Date: 30/08/2005
Source: Ministry of Education
Title: Pandor: Launch of Umsobomvu Youth Fund-FET colleges partnership programme
Address by Naledi Pandor, MP, Minister of Education, at the launch of the Umsobomvu Youth Fund-FET colleges partnership programme in the Western Cape, Drakenstein Campus, Boland College, Paarl
Mr Zozo Siyengo, Programme Director,
Mr Cameron Dugmore MEC for Education,
Mr Malose Kekana, CEO of Umsobomvu Youth Fund,
Principals of FET Colleges present
Representatives of the SETAs
Distinguished guests
It is a pleasure to be here at the regional launch of the Umsobomvu Youth Fund and the further education and training (FET) colleges partnership programme in the Western Cape.
On 21 February 2005 Mr Mdladlana, Minister of Labour, and Mr E Surty, Deputy Minister of Education, launched the national partnership programme at the Lovedale FET College in Alice, Eastern Cape.
Under this agreement the Youth Fund will use public FET colleges as institutions of choice for youth skills development programmes.
Nationally this partnership programme is run at 22 public FET colleges, three of which are here in the Western Cape Province, namely Boland College, College of Cape Town and False Bay College 1, and the Youth Fund will invest an estimated R28 million.
This is not only a first for education and labour; it is also the right choice in the provision of skills training for our youth.
Not that long ago, FET colleges were actively competing for Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) learnerships and skills programmes against private providers.
And they were not succeeding. Private providers were doing the bulk of SETA training. Today, the public FET colleges have begun to make an impact by developing a focus on quality delivery and by establishing closer partnerships with employers and SETAs.
We need to continue to promote this approach and move to a point where our public colleges are the preferred providers of courses for skills development.
However, this will require SETAs to play their part, by being clear about the nature and duration of training that is expected from the colleges, and by making the resources available for this to be done.
It is against this background that we welcome this partnership. Public FET colleges are a national resource and need to be appropriately supported to meet the demands of their mandate of equipping youth people with skills in demand. We are on the brink of achieving a 6% growth rate.
In the Western Cape the provincial growth rate has consistently outperformed the national growth rate.
Yet unemployment is rising, and young people are the worst affected. It is a fact that 50% of any age-cohort in the Western Cape school system leaves school without completing Grade 12.
Boys at school in deprived communities say they do not need to have a matric certificate to work because so many people they know with matric certificates are out of work. 2
Yet of the population of 400 000 or so 16 to 20-year olds in the Western Cape only 20 000 are enrolled in FET colleges. 3
The provincial education department’s aim is to increase the number of FET college students or those enrolled on learnerships from 20 000 to 60 000 learners by 2014. 4
In order to do this, colleges must understand the social and economic environment of their regions so that they offer appropriate programmes.
Two out of every three matriculants (an average of 2 200 matrics per year) in the Drakenstein Municipality face the prospect of unemployment.5
What are their options? - petty crime; some go straight to gaol; about 1 820 juveniles are serving sentences in Drakenstein and surrounding correctional institutions. Others find that they lack the necessary skills and experience to work.
This is where the FET colleges are so important.
The focus of the partnership here in the Boland is driven by the employment and economic potential in the region. That is why the programmes offered will include teaching the skills required in mixed farming and wine processing.
The FET colleges in this region must take on the challenge of delivering graduates who will be sought after and employed in the region.
Boland College must become renowned throughout the country as a centre of excellence in niche programme areas. Students from around the country who wish to study deciduous farming should know that Boland College is the best place to study, just as students throughout the country should know that the best place to study mining will be in colleges located in mining regions.
Of course, this does not mean that a student who qualifies at Boland College will only be able to work in this region. The skills, knowledge and attitudes that are acquired in the College must provide the basis for further study and possible self-employment.
Because agricultural employment is on the decline and school leavers need to learn generic skills that will be of use to them in our modern economy, artisan skills, and computer skills.
Our aim is to increase youth participation in FET colleges. As part of increasing participation, government has invested and will invest in the public FET college sector with a view to consolidating its capacity for the effective delivery of intermediate skills.
In closing, I would also like to remind you that, as we skill our young people, we should also encourage them to understand their role as active and responsible citizens in society.
In this regard, it is important that we should inculcate in our youth an understanding of democratic values. In this way our youth will appreciate the significance of their contributions to the broader development of our country once they have acquired relevant skills.
I thank you!
1 Currently, the Western Cape has six FET colleges with 40 sites all over the province.
2 “The drop out rate in our schools is estimated to be around 50%, with most learners dropping out after Grade 9, which is the exit point for compulsory schooling. The reasons for this are varied, but mostly related to unemployment of parents and poverty. More specifically, many learners drop out after Grade Nine because they would be over the compulsory school-going age and fall within the legal employment age, can find low-skill jobs, and believe that a matric education will not provide them with any better opportunities, since many matriculants are also unable to find employment. Some of these learners also fall prey to social ills like substance abuse and gangsterism. This context is not dissimilar to many disadvantaged communities the world over. These same statistics apply to black schools in the USA and UK, for Aborigine communities in Australia, First Nations communities in Canada and Maori communities in New Zealand. What may be surprising, however, is that most of the drop-outs occur in “coloured” communities. Anecdotal evidence suggests that there is a strong perception that employment is reserved for “African blacks” as an outcome of employment equity policies.” (Western Cape Education Department, Education 2020: A Human Capital Development Strategy for the Western Cape A focus on Youth 2004 to 2014)
3 There are 210,000 in public schools, public FET colleges or adult centres. The numbers of learners in independent schools in grades 10 to 12 is approximately 10 000; those in private colleges another 10 000 and those in higher education 50 000.
4 Western Cape Education Department, Education 2020: A Human Capital Development Strategy for the Western Cape A focus on Youth 2004 to 2014.
5 The Koinonia Community Centre in Paarl has been at the forefront of youth development in the Drakenstein municipal area (including the areas Paarl, Wellington, Mbekweni, Simondium, Saron, Hermon and Gouda) since 1993. See Andre Smith and Harlan CA Cloete, “Bold ideas needed to aid our youth”, Cape Times, June 3, 2005.
Issued by: Ministry of Education
30 August 2005
Source: Ministry of Education
Title: Pandor: Launch of Umsobomvu Youth Fund-FET colleges partnership programme
Address by Naledi Pandor, MP, Minister of Education, at the launch of the Umsobomvu Youth Fund-FET colleges partnership programme in the Western Cape, Drakenstein Campus, Boland College, Paarl
Mr Zozo Siyengo, Programme Director,
Mr Cameron Dugmore MEC for Education,
Mr Malose Kekana, CEO of Umsobomvu Youth Fund,
Principals of FET Colleges present
Representatives of the SETAs
Distinguished guests
It is a pleasure to be here at the regional launch of the Umsobomvu Youth Fund and the further education and training (FET) colleges partnership programme in the Western Cape.
On 21 February 2005 Mr Mdladlana, Minister of Labour, and Mr E Surty, Deputy Minister of Education, launched the national partnership programme at the Lovedale FET College in Alice, Eastern Cape.
Under this agreement the Youth Fund will use public FET colleges as institutions of choice for youth skills development programmes.
Nationally this partnership programme is run at 22 public FET colleges, three of which are here in the Western Cape Province, namely Boland College, College of Cape Town and False Bay College 1, and the Youth Fund will invest an estimated R28 million.
This is not only a first for education and labour; it is also the right choice in the provision of skills training for our youth.
Not that long ago, FET colleges were actively competing for Sector Education and Training Authority (SETA) learnerships and skills programmes against private providers.
And they were not succeeding. Private providers were doing the bulk of SETA training. Today, the public FET colleges have begun to make an impact by developing a focus on quality delivery and by establishing closer partnerships with employers and SETAs.
We need to continue to promote this approach and move to a point where our public colleges are the preferred providers of courses for skills development.
However, this will require SETAs to play their part, by being clear about the nature and duration of training that is expected from the colleges, and by making the resources available for this to be done.
It is against this background that we welcome this partnership. Public FET colleges are a national resource and need to be appropriately supported to meet the demands of their mandate of equipping youth people with skills in demand. We are on the brink of achieving a 6% growth rate.
In the Western Cape the provincial growth rate has consistently outperformed the national growth rate.
Yet unemployment is rising, and young people are the worst affected. It is a fact that 50% of any age-cohort in the Western Cape school system leaves school without completing Grade 12.
Boys at school in deprived communities say they do not need to have a matric certificate to work because so many people they know with matric certificates are out of work. 2
Yet of the population of 400 000 or so 16 to 20-year olds in the Western Cape only 20 000 are enrolled in FET colleges. 3
The provincial education department’s aim is to increase the number of FET college students or those enrolled on learnerships from 20 000 to 60 000 learners by 2014. 4
In order to do this, colleges must understand the social and economic environment of their regions so that they offer appropriate programmes.
Two out of every three matriculants (an average of 2 200 matrics per year) in the Drakenstein Municipality face the prospect of unemployment.5
What are their options? - petty crime; some go straight to gaol; about 1 820 juveniles are serving sentences in Drakenstein and surrounding correctional institutions. Others find that they lack the necessary skills and experience to work.
This is where the FET colleges are so important.
The focus of the partnership here in the Boland is driven by the employment and economic potential in the region. That is why the programmes offered will include teaching the skills required in mixed farming and wine processing.
The FET colleges in this region must take on the challenge of delivering graduates who will be sought after and employed in the region.
Boland College must become renowned throughout the country as a centre of excellence in niche programme areas. Students from around the country who wish to study deciduous farming should know that Boland College is the best place to study, just as students throughout the country should know that the best place to study mining will be in colleges located in mining regions.
Of course, this does not mean that a student who qualifies at Boland College will only be able to work in this region. The skills, knowledge and attitudes that are acquired in the College must provide the basis for further study and possible self-employment.
Because agricultural employment is on the decline and school leavers need to learn generic skills that will be of use to them in our modern economy, artisan skills, and computer skills.
Our aim is to increase youth participation in FET colleges. As part of increasing participation, government has invested and will invest in the public FET college sector with a view to consolidating its capacity for the effective delivery of intermediate skills.
In closing, I would also like to remind you that, as we skill our young people, we should also encourage them to understand their role as active and responsible citizens in society.
In this regard, it is important that we should inculcate in our youth an understanding of democratic values. In this way our youth will appreciate the significance of their contributions to the broader development of our country once they have acquired relevant skills.
I thank you!
1 Currently, the Western Cape has six FET colleges with 40 sites all over the province.
2 “The drop out rate in our schools is estimated to be around 50%, with most learners dropping out after Grade 9, which is the exit point for compulsory schooling. The reasons for this are varied, but mostly related to unemployment of parents and poverty. More specifically, many learners drop out after Grade Nine because they would be over the compulsory school-going age and fall within the legal employment age, can find low-skill jobs, and believe that a matric education will not provide them with any better opportunities, since many matriculants are also unable to find employment. Some of these learners also fall prey to social ills like substance abuse and gangsterism. This context is not dissimilar to many disadvantaged communities the world over. These same statistics apply to black schools in the USA and UK, for Aborigine communities in Australia, First Nations communities in Canada and Maori communities in New Zealand. What may be surprising, however, is that most of the drop-outs occur in “coloured” communities. Anecdotal evidence suggests that there is a strong perception that employment is reserved for “African blacks” as an outcome of employment equity policies.” (Western Cape Education Department, Education 2020: A Human Capital Development Strategy for the Western Cape A focus on Youth 2004 to 2014)
3 There are 210,000 in public schools, public FET colleges or adult centres. The numbers of learners in independent schools in grades 10 to 12 is approximately 10 000; those in private colleges another 10 000 and those in higher education 50 000.
4 Western Cape Education Department, Education 2020: A Human Capital Development Strategy for the Western Cape A focus on Youth 2004 to 2014.
5 The Koinonia Community Centre in Paarl has been at the forefront of youth development in the Drakenstein municipal area (including the areas Paarl, Wellington, Mbekweni, Simondium, Saron, Hermon and Gouda) since 1993. See Andre Smith and Harlan CA Cloete, “Bold ideas needed to aid our youth”, Cape Times, June 3, 2005.
Issued by: Ministry of Education
30 August 2005
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