1. Mr M W Makhubela (COPE-Limpopo) to ask the Deputy President:
Whether the Human Resource Development (HRD) Council has been able to deliver on its commitment to increase the number of skilled persons in order to meet the demand of current and emerging economic and social development priorities; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
Reply:
Delivery on the commitment to increase the number of skilled persons in order to meet the demand of current and emerging economic and social development priorities is in progress. The Honourable member should note that delivering skills is not a short term intervention, but a process that requires a multitude of stakeholders to play their part.
In light of this, we are setting in motion a process to ensure that skills development planning is credible, integrated, coordinated and responsive to social and economic demands. We are also engaging with the private sector to ensure that the skills provided are demand led.
The two top priorities for the Human Resource Development (HRD) Council for this year are increasing artisan training, and building the capacity of our public Further Education and Training (FET) Colleges. In this regard we are working with the private sector to improve these colleges and Higher Education and Training Institutions.
The Minister of Higher Education and Training has also met with the industry and will shortly meet with organised labour and the community to propose solutions on how to improve artisan development in South Africa, amongst others. In the meeting with business, which was held at the end of last year, these business leaders committed themselves to identifying available capacity that they have, which can be used to increase the production of artisans. Concrete agreements will soon be reached in relation to this.
The Honourable member should note that it is not the role of the HRD Council to implement programmes. However, its role is to facilitate partnerships between labour, the private sector, government and civil society, to identify impediments that are hindering delivery on skills, and to propose recommendations to the relevant stakeholders on how best to address those challenges based on the belief that skills development is a partnership issue.
I thank you.
