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Thread: Entrepreneurship and Unemployment why is it on a downward slope?

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    Entrepreneurship and Unemployment why is it on a downward slope?

    This is probably a topic that has been discussed at several occasions but I would like to have a fresh new discussion on it.

    IMO there are two key role players that are seriously over complicating new business in South Africa. They are Government and Financial Institutions (Banks)

    Are government introducing new systems and laws that are counter productive for a the growth of new business and reduction of unemployment in South Africa?

    Now I do understand the responsibility and benefits that the new companies act brings to owning a business, but I would like to focus on the complicated effect it has on new business startups.

    Any thoughts?
    Roelof Vermeulen (Entrepreneurship in large organizations)
    Roelof Vermeulen| Rock flaps south africa

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    I am not the biggest fan of banks, but I think its unfair to blame them for this. They are in business to lend to reliable borrowers. Small time start ups and dreamers (most entrepreneurs) don't fall into this category. They have no obligation to help others. They run a business. The biggest issue I have with banks is there FICA requirements, although I suspect they hate it as much as we do, but have to follow Government legislation.

    I for one am petrified to employ anyone and so only do so when really necessary. The admin involved, the "nanny" factor (you have to be a parent to the employee when they experience any difficulties), and the difficulty of getting rid of sub standard performers all concern me. That said, I realise they have a place in the non equitable country we live in.

    I haven't yet gone through the process of registering a company under the new act or converting a cc, so will have to save comments on those until a later date. I do like the way they seem to have created a reasonably inexpensive way of setting up a private company which splits the roles of directors and shareholders, unlike the previous cc.

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    Dave A (26-May-11)

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    I must admit that it is getting harder and harder to do business in SA. I almost feel that someone has got it in for me. I have had visits from the Dept of Labour, Dept of Environmental Health, Dept of Health and a random SARS audit and all this in 2011. I have had to make a few, very minor changes after some of the visits,which is fine but it is really getting more and more difficult. I would think with all the unemployment that the Government would try and help existing business to create jobs.

    I will not even start of some aspects of the BCEA.I certainly would not like to try open a new business from scratch!

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    Diamond Member tec0's Avatar
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    We need a training program that will bypass the need for N3 qualifications and the like. The truth is everybody is paper happy at the moment and the people that can do the job are not rewarded because of their lack of higher learning.

    A good example of this is VW, to do any heavy installations like gearbox rebuild or clutch repairs cost so much that people will not have it done, yet people like myself get it done “properly” because we don’t have the money to replace if we make a mistake. Everything is doing or die, for the unqualified person but the qualified person can’t even do half of the work. This is seen all over the mining industry.

    Eskom has a bunch of N6 qualified people and yet very few of them proof to be useful. I say on job certification must come back like they used to do it back in the 1950’s. But they will rather leave us to rot.
    peace is a state of mind
    Disclaimer: everything written by me can be considered as fictional.

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    Site Caretaker Dave A's Avatar
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    There is definitely a massive increase in bureaucracy. For example, a Transnet tender that would typically be 3-5 pages 20 years ago is now typically 150 pages +. About the only red tape that seems to have made any real attempt at becoming less bureaucratic is taxation - with mixed results I might add.

    And when it comes to the blame game, I'm starting to blame technology. All this modern technology, particularly in the communication and documentation related fields, is supposed to improve our quality of life. The harsh reality is all it has done is speed it up and made everything more complex and competitive (a word substituted by "efficient" in some circles).

    I suggest we wouldn't have all this complexity without the technology to support it.

    And when it comes to jobs, here's a great example.

    I got chatting to an architect a while ago who does really major projects. He was saying that in days gone by he was employing floors of draftsmen (or in modern language draftspeople I guess). 200 - 300 people excluding the admin staff that goes with an operation of that scale. Now it's him collaborating with an engineer, a computer and a really smart CAD program. He doesn't even have a secretary anymore!

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    Diamond Member tec0's Avatar
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    I am just so very tired of trying my ass off to get qualified, the truth is the NQF system is BS, Damelin courses is BS our N3 is a JOKE! 7 chapters in one night! I $h!* you not 7 chapters, I am sorry but I cannot do that. The speed is just impossible! And in the end I cannot, CANNOT move forward because of this.

    I am literally being murdered by these systems and everybody seems to think if you can’t swim then sink. OK I say this, the dude servicing your car can have all the paperwork in the world but he will never change a gearbox, rebuild a motor, and redo wiring because it is too damn expensive!

    But we have to do it because we cannot afford above mentioned dude to do it! Thus who is the better mechanic? I am not saying all backyard mechanics are good but some of them are a lot better than those overpaid over-ego ******* you get.

    In end we do not have the right to life anymore that is what this system is saying.
    peace is a state of mind
    Disclaimer: everything written by me can be considered as fictional.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave A View Post
    And when it comes to the blame game, I'm starting to blame technology.
    Now just imagine SA starts to update all its old technology with the latest (It has to at some stage), what effect would be on jobs then?
    Roelof Vermeulen (Entrepreneurship in large organizations)
    Roelof Vermeulen| Rock flaps south africa

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    tec0 - I did matric N4, N5, N6 and some courses, my brother did a BCOMM,LLB, CA & MBA and my sister is an Actuary. My brother and sister studied their asses off and they are able to earn lots of money because of their education. If you want to get ahead you need the education - full stop. I disagree about the thing with VW as well, one needs an education to be able to deal with the complexities of modern cars. Cars have many interacting microprocessors, CAN-BUS, LIN-BUS etc and without a decent education you are stuffed. Given the complexities of cars you not only need the education but you also need specialised tools - You can't even set a cars timing these days without a scan tool. You won't know if the cars mass air flow sensor is defective without a scan tool. Generic scan tools don't cut it. VW, BMW, Merc and most other manufacturers have manufacturer / model specific tools. You need the education AND you need on the job training. It doesn't come easy and it shouldn't - I wouldn't like an uneducated person to work on my R 800,000 car just as much as I wouldn't like a unqualified doctor to operate on my back.

    I would say that one of the biggest problem with entreprenuership is a lack of education rather than a lack of money. Not education in the sense of a N3 but in the sense of basic business acumen. The fact that one can't get a job because one is uneducated does not mean that you have any idea of running a business. Yes, of course there are the people that have the know-how and great business plans who can't get the finance, but I do think that there are fewer of them than the ones who simply have no idea, and yes, I was one of those who just had no idea.

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    Diamond Member tec0's Avatar
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    I understand the need for an education but is it not also fact that the best “THE BEST” workers Eskom ever had was those that walked in with a st4 and nothing more than the willingness to learn? So much so that Eskom takes them out of retirement to come and help? There certification was done slowly steadily and with great detail and today they are unequalled that is fact.

    Was the same not true with the military, and that military education was second to none? I believe it was and again you didn’t need much to get started. All I am saying is there is no way for someone like myself to study at these speeds. Call me stupid but my mind is not as clear to understand everything in a blink of an eye.

    The specialist tools and car diagnostic systems is actually the worst thing one can have in a car because when the depression hits your car will be useless to you before the next service because the electronics will not allow the car to move at all. Is that the kind of car you would trust your life too, trust your lively hood too? I wouldn’t…

    Truth is a paper education is not an education it is a formality, once you got your N3 and N4 then are you only allowed to learn because jobs are really a speciality and you need to understand the physical function of each device and its meaning.

    But in the end it doesn’t really matter because out of the estimated 20000 new special students only a hand full will get lucky, the rest will become criminals, drug-dealers, bar men and women, strippers, prostitutes and work dismal jobs with no possible sustainability. That is the future they must face.

    So, why is internship mismanaged? Well the simple truth is and you can have a look for yourself, half of the students that got the internship had to call a drunk god because that drunk had connections “to get you in” fact with connections I know of people that only has st8 that is now able to do their trade because they knew the right people also fact.

    So life is about who you know, it is about calling a deadbeat drunk boss! In the end every company has one, a person that is intelligent but will not do the right thing because it benefits him/her not too…

    But a second truth is also emerging; those who cannot get past these “paper systems” start looking at their options… if you have nothing to gain you will have nothing to lose. And as long as that is true you will be faced with extremist and then this rule; “it is only yours if you can hang on to it”

    Scary thoughts…

    Fact is we need proper education via workshop, to help with skill development, to hit somebody with books and books of mind numbing math screaming you must know this or die in poverty! That is not a solution it is a drum of anarchy. You can hear it in prisons, you can hear it in townships you can hear it all over this country.

    Change normally comes at a great cost, sometimes it is not about logic or the money… It is about helping and do what needs to be done to prevent this already massif rift between rich and poor.

    But in the end nothing will matter…
    peace is a state of mind
    Disclaimer: everything written by me can be considered as fictional.

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    My wife is a qualified heavy current technician - She studied through ESKOM and qualified by studying at technicon and working in the field. I am yet to see an engineer who doesn't need math. You are kidding yourself if you think the best people in ESKOM started with a STD 4 - we dealt with too many qualified technicians & engineers to take such a statement seriously.

    Cars - they are what they are whether you like it or not - they will become even more sophisticated with the passage of time.

    Unfortunately some people are simply incapable of coping with the academic side - (I am one of those) - doesn't matter what I did I could never learn from a textbook as fast as I needed to. A basic education is merely a formality to show that you have a tiny bit of dicipline but further education is needed to be able to perform certain tasks: doctors, lawyers, accountants, engineers etc.

    Stop whining and hit the books. You might be surprised at what you can do with algebra, geometry and trigenometry, let alone electronics and all other studies contained in books - you may even enjoy it.

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