Skills Transfer in the Context of Migration: A Case for a Redefinition through the South African Landscape

Abstract

This paper is about the notion of skills transfer in South Africa and the influences that emanate from outside the country. It takes the position that while the concept is recent, skills transfers actually predate its introduction into academic discourse. This is because the skills that slaves and indentured labourers carried with them across continents were not ascribed with the recognition it deserved. The discussion here emphasizes that slavery and indentured labour were characteristically imbued with skills that were requisite to build the infrastructures for which colonial empires became so famous, but they were denied the recognition. Most often concepts such as “unskilled labour” serve as a justification for exploitative conditions under which workers are employed. But beyond the history of these issues is the transference of skills that are also not given due recognition if they are not classified as “certified expertise” through theoretical and sometimes practical training from recognized institutions. In recognizing this contemporary feature among migrants and the skills that they carry with them, this paper highlights the relevant legislative devices that are meant to guide recruitment in South Africa, and suggests that much can be learnt from the technical and entrepreneurial skills that foreigners carry with them into South Africa as instructive lessons for employment among the masses of the unemployed.