Shilowa, at the National Tourism Conference on Skills Development
19 October 2006
I am delighted at the opportunity to talk to you this morning at the start
of your two-day conference on skills development in the tourism industry. In
welcoming you to our smart province I want to assure you that tourism and
skills development are matters that we as the Gauteng government have
prioritised, and we believe these issues deserve closer attention in the
process of consolidating our province as a prosperous and competitive global
city region.
Our global city region perspective which we launched in August, the Gauteng
growth and development strategy and our human resource development strategy,
emphasise the importance of tourism and skills development in the national
drive to halve poverty and unemployment by 2014.
We have to move away from the view that tourism is about how many people we
can get into the country and how much money we can make. Tourism should be more
about skills development and economic growth.
The city region perspective is based on the understanding that the province
requires an effective response to the developmental challenges we face today
and those that will emerge in the future. It is also informed by an
acknowledgement that it is a responsibility for all of us to ensure Gauteng's
global competitiveness and to make Gauteng a better place for all.
Our ability to create quality jobs and sustainable livelihoods for our
people depends in large measure on our ability to attract investment and
tourism in our country and our province. Our growth and development strategy
has identified key sectors for growth and a range of complementary strategies
which, if properly implemented, will enable us to reach our target of eight
percent growth by 2014.
The Minister of Tourism, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, will know that the
national government has set a target of six percent economic growth by 2014.
That means Gauteng as the biggest economy in the country must grow at eight
percent and the Western Cape as the second biggest must grow at between five
percent and seven percent.
Tourism is a crucial part of the services sector and provides significant
opportunities for economic empowerment, and to bridge the divide between the
first and second economy. We are competing with a vast number of other
attractive tourism destinations in both developing and developed parts of the
world and the way in which we conduct our business must contribute to positive
marketing and branding of our province and of our country.
To be ahead of the competition will require that we stage a services
revolution in both the private and the public sector. This means that
government, business and labour have to give their attention to achieving
greater efficiencies and greater value in the services sector of the
economy.
There is no use for us to complain about bad service after the fact. It is
better to raise the issue immediately as it occurs because if we fix it
immediately it is likely to improve and be better.
It has been estimated that the broad services sector which includes tourism
contributes 69 percent to South Africa's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and it
has the potential to further stimulate and support Gauteng broader growth
initiatives. We therefore have to take measures to improve efficiencies,
innovation and efficiencies in this sector if we are to succeed in growing our
economy to the highs envisaged in the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative
for South Africa (AsgiSA).
One of the measures we need to undertake as a matter of extreme urgency is
the skills development. I am comforted by the realisation that this matter is
central to the discussion you will be engaging in today and tomorrow.
Three weeks ago we launched the Gauteng Human Resource Development Strategy
(HRDS) because we recognised the need to develop necessary skills to drive
economic growth and social transformation. The skills development measures we
undertake must enable people in communities with high levels of poverty and
unemployment to access and effectively utilise resources to become economically
active. We also understand the need to produce the skills and knowledge that
can build new sectors of the economy and provide quality jobs in our
province.
One of the key challenges we are going to face as a country and province, as
we seek to include the youth in tourism, is going to be how our tourism sites
reflect the inclusion we are talking about. Another challenge is going to be
training our people to manage the 2010 FIFA World Cup. This is the biggest
spectacle in the world. We need to work hard on properly skilling our marshals
to be able to communicate effectively to the visitors, and offer valuable
assistance.
In general I am disappointed about the Sector Education and Training
Authorities (SETAs). My view is that SETAs should not boast their success by
bank balances they have in their books. They should be measured by the number
of people they have trained and who are properly skilled.
I wish your conference well and hope that it will come up with more ideas of
how tourism can help us achieve greater growth and sustainable economic
development. I wish you a pleasant time in Gauteng.
Thank you!
Issued by: Office of the Premier, Gauteng Provincial Government
19 October 2006
