An investigation of the impact of inward foreign direct investment on skills development and job creation in South Africa

Two of the most serious challenges facing South Africa today are theavailability of skills and unemployment. Inward FDI has been promoted by theIMF and the World Bank as a solution for sustained growth in developingcountries. This growth impact can be achieved through a combination of FDIbenefits which include access to foreign funds, adoption of superiortechnology, skills transfer and job creation. A number of researchers haveinvestigated the impact of FDI and have come up with different conclusions.The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of inward FDI on skillsdevelopment and job creation in South Africa. Telephonic interviews wereconducted with 32 multinational companies based mainly in the GautengProvince during August 2010. A qualitative approach was used in themethodology by comparing the data collected across the companies thatparticipated in the survey. The study concluded that inward FDI has a positiveimpact on skills development and job creation in South Africa and thereforesignificantly impacts economic growth. © 2010 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria Please cite as follows: Thomo, SD 2010, An investigation of the impact of inward foreign direct investment on skills development and job creation in South Africa, MBA dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd < http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-07162011-155205/ > F11/537/ag