Education and skills development are the most powerful tools we can use to tackle the triple challenge of poverty, unemployment and inequality. North West Premier Modise told delegates attending the National Skills Authority (NSA) Provincial Consultative Workshop in Cookes Lake, Mahikeng on Friday.
Premier Modise said that skills development is not just about improving productivity in the workplace but it is also about improving the quality of life of workers, in terms of job prospects and their mobility.
“The New Growth Path identifies skills shortages, poor quality of education and training as some of the major constraints that need to be addressed to realise its objectives. High levels of education and training with relevant skills that talk to the time and need of that population are also critical if we are to address the challenges of poverty and inequality in our country,” said Premier Modise.
Modise announced that plans were afoot to establish the Provincial Skills Development Forum and the Provincial Human Resource Development Council which she will personally spearhead. She also declared that her administration will establish the Provincial Public Service Academy before the end of the year to ensure that there is integration in implementing skills development in all sectors within the province.
Outlining the purpose of the consultative workshop, Mr Manene Samela of the National Skills Authority (NSA) said the workshop is intended as a viable platform to deepen partnership with various stakeholders including business, government, community and labour organisations.
“We are here today to respond to the critical call of shaping the anticipated post school landscape in higher education and training whilst ensuring effective implementation of the NSDS III, and provisioning of quality service to our people,” said Samela.
He said the consultative workshop provides a good opportunity for stakeholders to deliberate on the national skills development strategy and examine prospects and challenges facing the province with regard to post school education and training needs.
“We have already completed the second year of implementation since the launch of the NSDS III and it is important to evaluate progress thus far. It is against this background that you are engaged as the province to share your achievements and challenges in the implementation of this revolutionary strategy,” said Samela adding that skills development should essentially benefit the unemployed, underemployed and vulnerable groups.
Speaking on behalf of the North West Business Forum, Kelebogile McHarvey Seboka said it was worrying that South Africa has a high rate of unemployment especially when compared to other BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries.
He attributed this problem to the fact that South Africa tends to focus on employment in the formal sector as opposed to trends other countries were the focus is diverse. He decried the calibre of students that graduate from our Institutions of High Learning, saying that our schooling system tends to produce graduates who are not employable or who are not immediately productive economically.
“Business would like to see Institutions of higher learning beginning to observe industry requirements and providing the caliber of graduates that will match the need of business. Where possible business will want to have a data base of those skills that our members can help develop, those that need experiential learning so that we mobilise our members to grant them space to learn,” said Seboka.
Kopano Konopi of COSATU, who also addressed delegates, cautioned that South Africa was one of the most unequal societies in the world especially in terms of wage disparities. He said any kind of skills development should endeavour to close such a gap.
In their recommendations, delegates highlighted, among others, the need for more SMME oriented systems of skills development that would encourage job creation instead of producing a cohort of job seekers. It was further recommended that Science, Technology, Engineering and Manufacturing sectors be prioritised in the province.
In his closing remarks, NSA Board Member Mr Percy Mongalo advised the province to convene a follow up workshop that will delve deeper into some of the challenges and map out a strategy to address them.
Enquiries:
Lesiba Moses Kgwele, Spokesperson
Tel: 018 388 3705
Cell: 083 629 1987
Fax: 018 388 3157
E-mail: LKgwele@gmail.com
