Botha, at the launch of Department of Arts and Culture (DAC) Internship
Programme
22 November 2007
Programme director
Chief Executive Officers of the DAC institutions
Guests on honour interns
Officials of the DAC and other government departments
Distinguished guests
Members of the media
Ladies and gentlemen
Good morning!
It is indeed an honour and a privilege for me to launch the internship
programme of the Department of Arts and Culture. Yesterday I was interviewed on
Morning Live and, as could have been expected, I was tongue tied probably
overwhelmed by the thought that it is finally happening. I am very excited that
we too, as a department and its associated institutions, are going to be making
this huge contribution to the skills development programme driven by our
government.
This is a very significant investment in human capital and I would like to
thank all the institutions that are participating in this programme for making
it possible. This internship programme was initiated by the DAC Human Resource
Management unit and is supported by our Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka
who is responsible for driving the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for
South Africa (AsgiSA) and the Joint Initiative on Priority Skills Acquisition
(Jipsa).
Incidentally, one of the priorities of the national skills development
strategy is to align skills development with economic growth, job creation and
poverty alleviation strategies. Its objective is to assist designated groups,
including new entrants to participate in accredited work, integrated learning
and work-based programmes to acquire critical skills to enter the labour market
and self-employment.
This initiative will also contribute to the national youth service by
equipping the interns with required skills, so that they can secure permanent
employment. I believe that the 89 internship candidates are ready to start
working in various institutions tomorrow. I hope that the orientation programme
on Tuesday and Wednesday gave them some insights into what opportunities are
available in the arts, culture and heritage sector.
Participation in learnership and internship programmes has been identified
as one of the key vehicles for rapid skills development in South Africa. To
strengthen the initiative, the Cabinet further mandated every department to
enrol as a minimum a number of unemployed learners and interns to the
equivalent of at least five percent of the establishment. In terms of the DAC
staff complement this would amount to ±30 interns. The DAC is aware of the need
to enter into more partnerships because it is only when expertise, resources
and institutional capacities are co-ordinated and pooled across government, the
business sector and, indeed, civil society, that we can succeed and prosper as
a country.
We hope that the next intake of interns will be much larger and that DAC
will expand the placement of interns to the other institutions and the private
sector. We believe that our approach in the implementation of this programme is
all-inclusive and hope to achieve the following outcomes:
* increasing awareness on job opportunities in the arts, culture and
heritage sector
* instilling a better understanding of the arts, culture and heritage sector as
well as the role of arts, culture and heritage in our society
* enabling prospective candidates to make informed decisions on career
opportunities in the sector.
The DAC, in partnership with its associate institutions, will ensure that
the beneficiaries increase their skills base, employability potential and also
ensure that they develop an exist strategy aimed at assisting the interns to
identify career opportunities and placement either in the Department and the
sector at large.
There are also opportunities for exposure and further training
internationally, on the African continent and abroad, through the cultural
agreements we have signed with other countries. For example, the United Kingdom
has agreed to train curators and only recently Ethiopia trained young men from
South Africa in the visual arts.
The target group is unemployed graduates. Preference is given to those that
will ensure subsequent replacement of ageing, scarce or rare skills in the
sector. The interns should also assist in the transformation of the sector, in
addressing the imbalances of the past and creating an environment where there
is parity and equal opportunities for all, women and men, black and white,
young and old. This is one of the greatest challenges that we face in the
sector.
As the Honourable Deputy President, Ms Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka stated that,
"Nothing short of skills revolution by a nation united will extricate us from
the crisis we face", DAC has partnered with its institutions which is where 80%
of the total number of the interns will be placed. We urge interns to maximise
on the opportunities provided by the DAC and associated institutions as this
will provide a pool of suitable candidates for the placement as appropriate
opportunities become available.
I must thank Ms Mandisa Matyila and her team, once again, for the
co-ordination of this programme. Your hard work and sleepless nights have borne
fruit. It is much appreciated by all of us. And to our communications unit,
Mack Lewele and his team, thank you for arranging the media coverage. All of
you have done excellent work. Thank you, thank you!
It is now my honour to officially launch the DAC internship programme.
Finally, I wish to congratulate all the interns who have been accepted for
the first intake. I wish you every success and trust that you will make the
best of what you are being offered. I think I must also thank you for making
yourselves available. Without you we would not be bragging about a DAC
internship programme. Your contribution to government's call to narrow the
skills gap is invaluable. With this programme it will be possible to meet our
government's target of halving poverty by 2014. I can assure you that your hard
work will pay off, and the skills you will acquire will benefit you for the
rest of your life. Stay focused!
I thank you.
Issued by: Department of Arts and Culture
22 November 2007
