set up successful businesses in these areas, making it possible for them to compete with main centre businesses.

• Graduates could end up doing compulsory menial work or be placed in jobs where they are underutilised. Who should take accountability for creating positions and for the placement of graduates? Should it be the Government via its regulatory bodies or should the tertiary institutions play a bigger role and what role and support structure will be required from employers?

• Do we have sufficient professionals or skilled persons around in the public and private sector to mentor these graduates during their year of service, will the community and economy be able to absorb the number of graduates qualifying? Will South Africa possibly experience an exodus of graduates from the country?

• Can the country afford this programme - paying graduates a stipend will place additional strain on the fiscus and what funding model will be used?

The South African College of Business believes there is some merit in the proposal, however for it to work a comprehensive and robust plan informed by proper research and best practices on working models in South Africa and internationally would be required. The funding and payment framework must be clearly defined by Treasury and the related departments. The programme requires input and buy-in by all stakeholders and role players and the critical implementation and support roles of the different national, provincial and local government departments, the SETA's, NQF, Quality Councils, the private sector, tertiary institutions (both public and private) and communities must be aligned.

The focus should be to ensure the implementation of community service is aligned and can integrate with the vision and deliverables envisaged in the white paper on post school education and training.