This is indeed a special occasion. This launch of the Gauteng Automotive Training Academy bears testimony to the marriage of true minds between government and the automotive sector.

We are indeed proud that we are launching a programme that not only provides an innovate answer to the need for skills in the automotive industry but also holds a great potential for sustainable job creation.

Indeed today we are launching what is a perfect example of a project that marries innovation, commitment and sustainability.

We are indeed humbled that today we are here to witness the birth of a fortress that will provide crucial training to a thousand learners per annum and directly contribute to the creation of 4000 new and decent jobs over the next three years, with approximately 400 jobs in the construction phase of the project.

We are delighted at the fact that those who are counted among the beneficiaries of such a project are not only students and artisans, but include workers who were previously retrenched and those who are currently seeking employment.

We commend Nissan for their commitment and approach to promoting investment, training and development as evidenced by the company’s significant investment in corporate social investment programmes.

This learning institution forms part of the building blocks that are crucial for the creation of decent jobs in our economy and honing the skills potential of the people of this province.

This academy will certainly form the centerpiece in our efforts to bolster the automotive industry’s performance and its international competitiveness.

This institution also bears testimony to the notion that enterprises can only pursue profit maximisation and neglect social development imperatives at their own peril.

Ladies and gentlemen, today we live in a world that is as wealthy as it is poor; as developed as it is underdeveloped and as prosperous as it is unequal.

These stark contradictions are even more pronounced in our country and our province.

The current reality in Gauteng, as spelt out by Census 2011 results, is that despite our small geographic size, the province is now home to more than 12.2 million people; a figure that has risen by 33.7% from a total of 7 million of the 1996 Census.
 
This makes Gauteng the country's largest province that accounts for 23.7% of the total population.
 
Our large population is a result of natural growth as well as significant in-migration from other provinces and from other parts of the world.

Among the pressing challenges we face, is the high unemployment rate, which is estimated at approximately 25,4% in the province.


Despite the huge potential for growth in this province, we unfortunately continue to record economic growth of approximately 3% per annum. This sluggish figure is hardly enough to offset the challenges of poverty and unemployment.


Educational attainment in Gauteng also reveals a startling picture. More than a third of the people in this province have highest educational attainment levels between grades 0 and 9.


Our inequality levels are also high, with our Gini co-efficient being measured at 0,65, and the Human Development Index is 0,68.[1]


These unsettling facts merely highlight the deep-seated inequalities in terms of income and opportunities in our province.



The increase in the province’s population also means rising demands for housing, bulk infrastructure, health and education.


I am certain that you will concur that this gloomy picture points to a need to accelerate inclusive economic growth and sustainable employment creation in the province.
 
I am also sure that you will share our sentiment that the consequences of poverty, inequality and unemployment pose a significant threat to our welfare as a country.
 
This is exactly why this picture must be of more significance than a mere piercing alarm bell.
 
This reality must drive and inspire us to change the status quo and line ourselves up as pallbearers to the triple challenge of unemployment, poverty, and inequality.
 
It must equally propel government and business to work in concert to ensure that the fruits of our democracy are enjoyed by all, most importantly the poor people in this country.
 
We are aware that the automotive industry is already playing a significant role in assisting South Africa and the Gauteng Province to overcome the triple challenge of unemployment, poverty and inequality.  
 
Our country is home to eight of the largest vehicle assembly plants in the world. The automotive sector also plays a crucial role in employment generation, with an estimated 300 000 people employed in the sector.
 
In Gauteng alone, the automotive manufacturing and trade industry contributes between 5-6% of the province’s Gross Geographic Product (GGP) and employs 39000 employees who are mainly located here in Rosslyn in the City of Tshwane.
 
The province also has the highest vehicle population in South Africa with just over 20% of the country’s 6.5 million vehicles registered in the province. This makes Gauteng a key market and production site for local industry.
 
Global competitiveness is a vital part of automotive industry. We must not lose sight of the fact that we are competing in a global arena and a playing field in which South Africa does not have the upper hand.
It is crucial for our local industry to have world-class production processes, skills and products to compete with industry players on a global scale.

The launch of the Gauteng Training Academy is reflective of the Gauteng Provincial Government’s commitment to investing in the people of this province.

Skills development is a critical component of the Gauteng Employment, Growth and Development Strategy (GEGDS), and part of the broader aim to invest in people and enhance opportunities for meaningful economic participation by the majority of our people.

To do this, we must ask ourselves some tough questions:

-       How do we ensure that we favourably compete with countries such as China, which boasts 1 engineer for every 130 people?
-       How do we increase the number of engineers in our economy from the disheartening ratio of 1 engineer per 3166 people, to a number that closely matches that of China, India and other emerging markets?
-       How do we ensure that the skills capacity in our economy enables us to triple the number of engineers that our institutions of higher learning produce on a yearly basis?

We cannot be innovative and become industry leaders in such a skills and technology driven industry until we fundamentally change the tune and start being holistic and futuristic in our thinking.

This academy will hopefully be part of the cogs in the bigger machine that will enable us to produce graduates with qualifications that satisfy industry needs and standards, to contend with the ever so competitive automotive sector as well as to plant the seeds of innovation in the industry.  

We are confident that this academy will also form part of the broader strategy to increase productivity levels, enhance the transfer of skills and technology and boost local economies and job creation in the sector.

The promotion of job creation strategies and the realization of the auto industry Vision 2020 targets to grow the sector and increase the production of vehicles in the country to at least 1,2 million vehicles per annum requires all social partners to roll their sleeves and work with a common purpose and intent.
This calls for resilient partnerships that are geared towards crafting multifaceted strategies that address all aspects of our challenges from primary education right until the higher education and training sectors.

This partnership between the government on the one hand and business on the other must lend a firm hand to efforts to recruit young people from rural and peri-urban areas and expose them to the automotive industry from school going age.

The partnership must stimulate young people’s interest in the industry and expand the horizon of opportunities that can be provided by the sector.

We urge the academy to take a proactive stance in conducting road shows about the institution in different parts of the province, sponsoring career counselling and exhibitions as well as directly adopting schools in disadvantaged communities that have good prospects on maths and science.

Our sincere gratitude to Nissan South Africa and the AIDC for choosing the road less traveled and for continuing to devise innovative ways to bring together government and industry for the good of the Province and indeed for South Africa.