development
23 May 2007
The KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Department of Education, as well as business and
industry, and other government departments have committed themselves to turn
around the skills shortage in the province.
Speaking this week at the Skills Revolution Indaba, that was attended by the
Deputy President, Premier and MECs for Finance and Economic Development, Works
and Agriculture and Environmental Affairs, as well as several prominent
business and industry people, KZN Education MEC Ina Cronje emphasised the need
to work together: "Many things can be done if we do it together. While some of
our Further Education and Training (FET) Colleges are doing good work and are
leading sectors in the country, we need a massification of our output to
accelerate the process. I am certainly not a Xenophobic but we cannot as a
country sit with thousands and millions of unemployed people while importing
people to do the work. Importing skills can be a short term emergency plan but
it must be underpinned by strategy to produce our own skills on a mass
basis."
"The South African economy is on a record growth streak," she quoted from a
recent article in the Financial Mail. "But current growth levels � let alone
the ambitious targets some hope for � may be history if the skills shortage
isn't addressed. Government's projections are sobering: today only about 700
registered engineers join the profession each year � the economy needs to get
more than 11 000 new engineers into the system by 2010."
"This year only 5 000 artisans will be taken into apprenticeship � the
economy needs 12 500 each year."
The magazine identified four obvious areas where companies could make a
difference � either by training artisans; getting South Africans working abroad
back into South Africa; bringing retirees into the workforce and importing
foreign skills.
However, Cronje pointed out that the missing element in the initiatives is
to bring together the commitment and passion of all, including government to
bring about a skills revolution.
This is exactly what the Indaba was about � to stop lamenting about skills
shortages � which we all know exist � but to put heads together how to best
address it. Information sharing during speeches and presentations were followed
up by break away sessions where valuable contributions were made. Stakeholders
from across the spectrum offered potential solutions of how the FET Colleges
sector could best respond to needs; the second economy, funding,
interdepartmental planning and operation, as well as how could business and
industry respond to Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa
and Joint Initiative on Priority Skills Acquisition priorities.
A report with the resolutions will be submitted to MEC Cronje by an Indaba
task team. Meanwhile an interdepartmental provincial forum will be established
to do skills mapping, delivery, retention and monitoring. In addition skills
development will be placed as a standing item on the agendas of all clusters of
government and education to ensure that the development of a provincial
strategy is prioritised.
The marketing of FET Colleges will be a key aspect. According to MEC Cronje
there is "this unfortunate perception that technical vocation is inferior and
that the only place to go to after school is a university. It stems from the
days of Bantu education where technical skills were equated to inferiority.
Colleges must go out and market themselves, on the ground at schools and in the
communities."
She humbly requested business and industry to make use of the FET Colleges
and market their necessity.
Responding to the suggestion to use artisans as instructors at the FET
Colleges, she said that to attract the best one has to pay for it. An option
that could be pursued is to get people in the private sector to give some of
their time to act as instructors � a practice that is common in Belgium. "We
must look at cross pollination. This must be explored jointly with our partners
in the private sector. When training, it is good to get it hot of the press
from the horse�s mouth."
"We have to do something a bit out of the ordinary � it can be done but
based on a proven need," Cronje said, requesting a proper business plan from
the Indaba task team. "As much as I like poems, this must not be a poem but a
bankable document."
Issued by: Department of Education, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial
Government
23 May 2007
