PSET SCENARIOS 2021-2030

Reos Partners, in partnership with JET Education Services and the  Manufacturing, Engineering and Related Services Sector Education and Training Authority (merSETA), have published a guide on scenarios to align skills supply and demand through interoperable data platforms. The four scenarios offer alternative possible trajectories into the future as a provocation, inviting you to expand your ideas about how the current situation might evolve. We hope that doing so will help you discern what you may need to anticipate.

Researchers in Pursuit Compendium report: South Africa report on COVID-19’s impact on education offers key lessons

South Africa report on COVID-19’s impact on education offers key lessons. The Commonwealth Secretariat partnered with JET Education Services on the Commonwealth #ResearchersinPursuit Bootcamp. Findings and recommendations from the study have been published in a compendium report highlighting challenges such as gaps in early childhood development services, and disparities in digital literacy and access to internet and internet-enabled devices, which are key considerations in lockdown learning.

Global Trends 2040

Welcome to the 7th edition of the National Intelligence Council’s Global Trends report. Published every four years since 1997, Global Trends assesses the key trends and uncertainties that will shape the strategic environment during the next two decades.

Jala Peo "Plant a Seed" Newsletter: Issue 6 Term 1, 2021

The Jala Peo (“Plant the Seed”) Initiative is a vehicle for the promotion of nutrition education and school food and nutrition gardens active in 67 schools across three Provinces: the Free State, Limpopo and the Western Cape. The Initiative seeks to make sure every school has a thriving school food and nutrition garden and that all learners in South Africa understand how to produce and consume nutritious food. To do this, the Initiative has created Forums – multistakeholder partnerships of government departments, private sector, academia and NGOs to increase and direct investment and resources towards more effective agriculture and nutrition education.

Understanding the impact of artificial intelligence on skills development

Artificial intelligence has produced new teaching and learning solutions that are now undergoing testing in different contexts. In addition to its impact on the education sector, AI is substantially altering labour markets, industrial services, agriculture processes, value chains and the organization of workplaces in particular. Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) contributes to sustainable development by fostering employment, decent work and lifelong learning. However, the effectiveness of a TVET system depends on its links and relevance to the labour market. As one of the major drivers of change, there is a need to better understand the impact of AI on labour markets, and consequently on TVET systems. In certain middle- and higher-income societies, artificial intelligence is already deeply immersed in legislation and governance, policy, state expenditure, the private sector and national economies. In these cases, TVET institutions are presiding over the ‘hollowing out’ of intermediate level skills and the direct integration of AI into education and training. Contrastingly, many TVET institutions have yet to form meaningful or robust responses to technological shifts. Regardless of context, all TVET institutions should develop an understanding of the current and future importance of AI and begin to incorporate its use into their planning. Forward thinking and, where possible, pre-emptive action, will put TVET institutions and their graduates in a position to thrive in the era of AI and contribute positively to economic, social, and individual development.

JET Exchanges: How can PISA for Schools be of use to South Africa?

On 5 November 2020, JET Education Services (JET) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) co-hosted a seminar to explore the potential which the PISA for Schools project (OECD, 2020a) may hold for South Africa. The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), a programme of the OECD, is an internationally-benchmarked assessment which measures 15-year-olds’ ability to use their reading, mathematics and science knowledge and skills to meet real-life challenges. While PISA allows countries to measure the performance of a representative sample of schools against objective benchmarks and against those of other participating countries, PISA for Schools (PFS) enables individual schools to assess the strengths and weaknesses of their students in these subjects.

Theme 6 Research Report: Ameliorating the Impact of Fake News on High School Learners during COVID-19

Education Researchers Respond to The COVID-19 Pandemic. The primary purpose of Theme 6 (Fake news impacting school-age children [or targeting school-age children]: impacts on behaviour, risk, anxiety, and how to ameliorate) was to investigate high school learners’ awareness of fake or false news during the COVID-19 lockdown period in South Africa. A secondary purpose was to examine the types of fake news that exist and how each of these variously impacts on society. We also look at the skills needed in order to distinguish false news from real news. This document is a work in progress, and we hope that other contributions and further research will be undertaken in this field.