Informal Sector Skills - UNESCO-UNEVOC · in the informal sector and to also assess their magnitude...

Informal Sector Skills

September 2012 1 | P a g e

Informal Sector training needs, Indigenous/traditional skills &

Strategies for skills development in the informal sector

September 2012

Prepared by:

P. O. Box 46181

Gaborone

Phone: 267 3935758

Fax: 267 3935757

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]



FOREWORD

One of the key objectives the Botswana Training Authority (BOTA) is to provide

advice in vocational skills development in Botswana. It is therefore my pleasure to

share the result of the “Consultancy for the Study of the Informal Sector Training

Needs, Indigenous/traditional skills and development of strategies for skills

development in the Informal Sector”.

Over the years as shown by past Central Statistics Office (now Statistics Botswana)

Labour Force Surveys, the informal sector has grown very fast and in some

instances doubling up in between the 10 year periods of the surveys. It is therefore

becoming a very strong economical sector as it is largely a self reliance activity since

most people engaged in it are self employed. Another important aspect of this study

was to identify indigenous or traditional skills as some refer to it. Many Batswana

have indicated and shown knowledge in traditional livelihoods methods whose skills

cannot and were not obtained through the formal training system. BOTA has in the

process developed a programme of recognizing skills from individuals through

assessments of such. This is commonly referred to as Recognised Prior Learning

(RPL) and Recognised Current Competencies (RCC) and it is a growing

phenomenon around the world.

BOTA then contracted Global Consult Pty (Ltd) with task to examine the skills needs

in the informal sector and to also assess their magnitude and impact as well as

establish their potential benefits for contributing to sustainable livelihood. The study

was to produce a list of skills required in the informal sector, including indigenous

skills that would promote growth in citizens’ standard of living. . The result of the

study, as well as the proposed strategy would assist to guide our nation in developing

such skills. The study concludes with an Informal Sector Skills Development Strategy

as a way forward.

As we gear up to make our country’s human resource globally competitive we believe

this study and proposed strategy is an addition to those efforts. Specifically the study

recommends for a structure to handle skills development in the informal sector in our

Human Resource Development Strategy Implementation.

Kind regards

Mrs Magdeline T. Motswagole

Acting Chief Executive Officer, BOTA



Executive Summary

Introduction

1. Over the years, Botswana has been demonstrating a strong interest in the informal

economy as one of the routes towards building sustainable livelihood. Commonly referred to as the informal sector (IS) the informal economy provides opportunities

for the absorption of poor and less educated people who cannot find employment in the formal economy. The IS is also a destination of choice for those who opt to

venture into entrepreneurship and choose not to seek formal employment as well as those with jobs in the formal economy but seek to augment their income through

some activity in the IS.

2. A number of studies by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) were carried out with the aim of developing a comprehensive understanding of the IS. These studies have

confirmed the growth of the IS in Botswana and clarified the nature of its diverse activities across all economic sub-sectors, especially in retail, manufacturing and

service sectors. Like in other countries, the IS is dominated by young, less educated and poor people, mainly women in both urban and rural areas.

3. This study was initiated by the Botswana Training Authority (BOTA) and contracted

to Global Consult. It was commissioned to examine the skills used in the informal sector, assess their magnitude and impact as well as establish their potential benefits for contributing to sustainable livelihood growth. The study aimed to produce a list of competencies, including indigenous skills that would promote growth in citizens standard of living. The study explored the training needs of the IS and used facts gathered to develop the IS Skills Development Strategy.

4. Different sources of information on IS activities were reviewed in general. Some specific literature on skills development for the IS in identified countries was reviewed in order to draw lessons for benchmarking Botswana’s proposed approach to IS skills development.

Study Methods

5. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were used in this study. For example,

qualitative phenomenological interviewing was employed to explore participants’ perceptions, experiences and ideas. This was complemented by close-ended questions that drew additional quantitative data.

6. In order to gain a sample that was representative of different enterprises and locations, eleven (11) sub-sectors were selected based on the results of the 2007 CSO study on the informal sector The study had targeted cities/towns, urban and rural villages where these enterprises were found.



Analysis of Data

7. A number of data analytic tools were used. Qualitative data from the questionnaire,

for example, was captured and coded using Microsoft Excel. Verbatim excerpts were captured in journals and analysed for inclusion in the report to further clarify socio -

cultural issues needing a qualitative perspective.

Findings

Distribution of the IS

8. The IS activities are concentrated in areas with significant population sizes such as towns and urban villages as compared to rural and settlement areas where the

activities were fewer.

Benefits of the IS

9. Cash income was the preferred benefit sought by all operators. However, the majority reported earning survival income that could only support minimal daily subsistence needs. Most operators reported being frustrated because they were

unable to meet their basic livelihood needs.

10. Those IS operators who were self-employed reported earning more income than those who were given jobs by others.

11. Some trades yielded more gains than others as there was evidence of successful

operations among those engaged in construction, manufacturing and services where the demand for services or products was substantially higher. For instance,

the production of items such as trailers, livestock troughs, baskets, pots and wood sculptures demonstrated great potential for sustainable livelihood.

12. Competencies (including indigenous skills) learned outside the formal system of

education and training was found to be among some of the most beneficial in the informal sector.

13. It was generally revealed that IS operators needed higher levels of proficiency in

order to reap greater benefits from their activities. The majority of the operators were dissatisfied with the low incomes that they were able to earn from their activities

Competency Needs and Gaps

14. Successful operations in the IS required relevant essential competencies that could be used to produce goods and/or services efficiently and competitively.

15. The majority of operators in the IS had low levels of formal education and did not have any formal training relevant to the activities they were operating. A total of



92% did not have any formal training whilst less than 6% had attended vocational training.

16. Some IS operators had basic entrepreneurial skills such as innovativeness, problem-

solving skills, risk taking, customer care, selling (counting, adding and subtracting – sorting out change), confidence and communication skills.

17. Many informal sector workers were very willing to improve their competencies but

were unable to do so due to limited access to existing skills development opportunities and to resource constraints.

18. The majority of those with good competencies, including indigenous skills were

either self-taught or learned through observing and copying/imitating their parents, relatives, peers and other entrepreneurs.

19. The average proficiency rating for competencies in most sub-sectors was low to

moderate whilst all respondents recognised the importance of raising their skills to the highest level. Most operators preferred to learn the skills they needed through observing and practicing not through attendance of any formal programme.

20. A significant proportion of operators in some sectors such as the construction sub-sector had some formal training. In the construction sub-sector only a small proportion (2%) of the operators had acquired skills outside the formal system of

education and training.

21. Most people in construction activities rated their proficiency levels as moderate and viewed formal training as extremely important to elevate the proficiency to higher

levels.

22. Overall, people in sub-sectors with few number of operators such as education, estate, health and social services also indicated the need to acquire more skills to

upgrade their competency levels, which they assessed as between low to moderate

Providers of Skills

23. Many providers (or potential providers) of skills development for the IS existed in both the public, private and non-governmental sectors. The public sector was

however the biggest provider of skills required for successful IS operations.

24. Providers of skills in the IS such as vocational institutions and brigades targeted learners with a minimum of junior certificate and these excluded the majority of people who operated in the informal economy.

25. Informal providers of competencies, including indigenous skills were largely

unrecognised as demonstrated by those IS operators who could not trace the origin of their skills.



Skills Training

26. Many people in respective IS operations lacked some of the competencies that

could enable them to expand their activities and produce enough products for subsistence and more income. All operators needed entrepreneurship as a

foundation competency required to create the readiness for growth and development.

27. The need for both technical production competencies and entrepreneurship was expressed by all respondents explored in this study. Many felt the need for more competencies as well as for other resources like materials and finance.

Policy Environment and Investment in Skills Development

28. The policy environment was found favourable for only those operators in higher-end IS activities which were mainly formally registered and regulated. For instance, instruments such as the Policy on Vocational Education and Training (1997); the Vocational Training Fund; Vocational Training Act (1988) and the National HRD Strategy (2009) could not support the promotion of skills development and investment for the illiterate or lowly educated operators in the unregulated informal

economy.

29. Existing policies thus could not be utilised to promote relevant practical skills development interventions for the real informal sector populated by poor,

uneducated, largely women and the youth, who lacked access to existing funding and training opportunities.

30. Facts on the nature of the IS in other countries revealed that the sector contributed

positively to economic growth by providing alternative opportunities for employment, especially self-employment for a large portion of the population. In

most countries governments and donors invested in programmes to enhance the productivity of the IS as part of efforts to reduce poverty and attain the Millennium

Development Goals (MDGs). Skills development was found to be a key component of an integrated package of interventions deployed to improve the IS in the

benchmark countries.

Conclusions

31. Employability and successful performance in the IS required a range of

competencies that were essential for higher production and productivity.

32. The majority of people who are engaged in IS activities have either no or low formal

education and training. Most had acquired the competencies they possessed outside the formal educational system from family and the community.



33. Indigenous skills learned informally have been found to be amongst the most useful

in viable IS activities.

34. Participation in the IS either through self-employment or from jobs provided by other IS operators was recognised as having made a positive difference in the

standard of living of people, albeit, to varying degrees. 35. For most people involved in IS activities, the income gained was able to satisfy

subsistence needs only while for others it fell short of meeting the basic requirements for decent living such as enabling people to access food on a

sustainable basis.

36. Some IS activities such as construction, manufacturing and retail trades provided better opportunities for greater economic gain than others.

37. Most of the people in the IS showed very little potential for sustainable livelihood.

38. Most people operating in the IS recognised the importance of gaining more

production skills and were equally willing to improve their competency levels but lacked the resources to invest in skills development.

39. Potential providers of skills development for the IS were found to exist in the public, private and non-governmental sectors. Government and/or public sector related

institutions were currently the biggest skill sources for IS activities.

40. Most of the existing providers of skills targeted those with a minimum of Junior Certificate and this requirement was beyond reach of the majority of people in the

IS.

41. Informal apprenticeships providing indigenous skills which are used in diverse IS

activities were found to be amongst some of the few critical sources of supply for skills required in operations in the IS.

Recommendations

42. Apprenticeship could be a major source of skills development for the IS and therefore both formal and informal apprenticeships should be recognised and

supported through proper investment and relevant policies.

43. The indigenous skills with high potential for yielding greater economic benefits such as sculpting, pottery and basketry but which have been observed to be in decline

should be revitalised through proper investment, relevant policies and demand-driven provision.



44. Entry requirements and fees for training and education for high value IS activities should be reviewed to accommodate those with lower educational levels.

45. There is need to strengthen entrepreneurship education for those in possession of

lower levels of education (e.g. primary and secondary education) and are either unable to gain entry into formal educational and training institutions and/or cannot

be absorbed in the formal economy.

46. Targeted programmes to raise the educational levels and literacy of those in the IS should be formulated for delivery using innovative mechanisms such as non-formal

or open and distance learning interventions. These could be offered through the Department of Out of School Education and Training (DOSET) or the Botswana

College of Distance and Open Learning (BOCODOL) and other providers.

47. IS operations that have high potential for economic benefits and sustainable livelihood in sub-sectors such as retail trade, construction and manufacturing should

be strengthened through skills development and other interventions.

48. For the IS to be recognised as a major contributor to economic diversification, a package of proper incentives in the forms 0f credit facilities, awards of excellence, establishment of local and regional markets, opportunities for cross-border trading,

flexible bye-laws and other facilitating environments should be put in place.

49. The IS should be accordingly viewed as a sector with potential to supplement and/or complement the income earnings from formal employment.

50. Strategic partnerships should be formed or strengthened between the Government

of Botswana as the current main provider of skills for the IS and other potential providers such as Community Based Organisations; Faith Based Organisations;

NGOs and Donors.

51. The role of media as a critical stakeholder in the strengthening of the IS (marketer, advocate, public eye, etc.) should be recognised and supported by the Government

and other activists in the IS.

52. BOTA should initiate direct dialogue and forge collaboration with other actual or potential players involved directly or indirectly in managing some aspect of

investment in skills development as part of an integrated approach to sustainable economic development.

53. The activities of citizens operating in the IS should be protected from being undermined by the activities of illegal foreigners whose interests crowd out some of the livelihood activities that provide a means for survival for citizens.



SECTION 1:

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

1.1 Introduction

The IS in Botswana has been growing at phenomenal rates as more people who could not

enter the formal economy took advantage of opportunities for self-employment, jobs and

income generation offered by the informal economy. Although largely home to those who

suffer social and economic deprivation, the IS also provides an avenue for blossoming

entrepreneurs who chose self-employment rather than jobs in the formal economy. The

remarkable growth of IS sector in Botswana has drawn the attention of the government and

its social partners who have embraced the need to search for viable practical means to

promote the sector in sustainable ways. The elevated importance of the IS called for a

change in the mindset of those charged with crafting public policy so that the promotion of

sustainable livelihoods could be integrated into mainstream economic development.

Recognising and promoting the success of the sector could be critical to poverty eradication

but to be effective in a sustainable manner, there was need for fact-based or evidence-

based strategies. One of the key ingredients to the sustainable growth and development of

any economic sector or activity is availability of relevant knowledge, skills and attitudes or

competencies. The term ‘competency’ is used in this report to refer to the knowledge,

abilities or skills and attitudes or values that people need in order to perform an activity

successfully.

Thus the sustainable development of the IS requires an integrated approach to identifying

and developing requisite competencies for high-value activities which could bolster national

economic prosperity. Competencies are fundamental to improving the productivity of the IS

as well as improving working conditions and advancing the sustainable livelihoods and the

decent work agenda.

Consequently, the Botswana Training Authority (BOTA) as the public agency entrusted with

coordinating skills training in the country initiated this study to further understand the current

and future skills needs of the IS. The study would culminate in the development of an

integrated strategy to develop IS skills, including the cost implications of implementing the

strategy. This country-wide study was commissioned to define the nature of competencies

needed by the IS and the indigenous skills that could promote growth in citizens’ standard of

living.



This report contains the results of the study, including the conclusions drawn and the

recommendations for increasing the productivity of the IS and raising the incomes and

conditions of service of those operating or employed in the sector.

1.2 Objectives and Scope of the Project

The main aim of the study was to provide the facts or evidence upon which to formulate an

integrated IS skills development strategy. The strategy would serve as the framework and

springboard for supporting livelihood growth among the rural and poor members of society

especially the youth and women. Further, the study was commissioned to assist BOTA to

put in place strategies to enable the IS operators to receive excellence awards; move the

vocational skills training system into a demand-driven system; and strengthen the capacity of

BOTA to execute its mandate more effectively. A summary of the more specific terms of

reference for the study is as follows:

a) Establish existing skills, their magnitude in the informal sector and their

economic benefits.

b) Identify training needs required in the informal sector and areas for further

research and BNVQF awards development.

c) Determine the nature of investment in skills development for the informal

sector.

d) Develop integrated IS skills development strategy with an outline of the cost

and implications of implementation.

e) Propose ways of how investment in skills development could be used to

enhance work conditions in the IS

f) Identify existing policies and programmes that encourage investment in

developing skills for higher productivity in the IS.

g) Recommend the role that BOTA could play in the development of skills for the

IS.

1.3 Study Deliverables

Global Consult worked with BOTA to develop appropriate approaches, methodologies and

tools to achieve the objectives of the study. The study resulted in the following outputs.

a. A list of competencies needed by the informal sector



b. A list of indigenous skills for promoting growth in citizens’ standard of

living

c. Strategy for the informal sector skills development outlining evidence of

benchmarking on similar initiatives with other SADC countries.



SECTION 2:

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1. Introduction

This section presents perspectives on the concept of the IS from the literature. In particular,

the section highlights important characteristics of the IS such as how it was variously defined

in different studies and how its nature was captured. Since this study focused on the

competencies that are needed by the IS, this section would identify the common knowledge

and skills associated with a thriving informal sector drawn from studies carried out in other

countries across the globe. Among the competencies identified are high value indigenous

knowledge and skills that could promote sustainable livelihood.

2.2. Defining the Informal Sector

The informal sector attracts different definitions across countries and from different scholars.

This should be expected as the sector is diverse, flexible and ever expanding. The

International Labour Organisation (ILO), for example, defines the IS as “all economic

activities by workers and economic units that are in law or in practice not covered or

insufficiently covered by formal arrangements”(ILO, 2002: p.25). ). The ILO further identifies

the following features as characterising the informal enterprises:

small scale of operation

family ownership

reliance on indigenous resources

labour intensive activity, technology adapted to local conditions

skills acquired outside the formal school system

ease of entry into the activity; and

operation unregulated

Writers such as Bromley (1978), Carstels et al (1989); Pratap and Quntin (2006), are also

in agreement with the ILO that the informal sector is largely unregulated; is of small scale

activities; is carried out by self-employed people (but at times with hired workers or

apprentices) for purposes of generating employment and income. From the United Nations

Department of Economic and Social Affairs’ (DESA), the informal sector is viewed as a

means of survival when no other options exist (DESA Working Paper No. 42 of 2007). While

appreciating other definitions as complementary, this study adopted the definition of the



2005/6 Botswana Labour Force Survey (LFS) which defined the informal sector as

businesses that satisfy the following criteria:

Not registered as a company or with any professional association

Employing less than 10 employees

Keeping Informal accounts or none

Expenditure not easily distinguished from household expenditure

Employees casually hired

Often temporary or mobile or in owner’s home/plot

The definition adopted synthesises the emerging consensus on what constitutes the IS. It

distinguishes the IS from small, micro and medium enterprises (SMMEs) some of which are

part of the formal economy. SMMEs are normally registered as companies, therefore legally

distinguished from households; have formal accounts; and have formally employed workers.

Some SMMEs employ more than 10 workers on formal contracts and operate from hired

premises. Care was taken, therefore, to ensure that this study did not encroach into the

SMME sector.

2.3. Key Features of the Informal Sector

It is worth mentioning that in Botswana, like in other countries, the IS sector has two distinct

sides (Walther (2011);

1. On one hand, it is a negative manifestation of inadequate employment creation in

private companies, parastatal and government services which ‘pushed’ large

numbers of jobless in informal activities.

2. On the other hand, it refers to the positive response of the poor (and many not-so-

poor) in the face of such a situation, combining their minimal resources, hard work

and often a large dose of ingenuity to earn low but important incomes.

This dualistic nature of the IS is endorsed in this study as one of the most important

characteristics of the IS. Accordingly a two-tier system in the informal sector could be

delineated with, a) those who were there by choice, and b) those who had no alternative

means and were unlikely to have received any form of training.

The Government of Botswana recognises the actual and potential contribution of the

informal sector to the country’s economy. As a result, national activities towards economic

diversification as espoused in past and current National Development Plans (NDP 8 - 10)



have recognised the role of the IS. This recognition has resulted in the formulation of policies

and programmes aimed at developing this sector. The programmes were intended to

stimulate the entrepreneurship attitude whilst providing foundation competencies. Some of

the past and current programmes include:

The Botswana Development Unit (1974) with the mandate to provide integrated

support for citizen entrepreneurship development.

The Rural Development Programme and the Advisory Service developed to provide

support to small enterprises.

The Financial Assistance Policy (1982) initiated to provide assistance to small scale

manufacturers.

The Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA) in 2001 with the goal to

provide financial and technical support for business development. CEDA aims to

promote viable and sustainable citizen owned businesses.

The Local Enterprise Authority (LEA) was established in 2004 to offer assistance to

entrepreneurs or aspiring ones in the SMME sector.

All these efforts reflect the political will to support the top echelons of the informal sector

which portray the features of enterprises in the formal economy that are not the primary

focus on this study. In other words, current policies and programmes could be said to

exclude the IS of unregistered and unregulated income generation operations.

It should be noted that data to guide the formulation and implementation of public policy and

programmes for promoting the IS had relied on Labour Force Surveys (LFS) which are

conducted every 10 years. The 2005/6 survey, for example, revealed that the IS grew from

11% to 20% of the total Botswana labour force between 1995 and 2005. The same survey

also revealed that about 60% of those in this sector were women. The increasing number of

women IS operators reflects an interesting trend where the women who have historically

been left out of the formal employment sector sought other livelihood avenues. On the

education front a significant proportion of people in the IS had primary and junior certificate

at 30% respectively as revealed by this 2005/6 survey. The same study indicated that 83%

of those in the informal activities did not receive any form of formal training.

Another important document relevant to this study was the 2007 Informal Sector Survey

(ISS) Report produced by the Central Statistics Office. This report estimated the number of

informal sector businesses in Botswana at 40, 421 and employing a total of 16, 980

employees. The estimated total number of people involved (self-employed and employee)



was 57 311. A further look at the IS indicated that between 1999 and 2007, the sector grew

by 72.3% which reflects the trend observed in other developing countries. The ISS (2007)

also revealed that there were more IS activities in cities/towns and in urban areas than in

rural areas.

2.4. A focus on Competencies

The National Human Resource Development Strategy 2009-2022 draws attention to the

need to place people at the centre of national development. It also establishes strong linkage

between skills development and employment. One of its twin overarching strategic goals on

skills development is to “harness the full human resource capacity of the nation by providing

opportunities for Batswana to realise their full potential across all stages of the human

resource development lifecycle so as to build a stable, prosperous and globally competitive

nation. The strategy recognised that employment, both formal and informal is a key integral

component of the human life cycle.

It should be stated that if the education and training system of any country could not produce

relevant skills, many people would fail to find employment and this would jeopardise their

chance to reach their full potentials. Therefore, it would be worth noting that Botswana has

chosen a more strategic approach of formulating public policy interventions to develop

SMMEs which are normally categorised as part of the IS. The Government initiated these

policies because of the realisation that the IS was a viable vehicle for promoting and

improving citizens’ standards of living. Included amongst these interventions was the

establishment of a vocational training system and the recognition of the contribution of

vocational education and training in skills development, especially building links between the

formal TVET and indigenous systems.

Activities in the IS have diversified over the years and this has had a direct impact as well as

posed a challenge to the role played by BOTA in skills development in the IS. One of the

principal objectives of BOTA is to guide the development of new and emerging vocations to

meet the requirements for diversification of the economy (GOB, 1998). To be responsive to

emerging challenges BOTA is compelled to explore the competencies needed in the IS so

that it could be better placed to develop strategies for guiding the development of the sector.

A key focus of this study was to identify the competencies used in the IS and determine how

such skills offered economic benefits to IS operators, including identifying indigenous skills

that promoted growth in citizens standard of living. Thus this report listed all the

competencies (including indigenous skills) that existed in the IS. It further identified those



competencies that are needed because they have high value or offer opportunities for

citizens to improve their standard of living.

The concept of competencies generally refers to the abilities, capabilities or expertise that a

person possesses which enable them to function in a given situation or to perform an activity

to achieve an objective. Competencies are enhanced through learning, whether in a formal

or non-formal setting. It would follow therefore that indigenous skill referred to the abilities,

capabilities or expertise that is acquired and/or transmitted within a given social, cultural and

economic context which enabled people to pursue livelihood interests. According to the

Warren (1991) and Flavier (1995) indigenous knowledge is local knowledge that is unique to

a given culture or society and which contrasts to international knowledge generated from

conventional learning institutions. It served as the foundation of the actions, practices and

activities that people in rural communities do to live and to prosper.

It is essential to observe the dimension on indigenous skills which views them as skills that

are transmitted informally in the context of family, community or societal interactions. As said

by Billet(1994); Marsick and Volpe (1999); Purcell (1998) indigenous knowledge refers to (i)

knowledge developed from experiences gained over time, (ii) knowledge gained through

social interactions (parent and/or peer mentoring), (iii) learning that occurs as a result of

close guidance from others, (iv) knowledge/skills gained through observing, watching or

copying.

The World Intellectual Property Organization - WIPO (2005) offers a complementary

perspective defining indigenous skills as knowledge that encompasses the content or

substance of traditional knowhow, innovations, information, practices and skills. Indigenous

skills are not normally offered in the formal education and training system which in

Botswana included primary/secondary schools, brigades, vocational schools, technical

colleges and universities.



SECTION 3:

APPROACH AND METHODS 3.1. Introduction

This study adopted a mixed approach combining both quantitative and qualitative

approaches to data gathering. A variety of methods such as questionnaire-based

interviewing for both individual and group respondents were employed to ensure that the

skills used in IS activities were identified. The methods chosen also facilitated the

assessment of economic benefits of skills possession and the gauging of the difference

between the skills required for productive IS operations and those possessed.

Thus the section describes the actual approaches, methods, techniques and tools used in

the study, including describing the basis for selecting the locations, IS activities and study

participants. Desk research was used to complement the questionnaire and interview

method to ensure in-depth knowledge of good practices in skills development for the IS in

other countries. The methods used ensured that the study delivered a comprehensive

understanding of the competency needs of the IS in Botswana so that value adding

strategies could be crafted to make the IS a vehicle for poverty alleviation.

3.2. Data Collection Methods: Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches

Although the study was to a greater extent primarily qualitative due to the nature of

information required, it had some quantitative elements. Quantitative data was collected on

the demographic make-up of the IS; the current level of proficiency; the importance of future

skills development; and on the needs of IS operators. Phenomenological qualitative

interviewing was employed to gather data on the respondents’ perceptions, experiences and

ideas in relation to; (i) the competencies they possessed and how such competencies had

helped them to be productive in the IS (ii) sources of competencies (iii) how they could be

facilitated to improve their operations (iv) their experiences with funding and its challenges,

(iv) their perceptions of competencies they needed to sustain operations, and (v) the role

played by traditional apprenticeship as a source of skills development. Information on

different variables was captured in the questionnaire-cum-interview guide during the

interview discussions. Journaling was also used to capture information that was particularly

useful in developing case studies which further clarified the experiences of different

respondents.

3.3. Sampling: Enterprises, Locations and Participants



Although it had originally been envisaged that 791 IS operators would be surveyed during

the field visits, the researchers were able to reach 559 respondents. Aiming to reach 791

was highly ambitious and probably extravagant as the nature of the study did not necessarily

require large numbers. It became clear during the data gathering and more especially during

the analysis that because of the use of a non-probability sampling (combing both the

purposive and snowballing or chain-referral techniques) what was critical was getting

information from knowledgeable respondents in the IS. The approach to sampling was

particularly important because most of the IS operators are hidden in the population of

different places and could only be approached after researchers either identified them prior

to calling on them or were referred to them by others. Thus before the researchers set out to

do field work, they identified the IS sub-sector, the places to be visited and the number of

respondents to be covered in each district. For instance, the North West and Chobe

Districts, the researchers aimed among others to meet with operators involved in activities

associated with tourism and fishing or related activities. Table 1 shows the respondents by

sector and place of operation.

The use of purposive and snowballing techniques by researchers was also meant to include

only those operators who met the following criteria for the IS:

- Not registered as a company or with any professional association

- Employing less than 10 employees

- Informal accounts or none

- Expenditure not easily distinguished from household expenditure

- Employees casually hired

- Often temporarily or mobile or in owner’s home/plot

By purposefully searching for respondents who met the above criteria, the researchers were

able to exclude SMME operators who are normally included as part of the IS even though

they were largely engaged in small but formally established and regulated activities.



Table 1: Respondents by City/Town/or Village

Sector

W/s

ale

&

Reta

il

R/E

sta

te

Manufa

ctu

re

Ag

rib

usi

ne

ss

Constr

uction

Hote

l a

nd

Resta

ura

nt

Tra

ns

p &

com

munic

atio

n

Education

Healt

h a

nd

Socia

l

serv

ices

Serv

ices

Oth

er

co

mm

un

ity

ba

se

d

se

rvic

es

Oodi 1 0 2 3 2 1 0 0 0 5 0

Kuru 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Mmopane 4 0 0 1 2 2 0 0 0 1 0

Metsimotlhabe 3 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 3 0

Mogoditshane 10 1 3 4 2 3 1 1 0 5 0

Palapye 6 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 3 0

Serowe 5 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0

Mahalapye 3 0 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Moshupa 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 0

Kang 6 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 2 0

Ramotswa 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 4 0

Tsabong 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0

Werda 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Jwaneng 13 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 0

Kanye 6 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 5 0

Manyana 3 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 2 1 0

Mankgodi 7 0 6 1 3 1 0 0 0 5 0

Gabane 4 2 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 4 2

Kumakwane 5 0 1 3 5 1 0 0 0 2 1

Madinare 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 3

Tati 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 0

Semolale 6 0 5 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0

Bobonong 5 0 3 0 0 2 2 0 1 1 0

Selibe

Phikwe

4 0 1 2 0 2 7 0 0 0 0

Lobatse 5 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0

Goodhope 9 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0

Phitshane 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0

Maun 2 0 2 0 3 1 0 0 0 3 0

Kasane 4 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0

Tutume 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 4 0

Matsiloje 4 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 1

Gaborone 8 2 4 2 1 2 1 1 0 14 0

Mapoka 1 0 0 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 3

Masunga 10 0 2 4 1 0 2 0 0 0 2

Mopipi 0 0 2 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 2

Letlhakane 6 1 7 3 1 0 0 0 0 5 0



Rakops 2 0 2 0 3 0 0 0 0 1 0

Tonota 7 0 3 3 1 2 1 0 0 2 1

Francistown 5 0 3 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0

Bokaa 3 0 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0

Mochudi 5 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0

Molepolole 4 0 1 4 0 1 2 0 1 8 0

Sehitwa 0 0 8 1 0 0 2 0 1 0 0

Parakarungu 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Total 179 8 79 58 28 29 26 2 10 96 15

Some of the challenges experienced during field research which also militated against

settling for the originally projected sample size of 791 included:

- Poor conditions of rural road

- Non-availability of public transport

- Non-availability of convenient lodging

- Diverse patterns of activity concentration

Effort was however, made to have a representative sample of the urban or semi-urban

areas, villages and rural settlements.

3.4. Data Capture: Questionnaire

The main tool for collecting data was the structured questionnaire. The questionnaire

allowed for the collection of both quantitative and qualitative data. The questionnaire

explored a number of variables including the following;

General Information – Demographics of those involved in the informal sector

Existing skills, their magnitude and identified economic benefits

Existing government and non-government policies used in the IS

Skills development in the IS and their related economic benefits

Skills required in the informal sector

Costs and their implications on the development of skills

Providers of skills needed in the IS (both traditional and formal)

The role played by the traditional apprenticeship in skills training for IS (both

traditional and formal providers).

The questionnaire was administered face-to-face with researchers taking respondents

through the questions and entering their responses. In this way, researchers were able to



clarify questions where necessary to suit the experiences and circumstances of the

respondent. In most cases, researchers visited the respondents unannounced and solicited

their participation. However in some cases, the questionnaires were administered during

scheduled meetings mutually agreed upon by the researchers and respondents.

3.5. Data Gathering Using Interviews

The study was carried out using both individual face-to-face and focus groups.

(i) The Individual Interviews

Variables explored included (i) perceptions, attitudes and values they held about

informal sectors, and (ii) factual information such as the number of enterprises/jobs.

Of necessity, the interviews were tailored to the unique situations of the people in the

IS, for example, interview questions with people who were self-employed or those

directed at those who were in jobs.

(ii) Focus Group Interviews

Focus group interviews were preferred where people shared some characteristics.

For example, people trained through traditional/indigenous methods were interviewed

together, to get information on their perceptions of the importance of IK (Indigenous

Knowledge) in the IS.

The interviews generally proceeded in the following manner:

a. Introduction – Researchers introduced themselves first and explained the purpose of

their visit/research before asking the respondents to do the same.

b. Consent protocols – In compliance with research principles, respondents were asked

if they consented to taking part in the study. The administration of the questionnaire

only proceeded once the respondents had communicated their consent to participate

in the study. Researchers assured respondents of their anonymity.

c. Demographic factors – questions on demographic factors were posed first.

Thereafter both close-ended and open-ended questions were used with the latter

utilised to facilitate detailed descriptions of respondents’ perceptions and

experiences.

3.6. Data Gathering from Desktop Document Search and Literature Review



The desktop document search and literature review was carried out for the following

reasons:

To identify and review existing government and non-government policies and studies

done on skills development in the informal sector and their related economic benefits

To review structures in place to support practices relating to informal sector

To review policies and programmes pertaining to costs and their implications on

development of skills in the informal sector

To benchmark or draw good lessons that could be applied in (i) developing the

Strategy for skill development in the IS and (ii) drawing up the list of scarce skills that

could be utilised in the policy process.

The results of the desktop document search are presented under the sections on literature

review and benchmarking.

3.7. Data Analysis

For data analysis a number of data analytical techniques were used as indicated in Table 2

below;

Table 2: Analysis Phases

PHASES DESCRIPTION

1. On-going data analysis during fieldwork – Both principal and research

assistants met periodically to assess and discuss the progress including

emerging themes and challenges of the field.

2. At the end of the fieldwork - labelling the transcripts and reviewing the

journals to get a feel of what had been said or observed and to be assured

that relevant and useful data had been collected.

3 Interview data were converted into text data (verbatim), in preparation for

the coding process. Then coding was done and both SPSS and Excel were

used as necessary.

4

5

Presentation of the findings that detailed the skills used in the IS and their

economic benefits, skills-gaps, costs and their implications on the

development of skills in the IS.

Development of a strategy for skills development in the IS.



SECTION 4: IS ACTIVITIES AND LOCATIONS

4.1. Introduction

IS activities are very diverse covering a multitude of different commercial and industrial

trades. Whilst the activities are concentrated in areas with higher population such as cities,

towns and large villages, they could be found in different locations across the length and

breadth of the country. This section discusses the characteristics of activities undertaken by

respondents in this study.

4.2. Enterprises

All the activities explored met the criteria adopted in this study. For example, the activities

were not registered businesses, were not regulated, employed less than 10 employees and

had no formal bookkeeping. In Figure 1 below the sub-sectors within which the activities that

were explored fall are presented.

The top three most popular sub-sectors covered in the study were Wholesale/Retail Trade

from which 179 respondents (32%); Services with 96 respondents (17%); and Manufacturing

with 79 respondents (14%). The coverage was informed by the 2007 Informal Sector Survey

which had revealed more or less the same prevalence rate of the activities in the respective

sub-sectors.

Figure 1: Enterprises Explored



In the Wholesale/Retail Trade sub-sector the activities were dominated by sale of clothing

items (new and second hand); confectionery items (candy, biscuits, gum etc); mobile

communication related items (airtime, cellular phones and accessories etc); jewellery and

fashion accessories; fresh produce (fruits and vegetables). The manufacturing sector was

dominated by basket weavers (traditional baskets), metal craft (metal things); wood craft and

carpentry (furniture and sculptures); textile (apparel making and clothing); leather craft

(leather products); artists; food and drink caterers (food, yoghurt, home brewed beer, bread,

cakes etc). In the Real Estates sub-sector 8 respondents (1.4%) were covered and these

were involved in providing housing for rental. A total of 10 respondents (2%) were covered in

the Health and Social Services sub-sector. Activities under the ‘Other Community-Based

Services’ included clearing yards, providing garden maintenance services, washing of

laundry and ironing. These are discussed as part of ‘Services’ category of the informal

sector. The least popular sub-sector was Education where only 2 respondents (0.48%) were

covered; both involved the predominant activity of providing tutoring services.

In all, 559 IS activities were explored. As stated, the sample was determined using

purposive, convenient and snowballing or referral/reputational strategies. It is important to

observe that the activities were selected to cover diverse sub-sectors which belonged to the

IS as defined in this study.

4.3. Locations

The IS activities were found in all the districts of Botswana and efforts were made to ensure

that coverage included diverse locations such as urban, rural and remote areas. Figure 2

indicates the different locations visited by the researchers as well as the number of

respondents in each of the location.

Figure 2: Study Sites



The pattern of concentration that emerged from the 2007 IS Study by the CSO was used as

a frame of reference for selecting a representative sample across diverse sub-sectors and

locations around the country. For example, more activities were explored in Gaborone (35)

and Mogoditshane (30).There were less IS activities in areas such as Werda and

Parakarungu which are smaller and remoter villages.

4.4. Participants’ Characteristics

This section presents the unique characteristics of people who participated in this study in

terms of demographics factors such as age, gender and educational background.

4.4.1. Number of Participants

As Figure 3 below shows, the majority of respondents were citizens of Botswana (98%)

while about 2% were operated by non-citizens from Zimbabwe. The non-citizens ran

activities in the manufacturing, agribusiness, construction and transport sub-sectors

Most of the IS operators were self-employed 339 (80.3%) with only 43 (10%) being

employees. Some IS operators 35 (6.2%) were in syndicates. Generally, most of the

activities were one-person operations who were self-employed people. Most operators were

concentrated in the wholesale/retail trades.

Figure 2: Study Participants



4.4.2. Age of the respondents

The respondents covered were in all age groups as shown in Figure 4.

The most common age bracket of IS operators was the 20 – 29 years (32%) bracket, and

the 30-39 years (32%). Thus the IS in Botswana is dominated by the youth as those

belonging to the 40-49 years age bracket constituted only 11% of the population. Those

above 50 years constituted 25% of the population. There is no definite pattern emerging to

indicate businesses preferred by youth as compared to the other groups.

4.4.3. Gender dimensions of the respondents

The study revealed that most IS operators were women as indicated in Figure 5.

Figure 5: Respondents’ Gender

Figure 3: Respondents' Age



Figure 5 reveals that 58% of the study population was female with the male counterparts

constituting the remaining 42%. Generally, more women were engaged in activities in the

wholesale/retail, hotel and restaurant; basketry sub-sectors whilst men were involved in

construction, metal craft, leather craft, wood craft, service (mainly technical repair work) and

transport sub-sectors as emerges in Figure 6.

Figure 6: Participation by Gender

4.4.4. Marital Status of the respondents

Figure 7 shows the marital status of the respondents.

Figure 7: Respondents’ Marital Status



According to Figure 7 a significant proportion of people involved in the IS (73%) were not

married whilst only 22% were married. Those who were either divorced or widowed

comprised the remaining 5%. However, there was no statistically significant relationship

between gender and marital status as the majority of respondent, whether male or female,

were not married.

4.4.5. Educational Backgrounds of Respondents

F

This study also explored the educational levels of those who participated. Figure 8 presents

the results.

Figure 8: Educational Backgrounds

From Figure 8, it is revealed that the educational levels of those engaged in the informal

sector was generally low with 33% of those surveyed having a Junior Certificate and 26%

having only primary education. Only 6% had received training from brigades and vocational

institutions whilst 19% had senior secondary education with and a 2% possessing a post-

secondary education (University). In all, 15% of the respondents had no formal education.

Female respondents further were the majority among those with primary education (18%) as

compared to 8% of male respondents. A total of 2% male and 0.5% female respondents had

been through brigades whilst 3% male and 0.64% had vocational education. Among those

with university level education 1% was male and 0.86% was female. Overall, the average



male respondent had Junior Secondary education while the average female had senior

secondary education.

4.5. Income Levels

4.5.1. Average Income

Income was one of the variables explored in this study and the results are captured in Table

3 below.

Table 3: Descriptive Statistics of Income

N Minimum Maximum Mean Standard Deviation

Total cash income 183 0.00 60,000.00 2,557.6503 7,202.40905

Valid N (list wise) 183

IS operators reported earning income that ranged from a minimum of P00.00 to a maximum

of P60, 000.00 per month, with a mean of P2, 557.65. A standard deviation of P7, 202.41

indicates very large variations between respondents. However, quartile analyses give

relatively more reliable estimates. The averages for incomes in the first, second and third

quartiles were P500.00 (five hundred); P1, 000.00 (one thousand) and P3, 050.00 (three

thousand and fifty) respectively. The mode (most frequently encountered) income was

P500.00.

4.5.2. Gender and Income

The overall average income for male respondents was P4, 412.20 (four thousand, four

hundred and twelve pula twenty thebe). The averages for the first 25%, 50% and 75% of the

male respondent were P600.00, P1, 750.00 and P5, 150.00 respectively. The overall

average income for female respondents was P1, 655.45 (one thousand, six hundred and fifty

five pula forty five thebe). The averages for the first 25%, 50% and 75%of the female

population were P425.00, P800.00 and P2, 000.00 respectively.

4.5.3. Age and Income/Length of time in the business

There was a positive relationship between income earned and the length of time one had

been engaged in the IS operation. This shows that experience counts as a factor for

operating a successful IS activity.



SECTION 5:

IS Competencies per Sub-Sector 5.1. Introduction

Working in and for the informal sector requires some specific skills. This section thus

presents the findings in relation to the current or existing competencies of those who

participated in this study. As per the objectives and terms of reference, the study targeted

the general competencies required for successful IS operation and the specific indigenous

skills that could be utilised to raise livelihood standards.

The informal sector in Botswana is diverse with respective activities spanning wholesale and

retail, manufacturing, services, hospitality and catering, building and construction, health and

social services, education/tutoring and others. The diversity dictated that the study focussed

on competencies required for the operation of different activities in different sub-sectors. In

reporting the results more detailed analysis was made on the wholesale/retail sub-sector

since it commanded more popularity than other sectors and was the most prevalent across

the country. The competencies found in other sub-sectors are discussed in less detail. The

purpose of discussing the nature of the competencies was to establish their value and

determine any learning gap that existed.

5.2. Skills Used in Wholesale and Retail

Goods sold in this sector were diverse and generally reflected those traded in the formal

economy. A number of factors account for successful operation of wholesale/retail trading

and these include the productivity of the operation, the demand for the goods and the extent

of competition. Possession of competencies was determined to be a major differencing

factor that directly contributed to productivity and translated into competitiveness and

sustainability.

In wholesale/retail trading success depends on both product knowledge and on possession

of generic business or entrepreneurship competencies. The business competencies include

numeracy and basic money management knowledge, book keeping, marketing and

salesmanship, risk taking and creativity. These competencies could be acquired largely from

the formal education and training system even though they could also be acquired informally

through observation, practice or apprenticeship.



The majority of the operators (92%) involved in wholesale and retail trading did not go

through any formal training to prepare them for the business activity and only 2.14%

attended brigade whilst 3.42% underwent vocational training. Most respondents acquired

their competencies outside the formal system of education and training. Many indicated that

they learned through observing other participants in this sector. A small number (3%)

indicated that they had previously worked in wholesale/ retail establishments in the formal

sector and through this experience they acquired the requisite skills and knowledge to

operate in the IS. Most of the operators mentioned learning the skill traditionally such as

through trial and error (90); followed by through interactions with others and observing what

they did (80); through direct experiences of selling (60); and through guidance received from

others who had experience in selling (50).

Further analysis showed that the percentage of people who learned through trial and error

were lower in the selling of items such as airtime and other mobile communication related

items while it was higher in those selling second-hand clothing items. More of the older

(above 40 years) women reported starting their trading ventures without any formal

competencies and had to rely on informal learning from observing those selling next to them.

5.2.1. Traditional/Indigenous Skills – Wholesale/Retail

The indigenous skills that are used in the wholesale and retail trade sub-sector and which

can contribute to higher standards of living are captured in Table 4 below:

Table 4: Indigenous Skills for Wholesale and Retail

Indigenous skill Description of use

Botho As a marketing strategy because relational aspects are needed for the business to succeed. Helps in retention of customers

Understanding of the different customers

Natural talents to know what customers want and how to please them

Presentation skills (appearance) Attracting customers by appearance and having interpersonal communication skills. Carefully presentation of products to be sold.

Customer care Paying attention to customers and being emotionally intelligent

Environment preservation Being conscious of clean and healthy surrounding (e.g. not littering).

Knowledge of prices (standard price and negotiable prices)

Reduction of prices where it is necessary, e.g. perishable items like rotting tomatoes.

Time consciousness and management

Knowing the ‘high-peak’ for selling. Knowing the right product to sell (seasonal or year-long) as well as keeping products on stock (availability of goods sold)



5.2.2. Sources of Traditional Skills: Wholesale and Retail

In response to the question, ‘How did you learn the skills you are using in your business?’

most respondents identified parents, peers, relatives and others as the key sources of

learning. For example, one respondent reported how she learned the competencies that

enabled her to be patient from home where her parents, especially her mother who used to

sell candies while she was still young. “Some customers used to come with not enough

money and instead of being unfriendly to them; she would communicate courteously that the

amount they had was not enough”, she stated. One of the sellers reported having learnt how

to do retail trading from their older sibling saying “Ke nkonne a ntshupeditseng go rekisa (it’s

my elder sibling who showed me how to sell). However, others reported being self-taught

saying “I don’t know when I learned it, I just saw myself doing it”. The environment of selling

too has been shown to provide self-learning skills.

5.2.3. Competencies and how they were acquired

It was not easy to get the respondents identify the competencies they possessed especially

the indigenous skills. In such cases, it was necessary to engage in special probing to get

respondents to describe what was required to perform well in their activity . There were

cases where some operators could not describe the competencies they possessed, but after

probing and observing, it was possible to identify the skills required. One operator who used

feathers to make jewellery reported having no skills but on further probing, it became clear

that she had acquired the skills by observing a friend and then being shown what and how to

perform the task. Comments such as, “a mme mo ke sengwe (is this really anything?)

showed that she understood ‘skills’ as those acquired from the formal education and training

system.

It was also observed that the question “What skills do you have that you use to carry out

your operations?” could have been perceived as unusual by some respondent leading to

vague responses in some cases. Some respondents would indicate they possessed very

high proficiency levels without explaining the nature of the competencies they were proficient

at. Because some skills developed so naturally in an informal setting some people were

probably not aware that they had them. Comments like “I don’t know when I learned it, I just

saw myself doing it” were common.



5.2.4. Competencies obtained through formal training –

Wholesale/Retail

As already mentioned, most of the respondents in the wholesale and retail businesses

acquired their skills through the informal systems. Very few (about 6%) went through formal

training prior to or when already in operation. Those who acquired skills from the formal

education and training system had attended programmes offered by Brigades, Vocational

Institutions and the University. Below are some of the formal skills used in wholesale/retail

trading.

Table 5: Formal Competencies Used in Wholesale and Retail

Activity/Activities Competencies

Selling Clothing, Cosmetics, food and

handicrafts

Product knowledge

Basic sales and marketing techniques

Quality customer service

Risk taking

Communication and networking

Decisiveness and dynamism

Innovative and conceptual thinking

5.3. Other Sectors

This section reports the findings of enterprises other than Wholesale and Retail, namely, real

estate, agri-business, construction, hotel and catering, manufacturing, health and social

service and services.

5.3.1. Competencies used in the Real Estate

The scope of this sector was limited to those who provided rental accommodation to others.

Activities in this sector were common in high density places such as cities, towns and urban

villages or villages near towns and cities. Overall, respondents did not have any previous

experience of engaging in this trade - they learned on-the-job. Most respondents did not

regard this activity as a full-time engagement. However, when asked about

skills/competencies needed in this sector, the following general competencies emerged:

Table 6: Competency use in the Real Estate Business



General Competencies Indigenous Skills

Entrepreneurship

Pricing

Customer service

Self management

Communication skills

Market analysis

No indigenous skills

5.3.2. Competencies used in Agri-business

This sector includes diverse activities covering crop production, animal production, poultry

production, fish harvesting, wood harvesting, mophane worm harvesting etc. Although some

of the activities are carried out for subsistence purposes, where there is surplus, it would be

sold to earn income to provide for other livelihood requirements. Some people cultivate

traditional cash crops such as maize, melons, nuts, pumpkins, and sweet cane primarily for

sale. These farm produce was a product of subsistence rather than commercial farming.

Competencies used by operators in the agri-business sub-category were gained through

informal means such as observation of those with the knowledge and skills. Some

respondents reported that the knowledge they possessed had been passed to them through

older, more experienced family members. Table 7 lists the competencies used in this sub-

sector.

Table 7: Competencies used in the Agri-business

General competencies Indigenous skills

Crop production

Cultivation

Crop maintenance

Crop harvesting Handling and Processing

Entrepreneurship

Fishing

Health and safety principles

Fish species

Fish handling and processing

Poultry flock maintenance

Crop production

Ploughing animal driven plough (mogoma).

Weeding using hoe Soil types

Crop maintenance

Crop harvesting

Product handing and processing

Fishing

Fish species Health and safety


Swimming

Boat roaring


Handling and processing



5.3.3. Construction

The most prevalent activity in the construction sub-sector was housing construction,

including bricklaying, roofing, plumbing and carpentry. Many of these activities required

semi-skilled to skilled people. As a result, the sector was generally dominated by those with

formal training in the areas they were doing. Only, a very small number (2%) of respondents

had acquired skills through the informal route.

The following table indicates the competencies needed in this business.

Table 8: Competencies used in the Construction Business


Entrepreneurship and Business

management

Understanding drawings

Brick laying

Plastering

Roofing

Plumbing

Knowledge of construction materials (soils,

cow dung, thatching grass, wood and

related products)

Construction process

Traditional decorations like using cow dug

and soil (lekgapho).

5.3.4. Hospitality and Catering

The activities cited by respondents were catering related and none were classifiable as hotel

activities. These activities involved mainly cooking and selling of various food items. Some of

the respondents provided entertainment services through song (including poetry) or dance

whilst other provided tour guide services to tourists.

Most respondents did not have any formal training and had acquired the competencies

informally through observing others and practicing. The following table presents the

competencies used in operations in this sub-sector:


Livestock production

Breeding

Livestock husbandry

Herd management Environmental

management


Environmental management

Milk products

Fresh and sour milk processing (madila)

Hunting and tracking skills

Wilderness survival

Gathering – wild fruits, vegetables and phane. Preservation techniques

Environmental preservation

Hygiene



Table 9: Competencies for Hospitality and Catering Services

General Competencies Indigenous skills

Catering - Cooking and baking

Food processing and preservation

Health and hygiene

Entrepreneurship and business management

Tour Guide - Knowledge of history

Understanding the physical environment

Wilderness survival Entrepreneurship and

business management

Dance - Practical knowledge

Creativity


Music - Understanding sound

Composing

Sound production


Constructing brick oven (mmu).


Use of different pot types

Cooking techniques for different food types

Knowledge of traditional recipes

Producing traditional dishes

Tour Guide - Knowledge of history

Understanding the physical environment Wilderness survival

Dance - Practical knowledge Creativity

Music - Understanding sound Composing

Sound production

5.3.5. Health and Social Services

Respondents in this sub-sector provided healing and massage services. The competencies

they used were acquired through informal ways. Most respondents indicated that they had

acquired knowledge and skills through apprenticeships and learning from other practitioners.

The following table presents the competencies needed in the health and social services:

Table 10: Competencies in Health and Social Services




Healing - Diagnosis

Treatment and review

Entrepreneurship

Massage - Human

physiology

Manual dexterity

Entrepreneurship

Expertise of being a traditional doctor

Knowledge of medicinal plants and herbs

Handling and processing of herbal products

Knowledge of health conditions

Counselling skills

Massage techniques

Human physiology

Manual dexterity

5.3.6. Transport and Communication

Operators in the transport and communication sub-sector required skills such as driving and

its requirements like formal licensing. Analysis of data indicated that other skills required for

this sector were generic business management skills required for most businesses. The

following table indicates these skills.

Table 11: Competencies for Transport and Communication


Driving

Business promotion and marketing

Business management

Pricing

Customer service

Self management

Using donkey carts

Roaring boats

5.3.7. Educational Services

The only informal activity performed under this sector was provision of tutoring services

offered to help students prepare for primary and secondary school examinations. Most

operated from home or from rented premises and provided one-on-one tutoring. They

viewed their working conditions as good. Apart from employing themselves and earning

income for their livelihoods, private tutoring provided a valuable service which

complemented the services provided by formal educational establishments. By supporting

children and other young people to gain qualifications, tutors contributed to the economic

development of families, communities and the nation.

5.3.7 Services



The Service sub-sector is dominated by different kinds of repair works requiring knowledge

of the technical specifications in addition to entrepreneurial skills. The following are the

general entrepreneurial competencies needed in operations in this sub-sector:

Table 12: Competencies needed in Services


Cell phone repair

Technical repair skills

Health and safety

Entrepreneurship

Outdoor and indoor cleaning

Health and safety

Entrepreneurship

Outdoor and indoor cleaning

Health and safety

Event planning

Event management

Entrepreneurship

Event planning

Event management

Hair and beauty products

Chemical application

Creative design

Entrepreneurship

Graphic Design and Art

Image conceptualisation Creative design skills

Computer skills

Entrepreneurship

Graphic Design and Art

Image conceptualisation Creative design skills

Landscaping and gardening

Creative design skills

Plant maintenance Health and safety

Entrepreneurship

Laundry services

Washing different fabrics

Ironing different fabrics

Entrepreneurship

Laundry services



Entrepreneurial skills

Mechanical and electrical systems


System maintenance

Entrepreneurship

Shoe repair Shoe repair




Craftsmanship

Entrepreneurship


Craftsmanship

Tyre repair

Technical repair skills Vehicle and tyre safety

Entrepreneurship

5.3.8. Competencies needed for Manufacturing

Manufacturing was one of the three top activities in the informal sector. It involved converting

raw materials into finished goods that met the requirements of customers or users. A

manufacturer followed an established process to create finished or semi finished products

using appropriate tools.

Respondents in this sector included basket weavers (traditional baskets), metal craft (metal

things), wood craft (furniture and sculpture), textile (apparel or clothing), leather craft (leather

products), production of food or related items (e.g. yoghurt, home brewed beer, bread, cakes

etc). A total of 15% of people surveyed in this study were engaged in manufacturing. The

majority of people in manufacturing operations (76%) started their activities from their own

resources and only a small proportion of about 8% had secured assistance from government

agencies.

The following table indicates the skills needed for this trade:

Table 13: Competencies for Manufacturing


Basketry

Tailoring and dress making

Wool weaving

Leather craft

Metal craft Pottery

Product conceptualisation

Knowledge of design

Knowledge of tools and materials

Knowledge of manufacturing process sequence

Quality production techniques

Craftsmanship and creativity

Health and safety

Tailoring – Knowledge of the right fabric for the occasion

Knowledge of tie and dye, patch work and traditional patterns (e.g. khiba).

Leather work – Making leather products (e.g. purses, bags, shoes, chairs, belts, diphate, dikgole and traditional attire).

Metal craft – making gates, troughs, bells, trailers, toys and others.

Fur preparation – making jackets, head scarf and sculptures

Wool work – making head scarf, jersey, dresses, etc.

Wood work – kitchen utensils, furniture, sculptures, building materials Product conceptualisation and

Knowledge of design





SECTION 6:

COMPETENCY GAPS

6.1. Introduction

The majority of people in the IS who were surveyed reported lacking some entrepreneurial

competencies which could enable them to expand the activities and produce more products

for sale. The need to increase production was reiterated by most operators who cited

important benefits like creating opportunities for self-employment; jobs for the unemployed;

and generating enough money for decent living. This section thus explores the

competencies that participants did not have but thought they needed to run their businesses

or those they had at lower levels of proficiency than was required.

The competency gaps represents the difference between the current proficiency levels in the

competencies needed for different activities and the proficiency levels required for

excellence in performance. Respondents were asked to gauge their proficiency levels and

asked to rate the importance of acquiring more competencies in order for them to perform at

higher levels. On an ascending scale, 1 would represent a foundation or basic level of

proficiency; 2 moderate proficiency level; 3 high proficiency levels and 4 would denote an

expert or master craft person.

The gap was then determined by calculating the difference between the competencies

possessed and competencies required. A difference of 1 or 25% is considered low but since

it was undesirable to have capacity levels that are lower than required interventions are

needed to elevate the competencies to the highest levels in order to guarantee sustainable

high performance. A gap of 2 or 50% would be moderate but requires urgent action because

it implies that the IS operations can only go half-way towards achieving full production and

sustainable productivity. Any gap that is more than 2 or more than 50% would be deemed

unacceptable.

6.2. Skills-gap in Agribusiness

The average proficiency rating for competencies in the agri-business sector was 2 or ‘basic’

as Table 14 below indicates.

Table 14: Competencies needed in Agribusiness



Sector: Agribusiness

Activity Competencies Traditional/ Indigenous skills

Existing level

Required level

Gap

Crop production

Cultivation

Crop maintenance

Crop harvesting Handling and

Processing

Entrepreneurship

Indigenous skill

Moderate proficiency

Expert proficiency

Moderate

Fishing Swimming and boat roaring

Health and safety principles

Fish species


Entrepreneurship

Indigenous skill


Expert proficiency

Moderate

Milk and Sour Milk Production

Milking cows

Sour milk processing

Food hygiene

Entrepreneurship

Indigenous skills


Expert proficiency

Moderate

Poultry Poultry flock maintenance


Entrepreneurship

Indigenous skills


Expert proficiency

Moderate


Breeding

Livestock husbandry

Herd management

Environmental management

Entrepreneurship

Indigenous skills


Expert proficiency

Moderate

As indicated in Table 14, the competency gap revealed was ‘moderate’ but required urgent

action in order to elevate the capacity of operators to excel in their activities.

Most of the respondents acknowledged that they lacked the necessary skills. They would

like to increase their proficiency levels but they indicated not having enough resources to

sponsor themselves for training. Many respondents preferred learning on-the-job not being

removed from their businesses to attend formal institutions. One other major challenge that

these people reported was access to financial resources and assistance. They needed to

obtain supplies and modern tools or machines to generate more income and/or create

employment opportunities but could not afford to pay for that.



6.3. Competency gaps in Construction

Construction activities require persons with technical skills. Although there were some

participants who learned this trade through working with those who possessed the

competencies, many learned through formal training from institutions like brigades and

technical colleges. The sector accounts for 70% of respondents who said they had formal

vocational qualifications. A very small number (2%) of respondents had acquired skills

through the informal route. Overall, the skills needed for this trade are presented below.

Table 15: Competencies needed in Construction

Sector: Construction

Activity Competencies Traditional/ Indigenous skill

Existing level

Required level

Gap

Building

Understanding drawings

Building structures

Project management

Entrepreneurship

Non-indigenous

High proficiency

Expert proficiency

Low

Plumbing Reading technical drawings

Technical Installation

Craftsmanship

Entrepreneurship

Non-indigenous

High proficiency

Expert proficiency

Low

Carpentry Reading technical drawings

Wood working House fitting

Roof construction

Craftsmanship

Entrepreneurship

Non- -indigenous

High proficiency

Expert proficiency

Low

As Table 15 indicates the estimated competency gap was determined to be ‘low’ but

requires action to increase the productivity of the IS operators.

All respondents indicated their desire to learn new skills or update existing ones through

formal training in a training institution. This was particularly reflected in the aspirations of the

younger respondents who were prepared to pay for upgrading their skills. The reasons for

wanting to upgrade skills was to increase productivity, provide quality services and become

more competitive.

Working conditions in these businesses were described as good and most people in the

sector were self-employed and would employ others to provide assistance on a project by

project basis. Some said they would like to have access to loans so they could mobilise



more construction equipment and register companies to operate more formally and grow

their business.

6.4. Competency gaps in Education

Tutoring was mainly done by highly educated people from neighbouring countries such as

Zimbabwe who could not find employment in the formal sector. Most people in this sector

rated their competencies as average and recognised the need for acquiring additional skills

to make them more proficient. Table 9 illustrates the competency level.

Table 16: Skills needed in Education

Sector: Education


Existing level

Required level

Gap

Tutoring

Planning lessons

Facilitating learning

Assessing learning effectiveness

Entrepreneurship

Non-indigenous

High proficiency

Expert proficiency

Low

As illustrated in Table 9, the competency gap is therefore ‘low’ but required action to

increase the capacity of the operators to excel in their activities. Participants indicated that

they required more entrepreneurial competencies to grow their businesses.

6.5. Competency gaps in Real Estate

Respondents generally did not have any previous experience in this sector. Many of them

did not regard this activity as a full-time engagement. Besides general entrepreneurship or

business management related skills, people surveyed did not have any other technical skills

required for this sector. Overall, people who leased rooms or houses rated their competency

levels as average and viewed acquiring more competencies as extremely important. Table

10 illustrates this skill-gap.

Table 17: Competencies needed in Real estate

Sector: Estate


Existing level

Required level

Gap

House leasing Pricing Contract

management

Entrepreneurship

Non-indigenous

High proficiency

Expert proficiency

Low



The gap between the competency they had to rent their properties and the one they required

was estimated as ‘low’ which needs action to enhance the capacity of the IS operators in the

sub-sector. Most respondents desired further learning from other with experience and

knowledge in the area. They, however, were not willing to pay for their training.

6.6. Competency gap in Health and Social Services

People engaged in these services were self-taught, that is, they developed the

competencies naturally and perfected them through practices whilst others said they learnt

the skills by working with those who had the expertise.

Participants rated their proficiency level as basic and indicated that it was extremely

important for them to upgrade their competency levels. The competency gap is estimated to

be ‘moderate’ as Table 12 below indicates. This requires urgent action to ensure that

operators in the sub-sector can perform at levels that would enable them to excel.

Table 18: Competencies needed in Health and Social Services

Sector: Health and Social Services


Existing level

Required level

Gap

Healing Diagnosis

Treatment and review

Entrepreneurship

Indigenous skill


Expert proficiency

Moderate

Massage Human physiology

Manual dexterity Entrepreneurship

Indigenous skill


Expert proficiency

Moderate

Respondents said they would like to work with other providing the same services to learn

other techniques which they did not know. Most people worked from home but others were

called to provide services at the residences of their clients.

6.7. Competency gap in Hospitality and Entertainment

Most respondents offering food and entertainment services did not have any formal training

and had acquired the skills through observing others. However, some of those offering tour

guide services had attended certificated training programmes at the Botswana Wildlife

Training Institute in Maun.

In this sector, respondents rated their proficiency level as average and viewed the need for

further learning as extremely important. The competency gap is estimated as ‘low’ as is

shown in Table 13. This gap requires learning interventions to increase productivity levels.



Table 19: Skills needed in Hospitality and Entertainment

Sector: Hospitality and Entertainment


Existing level

Required level

Gap

Catering Cooking and baking


Health and hygiene

Entrepreneurship

Indigenous skill


Expert proficiency

Low

Tour guiding Knowledge of history


Wilderness survival

Entrepreneurship

Indigenous skill


Expert proficiency

Low

Dance Practical knowledge Creativity

Entrepreneurship

Indigenous skill


Expert proficiency

Low

Music Understanding sound

Composing

Sound production

Entrepreneurship

Indigenous skill


Expert proficiency

Low

Food servers and entertainers said they required more entrepreneurial competencies whilst

tour guides required both technical and entrepreneurial competencies. Some tour guides

wanted further formal training to get higher level certificates which would enable them to be

registered for provision of higher value guide services to tourists. They were even willing to

pay for the training.

In this sector, people would like to have access to financial assistance to get more modern

equipment. Tour guides would like to have motorised boats which they could hire out to

tourists and provide a more complete service which would increase the income they

generated. Working conditions were described as average but most people were self-

employed.

6.8. Competency gap in Manufacturing

The types of competencies required for operations were very wide and determined by the

specifics of the product(s) being manufactured. Participants in the manufacturing sector

indicated that they required competencies that could be classified into two categories:



i. Product related knowledge and skills that could enable them to produce quality

products for sale. The set of skills vary according to the specific products (e.g.

baskets, clothing, leather items etc).

ii. Business related or entrepreneurship competencies which could be used to produce

goods for sale.

Most people involved in the manufacture industry perceived their proficiency levels to be

average but indicated a desire to upgrade the competencies to high levels in Table - below.

Table 20: Skills needed in Manufacturing

Sector: Manufacturing


Existing level

Required level

Gap

Basketry Clothing Leather craft Metal craft Pottery Wood craft

Product conceptualisation and knowledge of design





Health and safety

Entrepreneurship

Indigenous skill


Expert proficiency

Low

The estimated competency gap was ‘low’ which was low but required that learning

interventions be developed and implemented to increase competency levels to go above

either ‘high’ or ‘master craftsmen’ levels. Respondents indicated their willingness to take

advantage of opportunities for competency development if they were made available but

said they would be unable to pay for themselves.

Most of the challenges identified had to do with lack of raw materials especially for those in

remote or rural areas who had to incur additional costs travelling to bigger villages or urban

centres where raw materials could be sourced. They would welcome assistance with finance

to source materials, access to modern machines, large business orders and advertising of

new products so that they could expand their activities.

6.9. Competency Gap in Retail and Wholesale



Most respondents in this sector acquired their skills outside the formal education and training

system. Table 21 below indicates the skills-gap estimated for this business.

Table 21: Competencies needed in Wholesale and Retail

Sector: Retail

Activity/Activities Competencies Traditional/ Indigenous skills

Existing level

Required level

Gap

Selling diverse products such as:

Clothing

Cosmetics Food

Handicrafts

Product knowledge

Basic sales and marketing techniques


Risk taking




Indigenous skill


Expert proficiency

Moderate

The competency gap was estimated to be ‘moderate’ based on the comparison between

their self-ratings of their proficiency levels and how they viewed the importance of acquiring

additional competencies that they deemed to require to succeed in their activity. The gap

required urgent action to elevate competency levels so that they are closer to those of

‘experts or master craftsmen’.

Those involved in retail activities said they would prefer to learn through opportunities

provided by organisations such Department of Out of School Education and Training

(DOSET) or open and distance learning like the Botswana College of Distance and Open

Learning (BOCODOL). Respondents reported needing competencies like business

management and entrepreneurship in order to be successful. Most would welcome

opportunities to upgrade their skills but lacked the resources to pay for training.

Their main challenge was lack of adequate financial resources and, therefore, would

welcome opportunities for assistance such as access to loans. Although most people in this

sector were owners of their businesses, a substantial number were those employed by

others to sell goods for them. Some of the employers were said to be people with jobs in the

formal economy. Working conditions were described as poor, with lengthy hours of work, no

job security and no formal contract of employment.



6.10. Competency gaps in Services

Most respondents rated their proficiency levels as average and described their need for

further training as extremely important. Table 22 indicates these levels of proficiency.

Table 22: Skills needed in Services

Sector: Services

Activity Competencies Traditional/ Indigenous skills

Existing level

Required level

Gap

Cell phone repair


Health and safety

Entrepreneurship

Non-indigenous

High proficiency

Expert proficiency

Low

Cleaning Outdoor and indoor cleaning

Health and safety

Entrepreneurship

Indigenous skill

High proficiency

Expert proficiency

Low

Event management

Event planning

Event management

Entrepreneurship

Indigenous skill

High proficiency

Expert proficiency

Low

Hair and beauty


Chemical application

Creative design

Entrepreneurship

Indigenous skill

High proficiency

Expert proficiency

Low

Graphic design and Art

Image conceptualisation


Computer skills

Entrepreneurship

Indigenous skill

High proficiency

Expert proficiency

Low

Landscaping and gardening


Plant maintenance

Health and safety


Indigenous skill

High proficiency

Expert proficiency

Low

Laundry service




Indigenous skill

High proficiency

Expert proficiency

Low

Mechanical and electronic equipment repair

Mechanical and electrical/electronic systems


System maintenance

Entrepreneurship

non-Indigenous skill

High proficiency

Expert proficiency

Low

Shoe repair Technical repair skills

Indigenous skill

High proficiency

Expert proficiency

Low



Craftsmanship

Entrepreneurship

Tyre repair Technical repair skills

Vehicle and tyre safety

Entrepreneurship

Non-Indigenous skill

High proficiency

Expert proficiency

Low

The competency gap was estimated as ‘low’ with most people saying they needed both

technical competencies and entrepreneurship abilities. The gap required action to make

operators in the sub-sector to excel in their performance.

While respondents offering mechanical repair, electronic repair, graphic design and

landscaping services preferred training in technical competencies, those offering other

services would prefer more business or entrepreneurial skills. Some indicated their

willingness but inability to sponsor themselves for training. Others were, however, willing to

invest in their own training in order to improve service quality and be more competitive.

There were challenges associated with lack of materials particularly for those in remote

areas where there were no suppliers selling required materials. Travel costs to source

supplies reduced income generated. Most people in the service sector were self-employed

but a few had employees who described working conditions as poor to average, with no job

security and no formal contract of employment.

6.11. Transport Services

Skills required for this sector were business management or entrepreneurial skills. In

motorised transportation, it was indicated that driving skills and other road safety

competencies were needed. Overall, the following skills were said to be essential.

Table 23: Competencies needed in Transport

Sector: Transport Services


Existing level

Required level

Gap

Transporting people and goods

Transport operations management

Road safety skills

Entrepreneurship

Indigenous skill


Expert proficiency

Moderate



The estimated competency gap in this business was ‘moderate’ because most people rated

their current proficiency level as basic and viewed further training to be extremely important.

The gap needed urgent action to ensure that competency level moves closer to ‘expert or

master craftsmen’ levels which would ensure performance excellence. They would like to

learn from those with more talents but were neither willing nor able to pay for training. Their

biggest challenge was lack of customers and working conditions were described as poor to

average even though most people were self-employed.



SECTION 7:

ECONOMIC BENEFITS

7.1 Introduction

One of the key requirements of this study was to explore the actual and potential benefits

that could be gained from the competencies that exist in the informal sector. It is not

automatic that mere possession of a skill translates into some benefits, both actual and

potential. For a skill to have an actual benefit to individual it should provide the person with

the capacity to produce outputs that can be used to experience a sustainable livelihood.

Potential benefit means that competencies could be used both currently and in the future to

produce outputs that could enable decent living. It is thus critical to establish the real benefits

that possession of competencies could have on the livelihood of people who are operating

outside the formal economy. Any competency that could be used for self-employment; the

employment of others; increased productivity; higher competitiveness; and/or raised

standard of living has a demand. Acquiring such a competency offers an opportunity for IS

operators to gain a significant return-on-investment.

This study has revealed that evidence that supports the long acknowledged belief on the

positive association between competencies and economic prosperity. This finding also

strengthens the compelling business case advanced by international bodies like the ILO,

World Bank and donor agencies that countries must promote sustainable livelihoods and

decent working through targeted development of competencies for those working in the IS.

By using both indigenous and formal skill, the IS could raise the living standard for those

involved in it and also could potentially contribute to the growth of the national economy

(Ohmagari and Berkes, 1997).

The economic and other associated benefits of using different competencies to produce

diverse goods and services in the IS are presented in this section. The benefits differ from

one individual to the other as well as from one activity to the other and also from one local

area to the other. The fact that most respondents said they were engaged in activities in the

IS because they had no alternative shows that the sector offers some benefit to those

operating in it. Analysis of respondents’ experiences revealed four key categories of benefits

accruing from the IS. These are: (i) self-employment, (ii) employment of others (iii) income

generation (iv) enhancement of livelihoods or poverty alleviation (v) gaining ‘a dignified’

social status.



The findings were augmented with data obtained through observation that were recorded in

research journals. The reflective research journals were used to capture success stories

during field visits, including the creative activities done by some IS entrepreneurs.

7.2 Employment and Income Generation Opportunities

This study replicated some of the findings of 2007 IS Survey by the CSO which reported

more self-employed people (69%) and a smaller percentage of 27% with either permanent or

temporary jobs. Since most IS operations took place in the family context they created only

limited job opportunities for people outside the family. Thus it could be said that having the

competency to do something for a living was more directly beneficial to the person with the

skill and their family. Those with competencies for engaging in economically beneficial

activities are better placed to do something for a living than those who do not have.

As stated there are a number of cases which were observed or captured around the country

which demonstrated the value of possessing competencies that can facilitate participation in

IS activities. One such a case was that of a 45 year old man who worked in housing

construction projects around the village of Rakops The man acquired basic construction

skills informally from the experience of working as a labourer in housing construction. The

man said the wage was not regular and depended on availability of projects to his employer.

His story is captured below:

Whilst some respondents who had jobs in activities operated by others valued the cash

income they received, others opted to be paid in-kind such as the case presented below:

These cases illuminate the nature of employment in the IS where conditions are harsh and

the future remains uncertain for those employed casually by others. Most people who were

employed for long working hours reported receiving a wage of P500.00 per month. Whether

I have been working for this man for many years. Payment is irregular and varied but it’s so

helpful, meagre as it is. At least I am counted among workers. Yes, whe n my boss has

generated enough to make me smile, he does that, though this is on rare occasions .

Memory (pseudo name) does many jobs like plaiting hair, cleaning, doing laundry, gardening

and babysitting. She reported having ceased to work for cash because she has been cheated

on many occasions. She has now opted for non-monetary payment like being given old

clothes, being bought food or even being given left-over hair pieces after plaiting someone

which she then exports for sale in her home country - Zimbabwe



self-employed or in a job, having competencies enabled people to earn a living outside the

formal economy, thereby allowing them to meet their basic needs and at times become

successful entrepreneurs.

Depending on the activity one was involved, in self-employment could at times earn income

of up to P50 000.00 per month, particularly those in construction and leather works. But

certain times even the self-employed did not make any income due to poor demand for their

services or products. Crafts like welding or metal works and mechanical and electronic

equipment repair also provided substantial income which would, during peak periods,

exceed that of people employed in the formal sector.

Whilst the IS offered opportunities for jobs the wages were very low and generally between

P20.00 and P500.00 per month. No one reported having a formal contract of employment

and working conditions were unregulated thus falling far short of the ILO’s ‘decent work’

standards. It should be noted that in many cases people were employed by relatives and

could not say how much they earned as in some cases they were compensated in non-cash

means such as being given clothing and food.

7.3 Better Living Standards/Poverty Alleviation

Despite the variations in benefits, all respondents in this study indicated that they benefited

from the activities they were doing in the informal economy and would not have survived if

they were unable to fend for themselves and their families. Evidence of high standards of

living (houses, vehicles and other amenities) could be observed at the households of those

who engaged in activities such as welding; kiosk operations; and vehicle repair services.

Since most people reported being drawn the IS as a last resort after they could not be

absorbed in the formal economy, the sector could be said to be saving from abject poverty.

To illustrate the point the following case was recorded:

Sadi (pseudo name) operates a kiosk (semausu). She explained that she comes from a very

poor family. She considers herself educated and less fortunate at the same time because she

could not get formal employment despite having earned a certi ficate in marketing management

and has some experience as a teacher. She explained that she originally depended on being

hired on temporary basis until five years ago when she couldn’t get any opportunity. She then

resorted to the informal sector which said was barely giving her any thing to make a decent

living. She tearfully enacted her work history of getting good salary compared to what she is

getting now despite the hard work and time put into her ‘semausu’. She has no decent shelter

and was forced share with ‘drunkards’. In the past, she has been forced to do odd jobs until she

decided to try something on her own (semausu) as she had no land to till and could not access

any loan from financial institutions.



Another interesting case involved a Motswana and a Zimbabwean man, both in their mid

40s, in Letlhakane who teamed up to jointly collect scrap metal which they used to make

items like children toy cars or wire car toys (koloi ya ditshipi) and also do any metal repair

work. They explained that it was lack of employment and poverty that drove them to think

about their business which had managed to contribute positively to uplifting their living. They

reported good sales which at times would generate as much as P1, 500 a day.

The story of the two men in Letlhakane is similar to that of a male in his 30s in Kumakwane

who also collected used wire to make toy cars. He made different types, painted them with

different colours and displayed them along the main road where motorists and other

passerby would buy. The following is another case of a person who has been trapped in

poverty despite his efforts of schooling as the story below illustrates.

At Mankgodi, researchers came across six young men in their late 20s who graduated from

Brigades with a welding and fabrication qualification. They decided to partner and make a

living out of the skills they possessed. Although they reported that they did not get enough to

meet their needs, they reported having something to survive on. Stories are many indicating

that the informal sector is benefiting those engaged in it.

7.4 Social Recognition

Some people in this study reported that through engaging in the informal sector, people

started respecting them. A case in point was of a middle age men in Bobonong who said that

through his trade as a metal smith, he had started building a four-bed roomed house that

earned the family respect and recognition from fellow community members. He reported that

“ke motho gompieno mo setshabeng, ke a ijesa” – ‘I am looked upon as someone capable of

fending for his family’. He explained that the respect he got was an encouragement as he did

not let his family down.

Meeko (pseudo name) was born in a very poor family. He explained that he went to school

up to form five and proceeded to do his vocational training (Handi-Crafts). He stayed for

years without employment. He applied for a loan to start his business but could not meet the

requirement of having available land. Then ‘ ga ke bona go le maswe, go sena pelaelosego

ya gore tiro ga eo, ka simolola go sela ditshipi mo motseng’ – when I realised that I will

never get employed, I resorted to picking up used metal and doing this business. He

explained that the business was at least giving him something to buy food for the family. His

sales ranged from P10 - P150.00 per day.



Another case is that of an elderly woman in her late 60s at Mmadinare who reported that it

was through her business of traditional spiritual healing (mosebeletsi) that people came to

know her and respected her. Although she could not afford to practice anymore due to her

health condition (cancer of the breast), she managed to build shelters for renting, which had

become another her source of livelihood outside the formal sector

7.5 Other Benefits

Some few people explained that the businesses they engaged in had enabled them to

supplement other sources of living like formal employment or retirement salaries. A case in

point was a lady in her late 40s who had a full-time job as a croupier (somebody in casino in

charge of a gaming table who collects and pays out the players' money and chips). She

reported that what she got was not enough in the following language:

Another case illustrating that the informal sector can be helpful in complementing or

supplementing other sources of living is that of an old woman in a small village of Semolale

in the Bobirwa Sub District:

7.6 Conclusion

Ke bona go le botoka go dira sengwenyana mo lapeng, go oketsa bonnyenyane ba tiro – I

felt it necessary to do some home-based business to supplement my salary. She

explained that since her ex -husband left, she could not cater for the children, so she

started selling sweets and other small items like cigarettes which could sell easily even

after working hours.

This lady explained that, selling these items including air time for mobile phones has

brought a new li festyle in her family where everyone had become business minded,

inclduing her children who would serve customers during her absence.

An old lady whom everybody refers to as Mma T, is in her late 60’s. She has lived in Semolale all her life. She bakes and sells bread to sustain her family. She was once employed as a teacher but was now retired. Baking bread has always been something she did even as a teacher. She explains how she started off just making fat cakes and taking them to school to sell, but they never lasted an hour. People in her community respected her hygiene and skill for making bread, which she explains as having been self-learned. She observes that the secret of her success was in her style of baking which she learnt from her mother as young girl. She gets her supplies from Bobonong or Selibe Phikwe sometimes and this at times become challenging because of the high prices of transport and the ingredients she uses. She said this sometimes demoralize her in her business. She went to training in Kanye (RIPCO) after she was approached by a non-governmental organization to sponsor her for training. After that she expanded her products to include biscuits, cakes and diphaphata. This was helpful to her because she could now help support her family after her husband died. The business grew and she couldn’t run it alone and employed one of her niece to help her with the dough mixing. She then sought a grant through the then Financial Assistance Policy (FAP) so she could construct bigger facilities in her homestead. MmaT has been running her bakery business for 20 years and she has diversified it to include selling groceries from a tuck shop, where she has also engaged one employee .She still hasn’t registered a company because she believes it requires too much capital to do this and she is in no position for the financial constraints.



The key conclusion of this section is that IS activities are economically beneficial to those

who opted or were forced into the informal economy. Both the self-employed and those

offered jobs by others had something of benefit from the IS which they would otherwise have

not accessed if they had not gone into the informal economy to pursue a livelihood activity.

It was apparent that there were big variations in benefits with those who are self-employed

reporting earnings that were substantially more than those who had jobs from others. Some

trades such as welding, metal craft and leather craft yielded more gains than others. Even

those producing baskets and pots reported gaining some windfall income occasionally when

tourists bought their products.

In a nutshell, for many people in the IS, their activities are a means for subsistence and for

sustainable livelihood. The activities also facilitate successful entrepreneurship for others

people. Some people venture into the informal economy to augment their income from the

formal sector and some to kick-start their entrepreneurship aspirations.

Based on the economic benefits, income levels and popularity of the livelihood activities the

Table 24 shows the three top priority competencies.

Table 24: List of prioritised Competencies per Sub-Sector

Sub-Sector Areas prevalent Top Three Competency Areas

Agri-business North West and Chobe

Districts

i. Fishing

Eastern part of country ii. Crop production

Near cities, towns and

major villages

iii. Milk production

Construction All districts i. House building

All districts ii. Roofing

Cities, towns and major

villages

iii. Plumbing

Education Cities and towns i. Tutoring

Estate

Management


villages

i. House leasing



Health and Social

Services


villages

i. Healing services


villages

ii. Massage services

Hospitality and

Entertainment


villages

i. Food catering

North West and Chobe

Districts

ii. Tour Guiding

Manufacturing Cities, towns and major

villages

i. Metal craft


villages

ii. Leather craft

All districts iii. Wood craft

Retail Trading Cities, towns and major

villages

i. Air time sale


villages

ii. Clothing sale


villages

iii. Handicraft sale

Services Cities, towns and i. Vehicle repair


villages

ii. Mobile phone repair


villages

iii. Electronic equipment

repair

Transport Cities, Towns and major

villages

i. Transportation of goods

There are high value indigenous skills that could make a difference in the IS if they were

preserved and disseminated. These skills produce goods and services that are in demand

and are likely to continue to grow in value. It should be noted that the recently introduced

regulation of the brewing and sale of traditional beer would have adverse effect on the

preservation of the skill.



Table 25 shows the list of indigenous skills that are likely to promote growth in citizens

standard of living. :

Table 25: List of Indigenous Skills

Sub-Sector Indigenous Skills

Agri-business Fishing

Harvesting of ‘Phane’

Harvesting of veld products

Poultry (Indigenous Chicken)

Sour milk production

Production of traditional crops such as maize, melons, ground nuts, pumpkins, sweet cane, sweet potatoes etc.

Construction Thatching

Health and Social Services Healing

Herbalism

Massage services

Hospitality and entertainment Tour guiding

Traditional singing and dancing

Traditional brewing

Traditional food catering

Manufacturing Wood crafting

Basketry

Pottery

Leather crafting

Services Transporting of goods using donkey carts



SECTION 8:

Policy Environment and Investment in Skills Development for the Informal Sector

8.1. Introduction

This section reports on the findings from both document review and from the view of

respondents on investment in skills development. As already noted the majority of IS

operators had no or very little formal education. They thus could not clearly articulate their

views on issues around investment in competency development for the sector. But with

good practice well documented in the literature it was possible to reflect on the prevailing

policy environment. It was also possible to make proposals on how investment in skills

development for the IS could be managed in the future.

A number of issues could be raised when discussing the requirement for investment in skills

development. This section however focussed on (i) identifying providers of skills for the

informal sector, and (ii) the policy environment impacting investment in skills development

for the IS.

8.2. Formal Providers of Skills Development in the IS

The fact that the majority of those employed in the IS gave little formal education means that

the sector itself is the source of competencies for those who operate in it. This does not

mean that the formal education and training systems does not provide some of the

competencies required for successful operation in the informal economy. In fact for most

operators in the IS, the only opportunity for education and training was in the formal system,

that is if they ever had access to primary or secondary and in some cases to vocational and

technical training. Even the apprenticeship system in Botswana was developed to cater for

people who are formally employed in the private or public sectors and is therefore

inaccessible to those in the informal sector. That leaves only the informal traditional

apprenticeship process which would sometimes be available for family and other close

members. There is no evidence that traditional apprenticeships have been developing in

Botswana and some of the retail trading operators selling craft products were sourcing them

from non-citizens, especially from Zimbabwe.

The following table (Table 24) presents a list of the existing formal institutions providing

skills that are needed for activities taking place in the IS:



Table 26: Institutions Providing Skills Required in the IS

Type of Provider

Institutions Nature of Competencies

Activity Sub-Sector

Vocational Institutions

Brigades Various trades and crafts such as: metal work, wood craft, horticulture, technical repair

Service Manufacturing Hotel and Catering

Madirelo Testing Centre Trade testing, apprenticeship

Service Hotel and Catering

Auto Trade Training Centre Various auto trades Service

Rural Industries Innovation Centre

Baking, Agriculture, Environmental

Agribusiness Retail trading Services

Road Training Sector road maintenance Service

Rural Industries Innovation Centre

metal work, carpentry,

Manufacturing Service

Construction Industry Trust Fund

construction Construction

Public Technical Colleges Various trades and crafts

Agribusiness Service, Manufacturing, Hotel and Catering

Other BOTA and TEC Accredited Institutions

Various technical and entrepreneurial competencies

All sub-sectors

Colleges

Botswana Accountancy

College

Business and

entrepreneurial

competencies

All sub-sectors

Institute of Development Management

Business and Entrepreneurial Competencies

All sub-sectors

BOCODOL Various technical and entrepreneurial competencies

All sub-sectors

Botho College Various technical and Entrepreneurial competencies

All sub-sectors

Gaborone Institute of Professional Studies

Various technical and Entrepreneurial competencies

All sub-sectors

Universities

University of Botswana Generic Academic and Professional

All sub-sectors



Ba Isago University Generic Academic and Professional

All sub-sectors

ABM University College Generic Academic and Professional

All sub-sectors

Limkokwing University of Creative technology

Generic All sub-sectors

New Era University College Various technical and Entrepreneurial Competencies

All sub-sectors

Botswana College of agriculture

Agribusiness Agribusiness

Government and Parastatals

Botswana Wildlife Training Institute

Wildlife, tourism and environmental conservation

Agri-business

Botswana Police College

Botswana Prisons College Welding, carpentry, horticulture

Manufacturing Agri-business

Denman Rural Training Centre

Agriculture - farming Agri-business

Water Utilities Corporation Training Centre

Technical trades Service

Botswana Power Corporation Training Centre

Technical trades Service

NGOs

Cooperation for Research and Development

Research, community development Training

Service

Camphill Community Trust Wood craft Manufacturing

KURU Development Trust Artistic and leadership

Service, manufacturing

Community Associations Various crafts Agri-business Manufacturing

OTHERS

Various Driving schools Road safety, road signs, driving

Service

Rehabilitation Centres Life /empowerment skills

Service Agri-business Social Services

Lobatse Tannery Tanning and leather processing

Manufacturing

Lobatse Clay Works Brick moulding Manufacturing Construction

Junior Achievement Botswana

Business and Entrepreneurship

All sub-sectors



The above list includes diverse providers as universities, vocational institutions, colleges,

community associations and trusts, employer sponsored training centres and accredited

institutions. These providers offer programmes that could equip IS operators with skills that

could enhance their functionality and employability in the IS. However the training

programmes are largely out of reach for the majority of those in the informal sector due to

their admission criteria. The minimum educational qualifications prescribed in the

admissions criteria excludes the majority of young lowly educated people currently

operating or potentially employable in the IS.

The reason why the provision of competencies for the IS has not undergone purposeful

development in Botswana stems from the orientation of public policy towards the formal

economy and the formal education and training system. The policy environment could be

said to have exclusive of the IS. There have however been programmes supported by

Government and international donors which resulted in the targeting of informal sector

operators. These include the village entrepreneurship training scheme offered by RIIC and

other programmes offered by community associations such as the Botswana Council of

Women.

8.3 Policy Environment

The table below summarises existing policy framework that can benefit the informal sector.

Table 27: Public Policy Environment

Policies and Programmes Actual or potential influence on investment

Decent Work Country Programme for Botswana, 2011

A results-oriented framework aimed at the attainment of full and productive employment and decent work for all, including women and young people in Botswana. By signing this framework with the ILO, Botswana was committing itself to promoting employment creation through an enabling environment for job rich-economic growth, enterprise development, skills development and formalization of the informal sector.

Revised National Youth Policy, 2010

Highlights social integration of youth, empowerment, skills improvement and creation of opportunities for personal growth. The policy commits Government to investing in creating an enabling environment for the development and welfare of the youth

National HRD Strategy 2009 – 2022

Aims to ensure that Batswana have equitable access to range of employment opportunities both nationally and



globally so as to advance to the fullest extent possible their aspirations for personal, social and economic progress and so that they can contribute to the development of a globally connected prosperous nation. The emphasis on lifelong learning and demand-driven HRD requires an integrated approach to skills development which focuses on both the formal and informal sectors of the economy

Tertiary Education Policy, 2008

Seeks to ensure that more citizens aged 18-24 have access to quality tertiary education that is responsive to every element of their personal well-being, social progress and economic development and which advances to the fullest extent possible their potentials for learning and their individual capacities in a manner that will further their aspirations and contribute to the development of a globally connected and prosperous nation. The policy appears to focus on formal post senior secondary education but the creation of the HRDC which integrates vocational education and training means that the policy needs review to include technical education, vocational and entrepreneurial training

National Development Plan 10

Emphasises sustainable rapid economic growth and adequate supply of qualified productive and competitive human resources National development is about all sectors and it should be premised on evidence-based human development focused in reducing poverty

National Policy on Women in Development

Among others the policy focuses on elimination of all negative economic and socio-cultural practices as well as inappropriate laws which would be done through eliminations of all form forms of inequalities and inequities among women and men and promotion of education and skills training which will be done by ensuring that education is gender sensitive With more women found in the informal sector the policy has encouraged the inclusion of women in programmes to increase their skills and facilitate inclusion in development.

Vocational Training Act 1998 The legislation was the foundation for creation of BOTA and the setting up of the Vocational Training Fund. BOTA is responsible for developing, coordinating and promoting vocational training up to certificate level. The developmental mandate and the management of the vocational training levy places it in a good position to include training for the informal sector and thereby raise sectoral productivity levels

Vision 2016 The National Vision aims for a nation that is educated and informed as well as prosperous, productive and innovative. The increasing recognition of the role of the informal sector in national economic development and poverty alleviation endeavours presents enormous opportunity for the integration of informal sector skills development



into the mainstream of education and training delivery.

Revised National Policy on Education, 1994

This is the overarching policy guiding all education and training in Botswana. It represented a major reform to the educational system in the country. It informed the development of the National HRD Strategy which recognises the need for new thinking and a more strategic approach to skills development. No intervention could be said to be strategic if it left out people operating in the informal economy the majority of whom survived on the fringes of abject poverty.

8.4 Conclusion

Against this background and in line with the National HRD Strategy, investments in skills

development can only be justified if they are value adding. There must be sufficient demand

for the skills to make a compelling case for allocating investments. The size of the informal

sector in Botswana coupled with the rate of unemployment and level of poverty suggest a

compelling case for targeted interventions that are demand driven to stimulate skill

development in the informal sector. The ability of the sector to continue to offer alternative

employment and poverty alleviation opportunities would increasingly depend partly on the

availability of skills to boost the sector’s productivity. The approach to delivering the skills

needed by both the formal and the informal economy must be part of a holistic national

strategy for sustainable economic development

The development of competencies is the only sustainable lever for countries to create

employment, income generation opportunities and reduce poverty. Both production and

productivity could be induced through high skill levels.

For the informal sector, skills are the only passport to sustainable livelihoods characterised

by decent work conditions. Decent work can only take place in workplaces that promote the

wellbeing of people and give them income and an opportunity for a dignified life.



SECTION 9:

BENCHMARKING

9.1. Introduction

The Terms of Reference proposed that evidence of benchmarking on similar initiatives be

made with other SADC Countries. To address this requirement, the Researchers conducted

a comprehensive document review to identify good practices. Good lessons have been

drawn from countries whose interventions are positively impacting the IS.

Although there are number of countries with special lessons to learn from, the scope of this

project as well as the intent for benchmarking made it necessary for researchers to focus on

Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania and Cote d’ Ivore, which are among some of the

countries which have positively step laddered in improving their informal sector. The

benchmarking focused more on skills development and its supporting environments.

9.2. Benchmarking Case Studies

Below are the cases that have been reviewed:

Country: Malawi

Initiative:

Skills Development and Income Generation Project and the Technical Entrepreneurship

and Vocational Education and Training Policy.

Objectives:

Contribute to government efforts to reduce poverty through human development and

improve the capacity of the poor to actively participate in broad-based sustainable

economic activities. It focused on women and youth.

Processes:

TVET fund of 1% of the total basic emoluments, provision of training for trainers; support

to vulnerable groups and other beneficiaries; assistance with equipment, civil works,

specialised services; establishment of credit fund and support to operating costs.

Outputs and outcomes:

Functional literacy, vocation skills development, institutional strengthening, project

management capacity

Lessons:

Sustainable funding and need for demand orientation and competency based approach.

Source:



Appraisal Report: Skills Development and Income Generation Project 2001; UNESCO

(2010) TEVET Policy Review Malawi

The information below indicates some of the characteristics that make Malawi’s IS worth

learning from:

Wide political support

Existence of national bodies (Malawi Union of the Informal Sector and Malawi

Congress of Trade Union (MCTU) advancing the interests of the Malawi informal

sector

Integrated, targeted and systematic vocational skills training focussing on both formal

and informal economy

Establishment of statutory bodies responsible for both IS and formal sectors, e.g.

Technical Entrepreneurial Vocational Education and Training (1999)

Existence of TEVET Qualification Framework which extends accreditation to cover

IS operators.

The Malawi Union of the Informal Sector established in 2000 serves as a strong voice for

informal sector operators and workers. It organises, protects and negotiates issues around

the rights of informal economy workers and businesses.

(http://www.mywage.com/main/labour-law/DecentWorkCheck-Malawi/informal-sector/the-

informal-sector/Retrieved 19 April 2012)

Malawi actually has a number of other institutions and organisations supporting the informal

sector. These include the Small Enterprise Development Organisation of Malawi (SEDOM),

Development of Malawi Union of Savings and Credit Cooperation (MUSCO), the Rural

Enterprises and Agribusiness Development Institutions Project and others. SEDOM, for

example provides credit to the informal sector. It has regional offices and clients make

application for loans through local offices. DEMAT on the other hand provides advisory

services. It also conducts workshops on business related topics throughout Malawi. Its main

objective is to assist small-scale enterprises to become auto sufficient (O’Regan, Wescott,

and Butler, 1989).

The existence of TEVET Qualification Framework is worth mentioning especially its role in

the accreditation of IS. The Malawi Entrepreneurship Development Institute (MEDI) also

offers business and entrepreneurship training packages; technical skills for entrepreneurship

http://www.mywage.com/main/labour-law/DecentWorkCheck-Malawi/informal-sector/the-informal-sector/Retrieved

http://www.mywage.com/main/labour-law/DecentWorkCheck-Malawi/informal-sector/the-informal-sector/Retrieved



and business management training for illiterate or semi-literate beneficiaries. The Salima

Rural Vocational Training College offers range of skills. Their training involves hands-on

practical programmes to prepare the trainees to work in rural communities using the skills

they have learned and to train others.

Country: Namibia

Initiative:

Establishment of Namibia Training Authority and Community Skills Development Centres

(COSDECs) and remodelling of the vocational training system to ensure relevance,

efficiency and quality

Objectives:

Promotion of integrated national economic development and alignment of vocational

education to the economic needs.

Processes:

Demand driven and competency based approach suitable for diverse individuals and

groups, development of curriculum and training materials to enhance institutional capacity

Outputs and Outcomes:

Job creation, income generation and reduction of vulnerability of women and youth and

rural poor

Lessons:

Source:

Namibia National Vocational Policy, 2005; Ndjode-Siririka (2003) The Vocational Education

and Training System of Namibia: Towards a Flexible Quality System, Conference Paper

Namibia’s IS thrives on a number of factors including the following:-

Linking rural producers with the Global market

More operators than workers

High youth involvement (19-29 years old accounting for 63.8% of IS

Provision of benefits to workers (accommodation, food rations and transport

Active associations (Namibia Small Traders Association –NAMSTA and

Organisation of Shebeen Owners

Some good lessons coming out from the Namibian IS activities are the reforms to the

country’s technical and vocational education system. These are noted for making this

system more effective and accessible to disadvantaged sectors of society. Through the

Ministry of Education’s Namibia Training Authority (NTA), the vocational training structure



and curriculum have been re-modelled to ensure their relevance, efficiency and quality to all

sections of the society.

The political will is also noted as another aspect that makes the Namibian informal sector

attractive. The Prime Minister, for example, has led the drive for training for the development

and growth of self-employment and SME sectors of the economy. Organisations such as the

Namibia established Community Skill Development Centres (COSDECs) are also there to

provide technical and vocational training among the most disadvantaged segments of the

population. For instance, the Omba Arts Trust also is there to support rural craft producers

throughout Namibia, whose jobs would be classed as ‘informal’. It supports with training in

craft production and the development of new designs, and the purchase of high quality craft

products, which then attract Fair Trade prices. (http://www.namibian.com.na/letters/full-

story/archive/2009/october/article/look-at-the-informal-sector/Retrieved 19 April 2012)

Despite its small population and limited resources, Namibia is at the forefront in the region in

the development of a new TVET qualifications framework covering unit standards,

curriculum and training materials (Singh, 2011). Efforts are made to balance skills training for

modern industry and the informal SME sector. It uses a unique practical approach to ensure

that the TVET system is effective and accessible for learners in different sectors. As a result,

the skills development for the IS was beginning to re-emerge as a crucial area for TVET

development. It should be pointed out that simply restructuring for the existing vocational

training systems alone was not sufficient. It has been suggested that bottom up approaches

such as skills recognition and certification should serve as a support in programmes for

upgrading skills and increasing productivity in the informal sector (Singh, 2011).

Country: South Africa

Initiatives:

National Skills Fund established in 1999, National Skills Development Strategy 2011,

National HRD Strategy 2011

Objectives:

Meet national strategic skills development objectives for unemployed and other targeted

special needs groups and sectors, promote self employment and reduce poverty.

Processes:

Fund controlled by Government from a fifth of 1% payroll levy; sectoral training funds

financed by 80% of levy proceeds, National Strategy, National Skills Plan and sectoral

plans

http://www.namibian.com.na/letters/full-story/archive/2009/october/article/look-at-the-informal-sector/Retrieved

http://www.namibian.com.na/letters/full-story/archive/2009/october/article/look-at-the-informal-sector/Retrieved




Development of critical technical skills, reduction of unemployment and stimulation of

economic development

Lessons:

Strategic alignment between national, sectoral and regional economic and skills

development interventions, focus on vulnerable groups such as youth, women and rural

and urban poor

Source:

ILO (2002) Skills Development in Sub-Suharan Africa; DOL (2011) National Skills

Development Strategy; South Africa National HRD Strategy 2009 - 2020

Country: Tanzania

Initiative:

Integrated Training and Entrepreneurship Promotion Programme

Objectives:

Support for target groups in the informal sector with emphasis on female craft workers

Processes:

VETA/GTZ Project – Pilot programmes for information sector training. Covered food

preparation, meat dressing, mushroom growing, carpentry, vegetable and plant nursery

and building construction.


Shift to competency based education and training, short term courses suited to informal

sector, led to increase in production, sales and profits and in some cases formalisation of

business.

Lessons:

Need for participatory approach to planning and implementation of training; a mix of

technical and business management competencies. There is need for visible commitment

from government and demonstration of political will and value for the informal sector as a

contributor to the national economy.

Source:

World Bank(2002) Skills Development in Sub-Saharan Africa

In Tanzania, skills development in the informal sector has been supported by:-

Strong political support

A ‘decent label’ for the sector (Thread of the Fabric of our society’)

Overall positive attitude towards the IS



A large participation in the IS by political actors

Active involvement of social security institutions such as savings and

cooperatives and credit societies

Welcoming of free and effective press (media involvement)

Active associations like the Women's Beer Cooperative

Gaining political will and support has been shown to boost the potential of the informal sector

in Tanzania. President Benjamin Mkapa has been cited describing the IS as a key thread of

the fabric of the Tanzania’s society, and economy (Milan, 2000). The President called upon

the government (both central and local) and for the people in the public and formal sector as

a whole, to accept the informal sector for what it is, a reality of life, an important provider of

goods and services, and a market for goods and services provided by the formal sector.

Tanzania’s story also teaches us that the way we portray the IS has an impact of how the

sector is treated and supported. It needs a decent label, for example, 'thread of the fabric of

our society' that will attract even the politician themselves as Tanzania reports that “a large

percentage of political actors partake in the informal economy as a source of additional

income and networking and see no reason to impede these activities” (Millan 2000). In a

nutshell, the informal sector in Tanzania plays an important role in the development of a civil

society operating alongside formal industries.

Country: Cote d’Ivoire

Initiative:

Fonds de development de la Formation Professionalle (established in 1991 by merging

Apprenticeship Fund and the Continuing Vocational Training Fund

Objectives:

Apprenticeship training and continuing in-service training support for skills development

programmes for informal sector.

Processes:

Apprenticeship tax (0.4% of payroll); continuing vocational training tax (net 1.2%) and donor

funding.

Outputs and outcomes:

Skills development in different economic sectors and employment creation.

Lessons:

Need for government activism and for integrated approach to national economic

development.

Source:



AfDB; OECD; UNDP and UNECA (2011) African Economic Outlook: Cote de Ivore 2011;

World Bank (2002) Skills Development in Sub Saharan Africa

Ghana

Initiative

Establishment of community-based vocational apprenticeship programme as part of the

Poverty Reduction Strategy

Objective

Skills and entrepreneurial development of the youth so that they develop employability skills

Processes

Adaptation and coordination of existing initiatives and mobilisation of resources to support

acquisition of employability and entrepreneurial skills. The programme combines formal and

traditional forms of skills development to increase relevance of vocational and technical

training; advance traditional apprenticeship training and promote entrepreneurship among

youth.

Outputs and Outcomes

Poverty alleviation among youth as a result of formal and non-formal skills development

programmes. Increased relevance of training curriculum; stronger alignment between

demand and supply of skills; and improved certification system

Lessons learned

Need to integrate skills development targeting the youth into overall national poverty

alleviation strategy. Need for collaboration of key stakeholders and for strong coordination to

ensure accountability for investments.

Source

Hans Christian HAAN (2002) Training for Work in the Informal Sector, ILO

In Ghana media practitioners were called upon by the Deputy Minister of Information to

contribute to the promotion of economic activities within the informal sector as that would

help speed up the development process. While the media could contribute in a number of

ways, the Minister urged them to publicise or spread personal success stories of some

economic operators in order to spur other citizens to pursue similar ventures thus fulfilling

its contribution in helping the country stimulate wealth creation and economic growth for the

many citizens who are currently left out of the economic activities especially in the formulate

employment. (http://www.modernghana.com/news/39313/1/media-urged-to-promote-

informal-sector.html/Retrieved 19 April 2012).

http://www.modernghana.com/news/39313/1/media-urged-to-promote-informal-sector.html/Retrieved%2019%20April%202012

http://www.modernghana.com/news/39313/1/media-urged-to-promote-informal-sector.html/Retrieved%2019%20April%202012



Another thing that is worth emulating from Ghana’s experience would be the stakeholders’

involvement in the informal sector where a number of non-governmental organisations,

including unions such as the General Agricultural Workers’ Union, of the Ghana Trades

Union Congress are partners. It is not surprising that the size of Ghana’s informal sector

reportedly accounts for 80 percent of the total labour force (Hormeku, 1998) and this is partly

attributed to its structural adjustment since the mid-1980s which came along with the

shrinking formal sector and the expansion of the informal sector. It is a heterogeneous

sector.



SECTION 10:

Reflections and Recommendations 10.1. Introduction

This study was carried out primarily to explore the IS and produce a list of competencies

needed in the sector. The list was to include indigenous skills that could potentially promote

growth in citizen’s standard of living. Since the focus was on those competencies that could

make a difference, parts of this report were dedicated to analysing the magnitude of the

required competencies in the IS and discussing their economic benefits. The study

highlighted the need to invest in skills development to address identified deficiencies where

a compelling case had been advanced.

These reflections and conclusions are therefore presented on the following: (i) competencies

needed in the informal sector (including indigenous/traditional skills), (ii) economic benefits

(perceived and potential), (iii) competency needs of the IS, including areas for further

research (iv) strategies for addressing identified needs, including cost implications (v)

proposals for improving working conditions through investment in skills development (vi)

policies and programmes impacting investment in skills and (vii) the role of BOTA and other

key stakeholders.

10.2. Skills Needed in the Informal Sector

With regard to the competencies used and/or needed in the informal sector, the following

has been observed from this study:

10.2.1. Competencies used and needed in the informal sector

The sector is heterogeneous and there were varied enterprises with similar and

also diverse skills development needs.

While some activities could be operated predominately using skills learned from

the formal education and training system, some activities such as basketry,

pottery, tour-guiding, hunting, agricultural production depended on indigenous

skills.

The majority of respondents in this study did not have any formal training relevant

to the live hood activities they were operating. About, 92% reported having

gained skills outside the formal education and training system in contrast to 6%

who got the skills they used from formal learning programmes.



The low formal educational backgrounds of IS operators could be said to be the

primary reason for their inability to access formal training opportunities. The

majority had gone as far as JC (33% and standard 7 (26%). Only 6% had some

technical skills from brigades and vocational training colleges.

The majority of IS operators were found to have a need for generic entrepreneurial

competencies which include, basic sales and marketing, quality customer service, risk

taking, communication and networking, decisiveness and dynamism and innovative and

conceptual thinking. In addition, operators in all sub-sectors were found to require higher

levels of proficiency in the respective technical skills required to undertake the diverse

activities they were involved in.

It was also found that there were no formal programmes offering indigenous or traditional

skills which were predominantly acquired through learning by doing, apprenticeship,

observation or trial and error.

10.3. The Economic Benefits of Skills in the Informal Sector

The following were the economic benefits of the competencies required by the IS that they

study found:

Varying degrees of gainful participation in the IS was reported with those who

were self-employed reporting higher earnings than those who got jobs from

others.

For the majority of people, the income generated from their operations was a

means for subsistence and in most cases inadequate for sustaining the

livelihoods of the vulnerable less educated poor.

Some trades yielded more gains than others. For example, there was evidence of

successful business operations for some in manufacturing where they produced

goods in high demand such as trailers, livestock troughs, leather craft, traditional

pots, baskets and sculptures. Activities such as basketry and pottery were also

found to be particularly profitable in areas frequented by tourists. The

construction and services (especially mechanical and electrical /electronic epair

services etc.) sub-sectors were other high-value activities.

The average incomes for those employed in jobs in the IS were within the range

of P200.00 to P500.00 with some reporting irregular payments and others being

paid in a non-monetary ways. The availability of some jobs was dependent on



the activity proprietors having projects such as being contracted in housing

construction.

Generally very few of people in the IS showed much potential for attaining

sustainable livelihood or graduating into the formal economy because they

lacked the financial resources and raw materials for production, lacked markets

for their trades, possessed low skills acquired informally and operated in poor

(unregulated) working conditions.

All respondents in this study indicated that their informal activities had provided some

opportunity for a livelihood, even if as in most cases, such livelihood was not sustainable.

Thus it can be concluded that the IS provides opportunities for poverty alleviation and in

some cases the attainment of high standards of living characterised by higher income

and elevated social status.

10.4. Competency Gaps in the Informal Sector

With the majority having low levels of formal education, it was not surprising that there were

diverse learning needs in the operators involved all IS activities. The following are some of

the highlights:

Most people in the informal sector either have no or little formal education.

The majority (92%) did not have any formal training and only a small fraction of

less than 6% had had access to vocational training.

The majority of those with indigenous skills were either self-taught or had learned

through traditional apprenticeship which involved observing and copying/imitating

others like parents, peers and fellow operators.

Many informal sector operators were very keen to improve their skills but did not

have the resources and the opportunities to access training. Most could not even

articulate the nature of competencies they required.

Overall, most people in the IS lacked entrepreneurial competencies required to

grow their activities to become more productive and competitive.

10.5. Providers of Skills

There are a number of providers of skills for IS activities and these include the following:



Government was the biggest provider of skills training in Botswana, albeit, focussed

on the formal sector.

Skills providers such as vocational institutions, and brigades target clients with JC

and above and these educational requirements cannot be met by the majority of

people who participated in this study.

Providers of indigenous skills were largely unorganised when compared to those who

provided competencies that could be sourced from the formal education and training

system

Indigenous skills were largely unrecognised and most of them were either in decline

or near-obsolete as demonstrated by some IS operators who could not even trace

the origin of their skills.

There was widespread concern over the credentials needed to access training

entities such as vocational institutions and brigades that made it impossible for those

with low education to enter these institutions.

It is concluded that there is a strong business case for purposely integrating the

development of skills for people operating in the IS into the national human resource

development strategy. Such an integration would ensure that investments are made to

promote skills with high economic value, especially targeting vulnerable groups such as

women and the youth who are adversely affected by the conditions in the IS which are below

those required for attaining sustainable livelihood.

The existing policy environment was created to support the growth and development of the

formal economy. The education and training system was primarily geared at advancing the

acquisition of knowledge and skills through the delivery of formal programmes that are

largely inaccessible to IS operators.

The definition of ‘informal sector’ in public policy documents is inclusive of formally

registered small and medium enterprises who operate in regulated markets for both products

and for labour. This definition excludes the lower levels of operators involved in unregistered

and unregulated activities that were the target of this study. Whilst most public policy

documents on programmes such as those financed under CEDA and LEA are referred to as

though they belong to the IS, the reality is that the real IS of poor and uneducated operators

plying their unregulated and unregistered trades in the informal economy continue to be

marginalised.



10.6. Recommendations

In the light of the findings of this study, the following recommendations are proposed:

1. Adoption of the Draft National IS Skills Development Strategy and its integration into

the National Human Resource Development Strategy.

2. BOTA should coordinate the process of defining the unit standards for the

competencies, including indigenous skills, that are required by the IS so that they

could be offered to those who need them. This would enable their assessment,

recognition and certification. This recommendation is made notwithstanding the

merger between BOTA and the Tertiary Education Council which is planned to take

place during 2012.

3. BOTA should collaborate with key stakeholders in developing skills development

programmes targeted at boosting the IS so that it contributes to the attainment of

decent work, sustainable livelihoods and poverty eradication. The stakeholders

includes IS operators, community associations, structures with a mandate to promote

SMMEs and institutions promoting the interests of women and the youth.

4. Apprenticeship schemes aimed specifically at the IS should be recognised as the

pillar of skills development for the sector and supported through proper investment

and relevant policies.

5. The indigenous skills that are declining, though exhibiting potential to yield greater

economic benefits for those in the IS should be revitalised through proper investment

and relevant policies.

6. Entry requirements and fees for learning programmes offered by training institutions

should be relaxed to accommodate the educational levels of those with J.C and

below. Skills development for the IS should not be hampered by their low levels of

education.

7. There is need to strengthen entrepreneurship education in lower levels of the formal

education system (primary and secondary) to help those who fail to advance to

higher levels or may not want to continue with formal education to engage in

livelihood activities including starting their own enterprises.



8. Efforts should be made to raise the educational levels, especially the numeracy and

literacy of those in the IS through non-formal training and short competency-based

and modularised programmes.

9. IS activities that have demonstrated high potential for economic benefits and

sustainable livelihood like wholesale/Retail, manufacturing and services should be

supported and strengthened through integrated interventions that include training.

10. For the IS to be recognised as a major bridge to economic diversification, proper

incentives in the forms 0f credit incentives, awards of excellence, establishment of

local and regional markets, opportunities for cross-border trading, flexible bye-laws

and other facilitating environments should be explored.

11. IS should be viewed as a sector with the potential to supplement or complement job

creation and income generation that the formal economy cannot provide for a large

part of the national population.

12. Strategic partnerships should be formed or strengthened between the Government

as the current main provider of skills for all economic sectors and other potential

providers such as private institutions, CBOs and NGOs.

13. The role of media as a critical stakeholder in the IS (marketer, an advocate, a public

eye, etc.) should be recognised and supported by the Government and other activists

in the IS.

14. Direct dialogue on investment in skills development between BOTA and other policy

makers as well as clients should be initiated and strengthened.

15. An enabling environment characterised by a supportive regulatory environment

should be created for citizens to explore the huge opportunities for sustainable

livelihood offered by the IS.



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Printer.

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Diversification and Sustainable Growth, Gaborone

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Gaborone

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2012, Gaborone

Government of Namibia (2005) National Vocational Education Policy, Windhoek

Hope, K. R. (1997) African Political Economy: Contemporary Issues in Development. New

York. M. E. Sharpe, Inc.

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Hormeku, (1998) The transformation and development of the informal sector and the role of

trade unions, paper prepared for the OOATUU/ILO/ETUF Seminar Institute for

Development Research.

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ILO (2002) “Resolution Concerning Decent Work and the Informal Economy”, The General

Conference of the ILO meeting in the 90th Session, 2002, ILO

Johanson, K. R. and Adams, A. V. (2002) Skills Development in Sub-Saharan Africa, World

Bank Regional and Sectoral Studies, World Bank, Washington

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2012,http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/rarebooks/downloads/Maden_Indigeno

us_Knowledge.pdf

Kapunda and Mmolawa (2007) “The Role of Informal Sector and Self-Employment in

Poverty Alleviation in Botswana” Paper presented at the National Conference on

the Informal Sector of the Botswana Economy, BIDPA, Gaborone

Marsick, V. J., & Volpe, M. (Eds.). (1999). Informal learning on the job. Advances in

Developing Human Resources, 3.

Miller, V. (1994). NGOs and grassroots policy influence: What is success? Boston:

Monnane, M., Moitlhobogi, P. and Fidzani, N. H”, Paper presented at the National

Conference on the Informal Sector of the Botswana Economy, BIDPA, Gaborone.

(2007) The role of the informal sector in the diversification of Selibe – Phikwe:

Mulinge, M. and Munyae, M. (1998). The Persistent Growth in Size and Importance of the

Informal Economy in African Countries: Implications for Theorising the Economy

and Labour Market. African Sociological Review , Vol.2 (2), 1998.

MyWage.org (n.d). The Informal Sector. Retrieved 26 February, 2012/

http://www.mywage.com/main/labour-law/DecentWorkCheck-Malawi/informal-

sector/the-informal-sector

Narayana, N; Kaino, D. K. and Sekwati, L. (2007) Informal Sector Experience of Developing

and Transitional Economies: What Lessons Can Botswana Learn” , Paper

presented at the National Conference on the Informal Sector of the Botswana

Economy, BIDPA, Gaborone

O’Regan, F. Wescott, C. G. and Butler, G. (1989). Malawi: Informal Sector Assessment,

prepared for Labat- Anderson, Inc. and AID/AFR/MIDI. Retrieved March 15,

2012 from http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNABN271.pdf.

Palmer, R. (2007). ‘Skills development, the enabling environment and informal micro-

enterprise in Ghana’. University of Edinburgh.

Singh, M. (2011). Skills Recognition in the Informal Sector. UNESCO Institute for Lifelong

Learning, Hamburg, Retrieved 19 April 2012;

http://www.mywage.com/main/labour-law/DecentWorkCheck-Malawi/informal-sector/the-informal-sector

http://www.mywage.com/main/labour-law/DecentWorkCheck-Malawi/informal-sector/the-informal-sector



http://www.norrag.org/issues/article/1452/en/skills-recognition-in-the-informal-

sector.html.

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from http://www.namibian.com.na/letters/full-story/archive/2009/october/article/look-at-the-

informal-sector/

UNESCO (2001) TEVET Policy Review Malawi, Lilongwe

United Nations Economic and Social Council Economic Commission for Africa (2012).

Report of the Working Group on Employment and the Informal Sector in Africa

Third Meeting of the Statistical Commission for Africa (StatCom Africa - III) Cape

Town, South Africa 18-23 January 2012.

Walther, R. (2011) Building Skills in the Informal Sector. Background paper prepared for the

Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2012.

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http://www.norrag.org/issues/article/1452/en/skills-recognition-in-the-informal-sector.html

http://www.norrag.org/issues/article/1452/en/skills-recognition-in-the-informal-sector.html

http://www.namibian.com.na/letters/full-story/archive/2009/october/article/look-at-the-informal-sector/

http://www.namibian.com.na/letters/full-story/archive/2009/october/article/look-at-the-informal-sector/



Appendix 1

List of Competencies Required by IS

Sector Category Livelihood Activity

Competencies Bearers of Competencies

Generic Entrepreneurship Competencies

All activities Basic sales and marketing



Risk taking


Quality Customer Service

Rural and urban men

Rural and urban women

Agri-business Crop production Cultivation

Crop maintenance

Crop harvesting Crop handling and processing

Entrepreneurship

Rural men

Rural Women

Rural Youth

Fishing Swimming and boat roaring

Health and safety

Fish types


Entrepreneurship

Rural men

Rural Youth

Livestock Production

Breeding

Livestock husbandry

Herd management

Environmental Management

Rural men

Milk and Sour Milk Production

Milking cows

Milk processing (fresh and sour milk)

Food hygiene

Entrepreneurship

Rural men

Rural women

Poultry production

Poultry breeding



Food hygiene Entrepreneurship

Rural women

Construction Building Understanding drawings

Building structures

Project Management Entrepreneurship

Rural and urban men

Carpentry Reading technical drawings

Wood working

House fitting

Roof construction

craftsmanship

Entrepreneurship

Rural and urban men



Plumbing Reading technical drawings

Technical installations

Craftsmanship

Entrepreneurship

Urban men

Urban youth

Education Tutoring Planning lessons

Facilitating learning Assessing learning

effectiveness

Entrepreneurship

Urban men

Estate Management

House leasing Property pricing

Contract management

Entrepreneurship

Urban men

Urban women

Health and Social Services

Healing services Diagnosis

Treatment and review Entrepreneurship

Rural and urban men


Massage services Understanding human physiology

Manual dexterity

Entrepreneurship


Hospitality and Entertainment

Catering Service Cooking and baking Food processing and

preservation

Food hygiene

Entrepreneurship

Urban youth Urban women

Tour Guiding Knowledge of local heritage and history


Wilderness survival

Entrepreneurship

Rural youth

Dance Practical knowledge

Creativity

Entrepreneurship

Rural and urban youth

Song Composing

Sound production

Entrepreneurship


Manufacturing` All products Product conceptualisation

Product design





Health and Safety

Entrepreneurship

Rural and urban men


Retail All goods Product knowledge Basic sales and marketing



Women



Risk taking



Innovation and conceptual thinking

Cell phone repair Technical electronics repair skills

Health and safety

Entrepreneurship

Urban youth

Cleaning Outdoor and indoor cleaning materials

Handling cleaning chemicals Health and safety

Entrepreneurship

Urban youth

Women

Event Management

Event planning and logistics

Event management

Entrepreneurship

Women

Hair and Beauty Service


Chemical application Creativity

Entrepreneurship

Urban youth

Women

Graphic Design and Drawing

Image conceptualisation


Computer skills

Entrepreneurship

Urban youth

Landscaping and Gardening

Creative design Plant maintenance

Health and safety

Entrepreneurship

Urban youth

Laundry Service Fabric types

Washing chemicals

Health and safety

Entrepreneurship

Urban youth

Mechanical and Electronic Equipment Repair

Mechanical and electrical systems


System maintenance

Entrepreneurship

Urban youth

Shoe Repair Technical repair skills

Craftsmanship Entrepreneurship

Rural and urban man

Tyre repair Technical tyre repair skills

Craftsmanship

Entrepreneurship


Transport Transporting Goods

Transport operations and logistics

Road safety skills Entrepreneurship

Rural poor



Appendix 2

Botswana Information Sector Skills Study

Questionnaire for Employers and Employees

This questionnaire is intended to obtain information on skills in the informal sector. You have been selected to participate because we believe you have an important contribution

to make in achieving the objectives of this assessment study. Kindly consent to completing the questionnaire for us by answering the questions we will pose to you. All

information you provide shall be reported anonymously together with responses from other participants. Furthermore, you will not be identified by name in this study or in the

dissemination and any publication from this study.

Section 1 Demographic Factors

Location and marital status

Relationship to

owner of business (Tick

0ne)

Tick Gender Age Educational Status Main Activity

Date: -19 Illiterate (Never been)

Employer

Location: Self Male 20-29 Primary Employee

Respondent Code Spouse Female 30-39 Junior secondary Partner Son/daughter 40-49 Senior Secondary Unpaid

worker

Tel(Optional) Parent 50-59 Brigade Single Parent in law

60+ Vocational College Country of Citizenship Married Other relative University

Divorced Other Other (specify)

Widowed

Section 2: Persons Employed and Informal Activity (Business)

Employment Status

Male F Total Location of Premises Tick No fixed premises

Tick

Self employed At home with no special work place

Public transport

vehicle

Bicycle

House to house walking

Permanent

Part time

Temporary

Apprentice



Outside school/campus Other (specify) Others

At Farm

In undeveloped plot At bus rank

At Construction site At market place

In street or pavement

Outside Shops Others

Section 3: Sources of business

1. What is your main activity? (Business type)

______________________________________

2. What made you choose this business

activity?____________________________________

3. How many years have you being engaged in the

activity/business?____________________

4. What else do you sell/do? (secondary

activity)____________________________________

5. Will you want to rent a space for a business?

_____________________________________

6. If yes to 5, how much will you be willing to pay for the space?

_______________________

7. Do you have a bank account in the name of this business?

___________________________

Section 4: Sources of financing business

Tick Tick Tick

Self Neighbour Bank loan Family/relative

Government Friend Landlord ‘Motshelo’

Non government agency Employer Pawnshop Microfinance lending

Section 5: Accounting system

Accounting practices Tick Accounting practices Tick

No written records Simplified accounting format informal records for personal use Detailed formal accounts

Other, specify



Section 6: What competencies (knowledge, skills and attitudes) do you possess to

run your business?

Ratings: No skills/Not important=1,Basic/ Somehow important =2, Average/Very

important=3, Advanced/Extremely important =4)

Sector

Category

What Competencies (knowledge,

skills and attitudes) do you need to

run your livelihood activity/business?

Rate your Current

proficiency level

How important is it

for you to get training

on the competencies

you do not have so

you can operate more

productively?

1 2 3 4

1 2 3 4

Sector Categories

1. Wholesale and retail 2. Real estate 3. Manufacturing 4. Agri-business

5. Construction 6. Hotel and

restaurant

7. Transport and

communication

8. Financial

Intermediaries

9. Education 10. Health and

social services

11. Services 12. Other community

based services

Section 7: Sources of Competency Development

How would you want to gain the competencies you need for your business?

Tick as applicable

Through vocational institutions Give reasons for choice of source below



Through universities

Through non-formal like DOSET

Through distance education like BOCODOL

Learning from those with talents (traditional apprenticeship)

Learning through other means: Specify:

Section 8: Investment in Skills development

Willingness to pay for training

Tick one

that applies

Ability to pay

for training

Tick one that

applies

Reasons for investing in skills development

Tick one that

applies

Willing Able Higher productivity Not willing Not able Employee motivation

Service quality Competitiveness

Section 9: Problems and Prospects

Problems/Difficulties Yes No Mechanism for addressing problem

Yes No

Supply of raw materials Technical training

Lack of customers Training in financial management

Too much competition Training in organizational management



Financial difficulties Assistance in obtaining supplies Lack of space Access to modern machines

Lack of machines Access to loans

Poor management skills access to large business orders Council bye laws Registration of business

Too little revenue Advertising of new products/services

Other (Specific)…………………………………

…………………………………………………

Other (specify)………………………………...

……………………………………………………

Section 10: Business Income & Expenditure

Particulars In cash In kind (Type) Income

Income from sales

Income from other sources (Specify) TOTAL

Expenditures wages and salaries

Other (Specify) ……………………………………………………. ………………………………………………………………………………

TOTAL

Section 11: Working Conditions

Describe your working conditions

Very good Good Average Bad Very bad

Working hours per day:___________

Rest break per day:______________

Overtime rates:_________________

How often do you receive salary or wages

Daily Weekly Fortnightly Monthly

Did you enter into any formal employment contract?

Yes No

Annual leave entitlement?______________



Appendix 3: Glossary of terms

1. Activity – refers to an activity that people undertake or engage in order to live or to advance their livelihood.

2. Apprenticeship – refers to system in which someone with expertise or an employer agree to a special contract with another person with a desire to acquire some skills so that they can be trained systematically over time and through practical experience to develop the level of expertise sufficient for them to undertake an activity on their own.

3. Livelihood – refers to the resources, including capabilities that are required to support living or sustenance

4. Informal sector – refers to the informal economy or any activity that people do outside formally registered companies or associations and which are not subject to any regulation or license.

5. Benchmarking – refers to the process of gathering data to understand the causes and effects of applying certain strategies to produce desired outputs, outcomes and impacts in a given context. it enables the learning of lessons and the identification of good practices that could be adapted to achieve similar or better results.

6. Competencies – refers to the knowledge, skills and attitudes or values that people need in order to do something effectively to achieve goals.

7. Competency gap – refers to the difference between the competencies that are required for one to effectively do something and those competencies that the person actually possesses.

8. Decent work – refers to productive work that affords people the enjoyment of freedom, equity, human security and dignity.

9. Knowledge – refers to the totality of what is known by a person or the information and understanding that people possess which enable them to think and do certain things in certain ways.

10. Skills – refers to the ability or expertise that enable a person to behave in certain ways to attain an observable result or to competently undertake an activity requiring the coordination of mental processes and physical activity

11. Indigenous skills – refers to skills or expertise that is unique to particular locality and has passed from generation to generation through oral tradition or traditional apprenticeship.

12. Formal system of education and training – refers to the system of imparting formally packaged knowledge and skills in formal schools or training institutions

13. Sub sector – refers to an economic activity area that exists within a broader sector such as retail trading or manufacturing activities in the informal sector.

14. Sustainable livelihood – refers to ways of living that are sustainable because they give people the means to engage in livelihood activities that are mutually beneficial and prevent them from falling into the poverty trap



15. Training need – refers to the existence of a proven need for a training intervention to correct a competency deficiency. Training needs are responsive to training action or activities and would not go away, for instance, if financial resources were made available.

16. Training needs analysis – refers to the processes to gauging the existence and extent of a training need. The analysis results in the definition of a performance deficiency that is caused to lack of knowledge, skills and attitude that could be provided through training.

17. Entrepreneurship – refers to the capacity and willingness to start, maintain and continuously improve a productive and gainful business venture whilst innovatively managing associated risks. Being involved in a livelihood activity for subsistence purposes is not an act of entrepreneurship



Part 2

Informal Sector

Skills Development

Strategy



INFORMAL SECTOR SKILLS DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY

1. Introduction

The proposed strategy represents a milestone in Botswana’s drive towards human centred

sustainable economic development. It shows a new paradigm that recognises the need for

an integrated approach to deliver skills development for an economy that is cross-sectorally

intertwined. The IS has demonstrated potential to contribute to the diversification of the

economy. During periods of low or negative economic growth and rising unemployment

when people are pushed away from the formal economy, they can find sources of livelihood

in the informal sector. This sector should therefore, stand in readiness to accommodate

these people as well as to graduate those that it had already nurtured into successful

entrepreneurs upwards into the formal sector.

The Informal Sector Skills Development Strategy will deliver a coherent and strategic

approach to ensure Botswana invests in the development of competencies needed to drive

sustainable livelihoods for all those who cannot be absorbed in the formal economy. Skills

development is of great importance for the informal sector to maximise its potential as a

means of poverty reduction and mechanism for diversifying the economy of Botswana.

2. Strategic Change Agenda

Stakeholders should have a shared understanding of the current environment and the new

landscape set forth by the proposed strategy. The strategic changes proposed are indicated

as in the IS Skills Development Strategic Agenda presented below.

Table 28: IS Skills Development Strategic Change Agenda

From… To…

Fragmented Vision Integrated approach

Focus on formal sector Mission Focus on high value skills

Low regard for IS skills Priorities Cross-sectoral Skills

retention and growth

Subsistence Outputs Decent work and

sustainable livelihood

Transactional Core processes Transformational

Supply driven Investments Strategic and targeted

Lack of awareness of

strategy

People Aligned to the strategy



The other main characteristics of the strategy are the vision, mission and strategy themes as

proposed below.

3. Vision

Skills for decent work in a productive informal economy

4. Mission

The informal sector skills strategy will deliver a coherent and strategic approach to ensure

Botswana invests in the development of skills needed to drive sustainable livelihoods for all

those who cannot be absorbed in the formal economy.

5. Strategic Themes

The strategy is driven by three main themes and the attainment of excellece in these will

lead to the realisation of the Vision and Mission of the Strategy:

1. Retention and growth of high value skills to improve productivity of the

informal sector

2. Focus skill development on vulnerable groups such as women and the youth

3. Build partnership with stakeholders to ensure strong link between skills

demand and supply

6. Strategic Objectives

Strategic Theme 1: Retention and growth of high value skills to improve

productivity

i. Increase opportunities for people to enter into decent work

that ensures sustainable livelihoods

ii. Invest in technical and entrepreneurial competencies in

high value activities

iii. Facilitate formalisation of successful ventures to encourage

access to services associated with insurance, medical aid

schemes and loans



Strategic Theme 2: Focus skill development on vulnerable groups such as

women and the youth

iv. Enhance the contribution of those that formal employment

is not a viable option

v. Mainstream informal sector skills development into

development programmes and projects to advance youth

and women participation in the economy.

Strategic Theme 3: Build partnership with stakeholders to ensure strong link

between skills demand and supply

vi. Harmonise of national education and training policies and

national HRD strategy

vii. Strengthen ability to forge an integrated response to

changing competency needs of the informal and the formal

economy

viii. Strengthen the delivery of technical education, vocational

and entrepreneurial training

ix. Enhance the capacity of BOTA to facilitate skills

development for the informal sector

x. Build a strong partnership between BOTA and

stakeholders to ensure need-oriented and evidence-based

IS skills development

xi. Integrate IS skills development into national and regional

economic development strategies.



7. IS Skills Development Strategy Map

Figure 9: IS Skills Development Strategy Map

Skills for decent work in a productive informal economy

The informal sector skills strategy will deliver a coherent and

strategic approach to ensure Botswana invests in the

development of skills needed to drive sustainable livelihoods

for all those who cannot be absorbed in the formal economy

Retention and

growth of high value

skills

Invest in technical and

entrepreneurial

competencies in high

value activities

Build partnerships with

stakeholders to ensure

strong link between skills

demand and supply

Enhance the

capacity of

BOTA in

facilitating

skills

development

for the IS

Build strong

partnership

between BOTA and

stakeholders to

ensure need-

oriented and

evidence based

ISSD

Harmonise

national

education and

training policies

and national

HRD strategy

Integrate IS

skills

development

into economic

development

Mainstream ISSD

to advance youth

and women

participation in

development

Facilitate

formalisation of

successful

ventures

Enhance contribution

of those that formal

employment is not

option

Increase

opportunities for

people to enter

decent work and

ensure sustainable

livelihoods

Invest in high

value technical

and

entrepreneurial competencies

Strengthen

ability to

respond to

changing

competency

needs

Undertake

further

research to

strengthen

delivery of

TEVET

Them

es

Outp

uts

and O

utc

om

es

C

ore

Pro

cess

es

Inoovatio

n E

nable

rs



8. IS Competency Development Scorecard

Theme 1: Retention and growth of skill to improve productivity

Strategic Objective Success

Indicator

Initiative or Intervention

Increase opportunities for

people to enter decent work

that ensures sustainable

livelihoods

% of IS employees

enjoying minimum

conditions

Design TEVET programmes

for IS

Define conditions of work for

each sector

Invest in technical and

entrepreneurial

competencies in high value

activities

Number of people

trained per district

Deliver TEVET training

Introduce targeted

scholarships

Facilitate formalisation of

successful ventures to

encourage access to

services associated with

insurance, medical aid

schemes and loans

Number IS

activities

registered as

companies

Explore co-financing for IS

skills development

Design best practice toolkits

for IS skills development

Audit number of companies

emerging from IS that are

registered per district



Theme 2: Focus skill development on vulnerable groups such as women and the

youth

Strategic Objective Success Indicator Initiative or Intervention

Enhance the contribution

of those that formal

employment is not a

viable option

% increase in

average income

levels

Engage donor

community to fund

training programmes for

vulnerable groups

Mainstream informal

sector skills development

into programmes and

projects to advance

youth and women

participation in economy.

Number of

project/programmes

with IS skills

development

component

Design and implement

programme for building

women and youth skills

for work

Evaluate level of

participation of women

and the youth in local

projects and

programmes

Introduce information

pamphlets



Theme 3: Build partnership with stakeholders to ensure strong link between skills

demand and supply

Strategic Objective Success Indicator Initiative or Intervention

Harmonise of national

education and training

policies and national HRD

strategy

Degree of alignment Study of implications of

policies and strategies on

IS skills development

Strengthen ability to

respond to changing

competency needs by the

informal and formal

economy

% skill demand met

by supply

Introduce training

vouchers for high demand

competencies

Devise traditional and

modern apprenticeship

schemes

Undertake research to

strengthen the delivery of

technical education,

vocational and

entrepreneurial training

Research report

Number of unit

standards

developed

Annual survey of

stakeholder satisfaction

with TEVET for informal

sector

Review vocational training

levy to accommodate

informal sector

Strengthen the role of

BOTA in skills

development for the

informal sector

% positive

perception by

beneficiaries

Training programme for

BOTA Executive and

Senior Managers

Build BOTA coordination

and leadership capacity

% increase in BOTA

capacity

Establish BOTA office for

IS development

Integrate IS skills

development into national

and regional economic

development strategies

% integration into

strategies and

programmes

Training with production

Study on IS skills

development interventions

in national and regional

economic development

strategies



9. Value Propositions and Financial Implications

Value propositions and Financial Implications of implementing different strategic initiatives

Initiatives or Interventions Value Proposition Estimated Cost

1. Design TEVET programmes for informal sector

Programmes that are specifically

targeted at the IS would ensure that

the sector is not overlooked.

P1 000.000.00

For design of the

learning

programmes

2. Define minimum conditions for decent work for informal sector workers

Without any standards it would be

challenging to reach the goal of

decent work for everyone. The

welfare of all workers needs to be

safeguarded.

P250 000.00

For development

of the conditions

3. Deliver TEVET training for informal sector

Learning opportunities for the

informal sector would provide the

required lever for the sector to

become more productive as well as

competitive.

P26 000 000.00

For actual

delivering

learning

programmes

4. Introduce targeted scholarships for high value informal sector skills

Investing in high value skills would

ensure that their supply matches the

demand. If high value indigenous

skills are not promoted they runt eh

risk of disappearing.

P800 000.00

For designing

the scholarship

administrative

criteria

5. Explore cofinancing for high value IS skills development

Co-financing encourages stakeholder

participation and induces positive

mind-set changes.

P350 000.00

For writing

project

document

6. Design best practice toolkits for high value informal sector skills development

Both private and public institutions

need to be encouraged to cater for

the IS and the toolkits would make it

attractive to do so.

P1 200 000.00

For developing

toolkits

7. Audit number of companies from informal sector that are formally registered per district

Formalisation represents graduation

from the informal to the formal

sector. This reflects both current and

potential future success.

P200 000.00

For underaking

the audit

8. Engage donor community to fund training programmes for

The channeling of donor funds

towards promoting sustainable

livelihoods through skills

P100 000.00

For developing



vulnerable groups in informal sector

development is an important

contribution to village, district and

national economic development

project

proposals.

9. Design and implement modularised competency-based programmes for building women and youth skills for work

The situation of women and the

youth in the informal sector is

particularly urgent. Skills are the only

passport to prosperity.

P550 000.00

For design of

programmes

10. Evaluate level of participation of women and the youth in local development projects and programmes

The exclusion of women and youth in

development projects being

undertaken in their areas further

marginalises them. Promoting

inclusion advances their welfare.

P400 000.00

For evaluation

study

11. Introduce information pamphlets on IS skills development programmes

To raise the profile of the IS,

information and publicity is required.

This would also raise the awareness

of target group and induce their

interest.

P500 000.00

For promotional

and publicity

materials

12. Study of implications of policies and strategies on IS skills development

The informal sector could be further

marginalised if public policies and

strategies do not integrate the

sector’s skills development.

Equitable development requires

inclusionary and not exclusionary

approaches.

P500 000.00

For study

13. Introduce training vouchers for high value competencies

Promoting demand-driven skills

development ensures that resources

are channeled only to where they

can be benficially utilised.

Covered under

(3) above

14. Design traditional and modern apprenticeship schemes for the IS

National apprenticeship system

should be reviewed to include the IS

and to cover indigenous skills

P500 00.00

For consultancy

fees

15. Annual survey of stakeholder satisfaction with TEVET programmes for informal sector

There is need to foster evidence-

based management of development

to justify investments in different

interventions.

P350 000.00

For annual

survey

16. Review vocational training levy

The levy can go a long way in

promoting skills development for the

IS.

P100 000.00

For levy review



17. Establish BOTA office for IS skills development

There is a need to create appropriate

structures to be accountable for

ensuring that skills development for

the informal sector is promoted

P300 000.00

For salary and

office materials

18. Train BOTA Executive and Senior Managers on informal sector skills needs

Top management commitment is

important to ensure successful

change. Integrating informal sector

skills development represents

significant change which needs to be

managed effectively.

P90 000.00

For designing

and delivery of

training

programme

19. Design training with production programme

Visibility of results is important for

influencing adult learners to

recognise the benefits of acquiring

skills. It also fosters hope for positive

personal change.

P500 000.00

For programme

development

20. Commission study on mainstreaming of informal sector skills development interventions in national and regional economic development strategies

Including the informal sector in

village or district level as well as

national level strategies would

promote social and economic

inclusion. This is important for

sustainable poverty eradication.

P500 000.00

For study

TOTAL P34 190 000.00



1.0 Strategy Implementation Model

Needs Identification

Needs Analysis

INFORMAL/TRADITONAL

FORMAL

IS Livelihood

Activities

Competencies Required

Competencies Possessed

Strategies for Developing

Competencies

Decide on Specific Learning Interventions

Determine Costs of Implementation

Choose

Apprenticeship CBOs & NGOS

Vocational Brigades

Universities

CBOs &

NGOS Private

Institutions

Design and

Implement

(Informal Providers)

Approaches to

informal learning

Approaches to formal

learning

Design & Implement

(Formal Providers)



The strategy implementation model that has been provided above is a simple graphic

representation of what can be done to develop competencies for the informal sector. Specific

decisions have to be made regarding different types of training for particular individuals or

groups of IS operators. As has been indicated, training activities should start with an

assessment of the specific competencies people need to perform well in their informal

enterprises. A number of attributes could be targeted, for example, attitudes towards the

trade, educational levels and prior skills an individual possesses. Additionally, the basic

educational background required to learn new skills should be appraised, for example,

problems of illiteracy such as inability to write or basic numeracy required for the job could

be required where formal training is preferred. Care should be taken to use formal training

when an acceptable level of prior basic education has been established.

It should ne noted that no system of competency development could be successful if the

human capital needing skills were excluded from training due to lack of formal education.

Consequently and as emphasised in the National Human Resource Development Strategy,

there is a need for opportunities to be available for everyone to take part in life-long learning.

The process model could also be used to help implementers to decide on appropriate

providers and approaches that could address the needed skills. This should include

carefully selecting the right training tutors, specialists or apprentices as well as materials to

be used. Competency development needs to add value to human capital and to economic

development. There must be evidence-based returns-of-investment from implementing

competency development interventions.

The need for evaluation is critical to the successful implementation of the ISS Development

Strategy. It should be expected that when the informal sector operators utilise the skills

learned in their operations, there would be measurable changes in the productivity of the

operations and in their living standards.

Finally, there is no panacea for successful skills development, so the model should be

viewed as a template that could be modified to suit the situation of each provider or

implementer. Competency development in the informal sector needs to be tackled carefully

as the sector is diverse in terms of nature of operations, activities and demographic factors

such as age, gender, location, education and competency levels etc. It is necessary to align

skills development activities with the characteristics of each group to ensure prosperity for all

as outlined in the National Vision - Vision 2016.

Informal Sector Skills - UNESCO-UNEVOC · in the informal sector and to also assess their magnitude...

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Transcript of Informal Sector Skills - UNESCO-UNEVOC · in the informal sector and to also assess their magnitude...