FACTBOX
Artisan retention in South Africa is important because the country is facing a critical shortage of artisans.
It is crucial to have sufficient artisans in South Africa to enable infrastructure development, economic growth and wealth creation.
These days the word“ artisan” has come to denote and mean“ quality”. If it is made or crafted by an artisan – the product itself is of a higher quality or the spirit of handmade craftsmanship. Today the food industry, in particular, has adopted the words craft and artisan as synonyms for quality and the oldschool traditions of craftsmanship. For instance, we have:
Artisan retention in South Africa is important because the country is facing a critical shortage of artisans.
Artisan chocolate,
12 500 artisans are needed in South Africa every year, but only 3000 artisans pass the trade tests per year.
Craft Beer, and
The average age of an artisan is 54 years; this means that 70 % of the artisans who are currently employed will exit the labour force within the next five to six years
The global artisan economy is a US $ 34 billion per year industry.
Organisations will have to implement strategies to keep artisans in their service.
Entire countries have built their reputations on the skills of their artisans.
There will always be jobs for artisans as they are the bedrock of the economy, and they will always be needed – even as many jobs in the corporate world will simply disappear in the very near future, many occupations will no longer exist due to new technology and disruption
Germany has built its entire concept of“ German Engineering” by combing craftsmanship with quality engineering to achieve widely acclaimed highperformance products. Today this reputation permeates every product made in Germany.
The same can be said of Italian craftsmanship which melds tradition and technology that ensure that the“ Made in Italy” label is always revered.
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