Programme director
Senior Managers of the department
Mr Taaiboos motivational speakers, many thanks Ntate for lending a helping hand to this progressive programme
Human resource development officials
Our participants in the departmental 2010 internship programme
Ladies and gentlemen
It is a great honour to be given this opportunity to deliver the keynote address at this welcoming ceremony of our interns.
Programme director, ladies and gentlemen, may I take this opportunity to tender a humble apology from the Free State Education MEC, Honourable Tate Makgoe for not being with us today due to unforeseen but equally important engagement.
Ladies and gentlemen last week we celebrated 20th anniversary of the release from prison of the struggle icon Dr Nelson Mandela. As we look back at the occasion that rallies our nation together in celebration, we also honour the men and women who have contributed in their own ways, big and small, to making the dream of a peaceful transformation a reality.
We remember the difficult years of political upheaval and social unrest that our people have experience due to the draconian and unjust rule of apartheid government. We salute the determination, strength of character and foresight our forebears have demonstrated to transform South Africa into a stable and a prosperous country.
In celebrating how we have come and how much we have accomplished, we need to look to the future and continue to plan and be prepared for the challenges and opportunities that await us. To ensure that future generations of this country continue to enjoy economic success and social harmony, we need competent and dynamic cadres of public servants. This can be achieved, I submit by continuously building and nurturing talented young men and women to assume position in the public sector.
Dear colleagues our MEC is passionate about this programme and rest assured that the selection of these 50 cadets to participate in the department’s internship programme was based on merit. We are convinced that 2010 cohorts will not only acquire experience but they will also plough their expertise to various divisions within the department.
Participants in this programme need to possess sound character, a deep commitment and desire to serve our stakeholders. Our expectations from the interns are high. We count on you to use your respective skills to help the department to deliver on its mandate which is the provision of quality education for all. We expect you to hold yourself to the highest standard of integrity in all that you do, and remember your duty to serve the people. Put in your best as you prepare yourselves for the workplace in the future years.
As public service cadre always, remain humble and be open to view and ideas that are different from yours. Learn to communicate clearly and effectively, and to listen attentively to feedback. Never be out of touch with the ground, however far you may rise in your career. Devote you time to understanding the people and culture of this organisation. Even after the accomplishment of this programme, outside public service, continues to serve your community, your clients and help the less privileged in our society.
Having said that, we take this opportunity to congratulate the interns for being selected to participate in this programme, but we should also express our gratitude to OHRD Directorate for selecting best cohorts for this programme. Mme Phutsitsi I am sure the selection was not easy. Due to the voluminous response to our adverts for this programme I have no doubt it was daunting to make the final placement to various divisions.
Ladies and gentlemen this intervention is part of this government commitment to invest in our youth to ensure a skilled and capable workforce to support government project of reconstruction and development. Through this programme ladies and gentlemen we hope to contribute to inter alia lifelong learning, increase awareness among students of job and career opportunities in the public service, provide unemployed graduates with valuable work experience programmes that expose interns to specific occupations and to improve equitable access to public sector employment for rural and marginalised groups.
Accordingly, we are calling on other public sector organisations and private sector to increase the number of young people who enter internship and learnership programme. This programme can also benefit the employer who has an opportunity to get to know the intern and establish whether he or she is employable in the business.
Ladies and gentlemen, let me put on record that our internship is not a hit and run or fly by night project. It is developmental in nature as each cadet is allocated a seasoned and experience mentor to help the intern as a protégé. These mentors will be undergoing an intensive five days training on mentoring. Both the mentor and the intern will be required to produce monthly reports on the progress made in the development of intern.
It is our conviction that a well planned, structure and managed internship programme will go a long way in assisting our interns to better understand the public service, its value, work ethics and the opportunities it offers. It will also help us to build the new generation of the public sector cadres capable of assisting the democratically elected ANC-led government to pursue its vision of creating more jobs, decent work, sustainable livelihoods, improving quality of education and health care for all, promoting rural development and combating crime and corruption. From this 2010 class of internship programme we need to produce public servants who will be equal to the challenges and priorities of the current political dispensation, and we can only produce such workers through training, development and comprehensive mentoring programme.
In addition to being in a position to implement the strategic goals and policies of this government these interns should emerge from this programme with the following attributes:
* They should be innovative and not shy away from coming up with new ideas for the public good
* They should be self motivated and ready to motivate others to service the public
* The should be capable of giving their best regardless of whether they in front office or at management level
* They should understand that the public service has to serve a larger population and this population has expectations that should always be considered when doing work
* They must believe in partnership and be practically seen to work with other people
* And finally they must own processes of service delivery and understand that blame for the failure of the system should be laid squarely on their shoulders.
Programme director, with your indulgence, may I take this opportunity on behalf of MEC Makgoe to warmly welcome the 2010 class of the Free State Department of Education internship programme. I have no doubt that they will receive exciting experience during their stint in the department. Rest assured that the experience gained in this programme, will stand you in a good stead when you begin to look for a job.
Programme director, many many thanks!!
Issued by: Department of Education, Free State Provincial Government
16 February 2010
Source: Department of Education, Free State Provincial Government (http://www.fsdoe.fs.gov.za/)
