Beef and Lamb SA collaborates with the Department of Basic Education

Written by Beef and Lamb SA

South Africa is in dire need of job creation initiatives, with unemployment soaring to 32.9% in early 2024, with nearly two-thirds of young people struggling to find work. This crisis calls for immediate action to alleviate poverty and enhance living standards.

There are promising opportunities for youth employment looming on the horizon, ranging from the growing need for renewable energy to an increased demand for food processing and related services. To tackle this challenge, the South African government, along with the private sector and international partners, is rolling out initiatives focused on skills development, supporting entrepreneurs, and investing in infrastructure. These efforts aim to spark economic growth and create much-needed jobs for the future.

Red Meat Industry Services (RMIS) recognises the urgency of this need and believes the South African red meat industry can play an important role in alleviating unemployment. In 2023 Beef and Lamb SA, the consumer education function of the RMIS, accepted an invitation to collaborate with the Department of Basic Education’s FET Phase Service Subjects. These subjects, including Hospitality Studies and Consumer Studies, are developed to equip scholars with practical as well as enterprise development skills by the time they complete Grade 12, to not only improve their quality of life, but to enable them to contribute to the economy of our country.

After consulting with the provincial service subjects’ advisors and the national co-ordinator the need for educational resources, to help teachers bridge practical funding constraints when it comes to teaching the red meat component of the subject, was established. Beef and Lamb SA developed and distributed a series of resources, including newly developed carcass posters and workbook printouts to every Grade 12 hospitality studies scholar and school in the country, from the most remote areas in Kwazulu-Natal to the Northern- Cape.

To add to the practical component of the subjects Beef and Lamb SA produced a series of meat handling techniques videos, available as YouTube Shorts and Instagram Videos, for learners to access from their phones anywhere in the country. The videos have been distributed to all teachers to use in the classroom in instances where they do not have the resources to demonstrate these techniques. These videos were launched at an in-person event where Beef and Lamb SA Brand Manager, Marina Fourie, addressed all Gauteng Hospitality Management educators at their practical assessment training. Watch Meat Handling Techniques: Trimming, Smoking, Rubbing, Trussing, Reverse Searing & Slicing Beef Fillet on YouTube.

Beef and Lamb SA is in the process of developing additional meat handling and utilisation sheets to be distributed to schools and consumers later in 2024 and in 2025.

Relevant Agribook pages include “Abattoirs and the meat industry“, “Beef cattle farming” and “Mutton and lamb (sheep)“.

Photo by Jeremy Gallagher on Unsplash