Skills Demand & Supply Modeling
Course overview
Skills forecasting allows strategic executives to better plan their skills needs within the context of economic growth, changing technologies, knowledge obsolescence, and the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR). In this hands-on course you learn how to use models that link human resource requirements to growth of the economy and its industries in quantifiable terms. You will have access to a web-based linked macro-education model and learn how to design alternative education and economic policy scenarios, conduct real time simulation of your scenarios, and receive medium- and long-term projections of the labour force, employment, job openings, job seekers, labour market (im)balances, and the demand and supply of skills and occupation.
The GIBS /Economic Modelling Academy (EMA) partnership recognizes the importance of economic modelling as advanced analytical and decision-making tools for forward looking entities to ensure well-trained, knowledgeable, and responsible leadership. EMA provides focused, applied and comprehensive training to enable leaders to better understand and use economic models more productively and skillfully.
Course details
About the Course
Content
Following is a brief description of the course content:
- Economics of education and defining skills in developed and developing countries
- Using economic models to think and plan strategically about the future demand and supply of skills and occupations in your industry and the economy.
- Review of skills forecasting techniques
- Country experiences with skills forecasting
- Industry and economy-wide implications of 4IR
- Bridging economic modelling and planning, monitoring and evaluation with skills planning
- Hands-on practice with designing and simulation of
- Review of methods, data requirements and experiences with building models that capture the links between the economy and skills demand and supply.
Outcomes
Upon completion of this course, delegates:
- Gain insight into quantitative and qualitative approaches to skills planning and forecasting.
- Learn about the links between
- Hands-on approach to skills demand and supply will give you applied training that you can use in your professional role.
- Learn how to use tools for skill needs anticipation and matching supply and demand of skills on the labour market.
- Learn about the drivers of change which impact the demand for and supply of skills at national and sector levels.
- Learn which skills will be needed in the future and what will be the impact of 4IR
- Learn how to use models that link human resource requirements to growth of the economy, industries, and sectors in quantifiable terms.
- learn how to use economic modelling and skills forecasting tools to combine economic, demographic, and education data with state-of-the-art statistical and modelling techniques to capture key interactions and interdependencies within the economy, including the labour market and the education sector.
- Learn how to design alternative education and economic policy scenarios, conduct real time simulation of their scenarios, and receive medium- and long-term projections of the labour force, employment, job openings, job seekers, labour market (im)balances, and the demand and supply of skills and occupations.
Requirements
- A Bachelor’s degree at NQF level 7 or equivalent; and
- A minimum of three year’s work experience in the economic policy-making or economic management area.
Course Structure
Module 1: Introduction to Economics of Education
What is the overview of this module?
This module starts with the definition of skill. It provides an overview of the debate on manpower skill requirements and forecasting that has re-emerged in the last 20 years and can be traced to three sources: interest in linking educational expansion to human resource requirements of a growing economy; translation of targets for economic growth to targets for the demand for skills; and the need for skills forecasting in order to better plan vocational counseling and placement services.
Who are the instructors for this module?
Information about the instructors for the five lessons under this module will be released two weeks before the start of the first lesson.
How will the module topics be presented?
The lessons of this module will be presented virtually by assigned instructors through live sessions.
What are the requirements of this module?
Same as the course requirements.
Module 2: Design and Construction of Macro-Education Models (1/2)
What is the overview of this module?
This module is the first of two modules designed to introduce learners to modelling techniques used in economics of education and cover technical topics and practical issues related to the design and construction of education models that are used for forecasting skills demand and supply. The modules use existing multi-sector linked macro-education models to explain how they are built and used to design economic and education policies and simulate their impacts on key economic and education indicators that include projections of the labour force, employment, job openings, job seekers, labour market (im)balances, and the demand and supply of skills and occupations.
Who are the instructors for this module?
Information about the instructors for the five lessons under this module will be released two weeks before the start of the first lesson.
How will the module topics be presented?
The lessons of this module will be presented virtually by assigned instructors through live sessions.
What are the requirements of this module?
Same as the course requirements.
Module 3: Design and Construction of Macro-Education Models (2/2)
What is the overview of this module?
This module is the last of two modules designed to introduce learners to modelling techniques used in economics of education and cover technical topics and practical issues related to the design and construction of education models that are used for forecasting skills demand and supply. The modules use existing multi-sector linked macro-education models to explain how they are built and used to design economic and education policies and simulate their impacts on key economic and education indicators that include projections of the labour force, employment, job openings, job seekers, labour market (im)balances, and the demand and supply of skills and occupations.
Who are the instructors for this module?
Information about the instructors for the five lessons under this module will be released two weeks before the start of the first lesson.
How will the module topics be presented?
The lessons of this module will be presented virtually by assigned instructors through live sessions.
What are the requirements of this module?
Same as the course requirements.
Module 4: Hands-on Practice: Design and Simulate Macroeconomic and Education Policy Scenarios (1/2)
What is the overview of this module?
Through hands-on practical exercises, modules 4 and 5 provide training on how to use linked macro-education models for skills demand and supply policies and planning. The modules combine scenario planning and economic modellig to highlight the relationship between policy choices and outlooks for skills demand and supply.
Learners will get access to and practice with web-based linked macro-education models. Through practical exercises, the modules will build the skills of learners on how to design simple and complex, multi-layered economic and education policy scenarios, simulate their likely future impacts, and analyse the model results.
Who are the instructors for this module?
Information about the instructors for the five lessons under this module will be released two weeks before the start of the first lesson.
How will the module topics be presented?
The lessons of this module will be presented virtually by assigned instructors through live sessions.
What are the requirements of this module?
Same as the course requirements.
Module 5: Hands-on Practice: Design and Simulate Macroeconomic and Education Policy Scenarios (2/2)
What is the overview of this module?
Through hands-on practical exercises, this module continues to provide training on how to use linked macro-education models for skills demand and supply policies and planning. The modules combine scenario planning and economic modellig to highlight the relationship between policy choices and outlooks for skills demand and supply.
Learners will get access to and practice with web-based linked macro-education models. Through practical exercises, the modules will build the skills of learners on how to design simple and complex, multi-layered economic and education policy scenarios, simulate their likely future impacts, and analyse the model results.
Who are the instructors for this module?
Information about the instructors for the five lessons under this module will be released two weeks before the start of the first lesson.
What is the structure of this module?
This module will be delivered through a number of lessons whose details are provided under ‘What are the lessons under this module?’
What are the requirements of this module?
Same as the course requirements.
Module 6: Managing Policy Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation
What is the overview of this module?
The focus of this module is on how linked macro-education models help not only design and implement policies but monitor and evaluate medium to long term skills planning. Delegates will learn how to:
(a) use policy scenarios and model forecasts to forge consensus on desirable future paths of key economics. and skills demand supply indicators, and
(b) regularly monitor the actual evolution of key indicators against their expected paths.
Who are the instructors for this module?
Information about the instructors for the five lessons under this module will be released two weeks before the start of the first lesson.
How will the module topics be presented?
The lessons of this module will be presented virtually by assigned instructors through live sessions.
What are the requirements of this module?
Same as the course requirements.
Features
Type & Level
- This course is offered at a level 7 on the NQF and participants are expected to perform at this level.
- It is a non-credit bearing distance learning executive course (Short Learning Programme, SLP).
Teaching Method
- Instructor-led contact lectures that are discussion-focused and cognitively stimulating.
- Provision of the latest theoretical and practical scholarly learning material.
Guidelines
- Attendance at lectures is compulsory.
- Individual assignments may be set during the programme and these must be completed and submitted to the course convener by the date specified. All assignments must show the student(s) number and name (or Learning Group name), title of the assignment and the lecturer’s name.
- Students who cannot complete a module due to work commitments or illness will be permitted to complete the course when it is offered again.
- Students will be asked to complete an assessment of lecturers and the programme. This assessment is intended to assist the programme convener in maintaining and improving the programme’s quality and all constructive comments and suggestions will be welcomed. All students are required to complete and submit the evaluation form.
Logistics
Assessment Criteria
Learners will be deemed competent when/if they can:
- Identify major debates in macroeconomic theory and policy;
- Able to compare and contrast the tenets of main schools of thoughts in economics
- Identify the numerous economic linkages and interactions within the macro-economy
- Discuss how these linkages and interactions affect economic performance
- Explain why economists build economic models
- Explain the major steps of the macroeconomic model-building process
- Identify various macroeconomic modelling techniques
- Explain the contexts in which they are valid
- Explain and interpret their results
- Effectively use ADRS macroeconomic models for various policy demands
- Analyse ADRS model results in terms of the impact and effectiveness of policy scenarios
- Use ADRS model to forecast economic trajectories and appropriate policy responses
- Identify economic strategies for various policy purposes and desired outcomes
- Evaluate the effectiveness of the chosen policy responses.
Assessment Method
- The course will be assessed at NQF Level 7.
- The assessment of participants’ performance will be undertaken at the end of module three and module six of the certificate.
- Levels of understanding and application will be measured through assignments, presentations, and case study work to assess application of conceptual and practical aspects of the material.
- Assignments and exams must be handed at the time and date specified on the front page of the course outline for each module.
- For every week an assignment is late, 5% will be deducted. If submitted one month after the due date, 20% will be deducted from the assignment mark. Assignments will not be accepted, if submitted later than one month after the due date.
- Any person suspected of copying or plagiarising will be handed back their assignment unmarked. Students are warned that they will be penalised, at the discretion of the facilitator(s), if they copy.
Dates
The six modules of this course will be taught intermittently between June and December 2022 as follow:
- Module 1: 6-10 June, 2022
- Module 2: 4-8 July, 2022
- Module 3: 1-5 August, 2022
- Module 4: 2-6 September, 2022
- Module 5: 5-9 November, 2022
- Module 6: 2-6 December, 2022
Certificate
- Once course is successfully completed you may log into your account, view certificate, and select add to LinkedIn. Potential employers and associates will be able to view your certificate. EMA will also endorse your economic modelling skill once you add it into your LinkedIn account.
- There is no additional fee related to your certificate.
- You must complete all classes and assignments to be able to obtain a certificate.
Support
Coordinator
Course coordinator: Dr. Asghar Adelzadeh
The course coordinator is available to respond to questions related to the course content and structure. Go to Contact Us page to submit your inquiry.
Alumni Support
Each graduate will receive support for his or her job search and placement.
Cost
Cost
The total cost of this course includes tuitions and fees and is calculated as:
- Tuition R78 500
- Fees* R16 500
- Total Cost R95 000
* Fees relate to the discounted cost of accessing web-based models during the course and for three months after the course.
Discounts
Enterprises that register a group of their employees for this course will receive total cost discounts based on their group sizes.
Scholarships
EMA provides a limited number of partial scholarships, designed to assist individuals with financial needs and who otherwise have the necessary pre-requisites to take one of the current courses. To apply, please complete this form.
Course Registration & Payment
This course is offered through EMA-GIBS partnership.
Registration and payment for the course is processes by GIBS.
Info brochure
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