Programme Director
Provincial Government Representatives
Sector Education and Training Authorities
Technical and Vocational Education and Training Colleges Principals and Lecturers
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
And most importantly our youth
Greetings

It is an honour to be part of this Career EXPO exhibition, held here in Mitchell’s Plain, the township where the United Democratic Front (UDF) was formed in 1983 and which remained its stronghold. Mitchell’s Plain played a significant role in the struggle against apartheid, and its people suffered for their stand, with many dying at the hands of the apartheid police in the turbulent 1980s.  

In spite of the unspeakable crimes against our people perpetrated by the apartheid state, those of us who survived apartheid times are more determined than ever to confront the legacy of apartheid as we celebrate 20 years of a liberated South Africa. As the democratically elected government led by the ANC, we are reaching out to our children, die kinders van die aarde (Children of the Soil) through this career EXPO and various other programmes to ensure that our youth plays its full part in the country’s economy. Events of this nature are also important for social cohesion. They are the building blocks of non-racialism. 

As the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), we have made strides in ensuring success in the post-school sector. For example, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has grown from R400 million in 1999 to R9.5 billion in the current academic year.  Allocations to Western Cape universities, including NSFAS recoveries, have grown from over 400 million (R432 819 6060) in 2011 to over 500 million (R529 874 575) in 2014.  The work of NSFAS is held in high esteem by many informed and knowledgeable people. For example, on the 5th of March, the Rector of the University of Cape Town, Dr Max Price, hailed NSFAS as a success story. 

The NSFAS allocation for our Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges, the backbone of our post school system, has also increased dramatically.  It has increased from R1.9 billion last year to R2.1 billion, providing funding for 233 958 TVET college students in 2014. The total allocation to Western Cape TVET Colleges has increased from R31 422 000 in 2009 to R227 510 000 in 2014. 

Student numbers have risen significantly at our TVET colleges. For the 2012 academic year DHET set a target of 550 000 student enrolments. We achieved even more, ending with a total of 657 690, an increase of 54% when compared to the 2011 academic year. As at February 2014 there were 56 594 first term enrolments across all programmes offered at TVET colleges in the Western Cape. These numbers will increase with semester and trimester enrolments. 

The DHET has also secured donor funding to strengthen the implementation of student support, and in particular academic support programmes in TVET Colleges. The Danish International Development Assistance (Danida) Support to Education and Skills Development (SESD III) programme funded by the Royal Danish Embassy was instrumental in the development of the Student Support System Framework in its second phase of implementation, from January 2006 to December 2009. 

The current phase commenced in August 2011. Three TVET colleges in the Western Cape, namely South Cape, Western College and College of Cape Town are currently implementing a host of academic and exit support programmes, including structured tutoring programmes, which have been conceptualized to enhance student performance.

The National Skills Fund (NSF), located within the DHET, runs various projects to assist the youth, especially in areas related to scarce skills.

These programmes benefit the Western Cape as well. For instance:

• 18 learners from here in Mitchell’s Plain, Khayelitsha, Delft and Phillipi are being trained in co-operative development to the tune of R8 175 000. 
• NSF has funded a project on Unemployed Youth Training and Workplace Experience in Athlone, Crossroads, Delft, Mitchell’s Plain, Khayelitsha, Langa, Mfuleni, Nyanga and Samora Machel to the amount of R14.9 Million. This project has been completed and has benefitted 286 youth. We have started a similar project with 350 youth participating. The approved funding for this project is R18 531 150. 00.
• 460 unemployed youth are presently being trained at False Bay College in various scarce skills, to the tune of R17.1 million.
• R76.6 million has been invested in the National Institute for the Deaf in Worcester to improve access to quality learning programmes and to increase the relevance of skills development interventions.
• 250 learners with disabilities from Mitchell’s Plain, Gugulethu, Cape Flats and Nyanga participate in NQF Level 01 Certificate in Business Practices. The total budget for this project is R23 million. 
• There are various other projects benefiting the youth of this province. These include but are not limited to the Africa Institute for Mathematical Science and the Monyentla Work Readiness Programme.

Various SETAs have put their shoulders to the wheel to ensure that they fully service our people. To strengthen work placement between industry and TVET institutions, we have resumed the process of opening SETA offices in TVET colleges. To date, more than 40 offices have been opened in various TVET colleges in different parts of the country.  This includes offices in six TVET colleges in this province: Boland, College of Cape Town, False Bay, North Link, South Cape and West Coast. These SETA offices also serve as career guidance centres. We therefore want young people, particularly in depressed areas such as Mitchells Plain, Khayelitsha and Gugulethu, to visit these SETA offices and seek career guidance. 

More SETAs are now focussing on Professional, Vocational Occupation and Academic Learning (PIVOTAL) programmes leading to part or full qualification.

In this province, PIVOTAL programmes serve, amongst others:

• 369 bursary beneficiaries to the amount of more than R18 million;
• 478 apprenticeship and artisan development beneficiaries to the amount of more than R 61 million;
• 2 500 learnership beneficiaries to the amount of more than R106 million;
• 827 work integrated learning and internship beneficiaries to the amount of more than R10 million, and
• 3 500 beneficiaries on various skills programmes to the amount of more than R29 million.
• In addition, through the Construction SETA, we launched the construction of the Anene Booysen Skills Centre in Bredasdorp on the 13th of March. R10 million has been set aside for construction of this state of the art Skills Centre.  In addition to the envisaged skills development centre in Bredasdorp, the DHET has made R2.7 million available for 75 Apprentices, R1.8 million for 50 Learnerships, R875 000 for 250 individuals in Recognition of Prior Learning programmes, R1.5 million for 300 short skills programme opportunities, and R1 million to train municipal staff in various interventions.

In spite of these successful initiatives, as DHET and as a country, we are still faced with a number of problems. For instance, there is a growing number of youth between the ages of 15 – 24 who are not in employment, education and training (NEET). In 2011, the average unemployment rate for City of Cape Town youth between the ages 15-24 was reported to be at 23.8%.

This situation is pronounced in townships like Khayelitsha and Mitchell’s Plain, the hotbeds of militancy which were sidelined by the apartheid government. Through our various programmes, like this EXPO which has brought all of us here today, as government we are doing our utmost to ensure that our youth is freed from the scourge of unemployment, poverty and crime and that it is absorbed in the educational and economic systems of our country. 

To strengthen our efforts, we really need to ensure that programmes like work integrated learning are properly run, opening doors for future employment for our students. In this province there are indeed some TVET students in various work placement programmes but more needs to be done. Our records show that that by December 2013, there were 12 387 students and graduates both in NC (V) L 4 and “N” programmes who had not been placed in this province. This is of great concern as our youth is unable to progress further in their studies, jeopardising opportunities to secure full time employment.   

My request to the Premier of this Province, Ms Helen Zille, and the Executive Mayor of the City of Cape Town, Ms Patricia de Lille is: open up work spaces for our students, enabling them to qualify for their “N” Diplomas and related qualifications. After all, vocational training is the cornerstone of the post-school sector as emphasised in our White Paper launched in January of this year. Other provinces like Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Free State have taken the lead in ensuring that Work Integrated Learning is fully implemented. These three provinces have formally launched Work Integrated Learning for the benefit of our students. The Western Cape government should draw lessons from these three provinces. 

My department has launched the slogan of ‘turning every workplace into a training space’. All provinces must internalise and institutionalise this for the sake of our students. In various ways skills development programmes, including work placement, go far towards addressing burning issues of employment equity and the redress of past imbalances brought about by apartheid. Coloureds, Africans and Indians must continue to make sturdy progress towards occupying senior management positions both in the private sector and government in order to reflect the demographics of our country.

The Western Cape province has the largest representation of Whites in top management: 62% is comprised of white males, 12.7% of white females, 3.9% of African males, 8.3% of coloured males, 3.4% of Indian males, 1.5% of African females, 4.4% of coloured females, 1.2 % of Indian females. This is grossly skewed. Clearly a great deal of work still needs to be done in this province to ensure equity and redress.  This is grossly skewed. Clearly a great deal of work still needs to be done in this province to ensure equity and redress.
  
As government and as the DHET, we are committed to serving every South African irrespective of race, colour or creed.  I must take this opportunity to make the following pledges to the young people of Khayelitsha and Mitchell’s Plain: we are issuing a total of 130 bursaries; 30 young people will receive artisan development training; 70 will receive apprenticeship development; 290 will receive learnerships, and 20 of our young future leaders will participate in the skills programmes. All these will be funded and facilitated by our SETAs such as, FP&M SETA, HWSETA, INSETA, LGSETA, SASSETA, and SERVICES SETA.

We also strongly believe, as the ANC-led government that initiatives outlined here can also go a long way not only in dealing with unemployment, but also deal with the scourge of drugs and gangsterism. I have been campaigning here in Mitchell's Plain, many Coloured families indicate that it is not soldiers who will ultimately deal with the scourge of violence, drugs and gangsterism, but providing skills for employability and other forms of sustainable livelihoods. Yes law enforcement agencies have an important role to play, but they need to be coupled with decisive government interventions like the ones I have outlined here.

To you, students, I want to urge you to take career guidance very seriously. I hope I have demonstrated through my speech today that there are many programmes that the DHET is involved in to ensure that as the country’s youth you become part of the post-school fraternity first and successfully seek employment thereafter. This career EXPO is an opportunity for you to interact with various stakeholders who will be able to help you make the right career choice. 

I would also like thank the organizers for putting this EXPO together. We are very grateful to you. Thanks also to members of my Department who worked tirelessly and closely with the organizers to ensure the success of this career EXPO. Thank you also to the different companies and institutions that are exhibiting in this EXPO. Lastly, I would like to thank the Western Cape government officials both local and provincial for providing us with a venue to gather in this historic township of Mitchell’s Plain, a township well known, as I said at the beginning of this speech, for its struggle against apartheid.

I thank you.