Issued by Office of the Premier, Mpumalanga
Secunda, 19 June 2001
Programme Director Distinguished guests Ladies and gentlemen
Last Saturday we celebrated the 25th anniversary of 16 June. As we remembered with pride the heroism of our youth we also used the time to share with the youth a few thoughts about the challenges we face as a country. On that day 25 years ago the youth took head-on the challenge of forced education aimed at making them accept their slavery.
Today a different set of challenges face us - how to conquer poverty, homelessness, illiteracy and ignorance. These challenges face the youth - black and white.
A large number of youth are today unemployed and can thus not contribute to the growth of the province. For them to get jobs we need to grow the economy. I am sure you all agree with me that for an economy to be termed successfully it must show signs of growth.
The other truth is that without increased wealth and broadening of our tax base we cannot invest more in education, health and infrastructure developments. It is a key principle of our economic policies that growth is the precondition for jobs and redistribution. But one condition for growth and the attraction of investment is a stable and cohesive society.
Economic growth and policies of social inclusion go hand in hand.
On Saturday I told the youth that we needed to broaden the nation's skills base; improve our productivity; and make our goods more competitive in a world that is growing increasingly smaller.
The South Africa labour market is adapting to trade liberalisation and globalisation externally.
Internally it is deconstructing the negative effects of past employment strategies that segmented it by race, gender, geography and skewed economic strategies.
South Africa has a growing population with very high unemployment and a low skills base. It has a low participation rate and a relatively high dependency rate.
That is why the objective of our policies is to design a South African labour market that facilitates the creation of productive employment and brings about social development through income generation and poverty reduction.
Surely you will agree with me when I say we can only lay claim to progress when the bulk of our engineers, physicists, economists and other scientists emerge from the villages and townships; from Tshwene, Moutse, Vlaklaagte, KwaGuqa, Mathanjana and other places dotted across the province.
The working youth is critical to our future. The economy depends on them. With their hard work and efforts at improving skills, they can make ours one of the most prosperous nations in the world.
We must at the same time do something about the unemployed. I asked them not to despair and to use the opportunities that are starting to open up in big and small businesses. But I also pleaded with them not to rely merely on others. They must create opportunities themselves, and take advantage of government programmes to assist small businesses, including small farmers.
Let us look at a few cold truths. Reports on employment equity generation submitted to Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana last year indicated that only 10,4 percent of management are African males. Much fewer yet are women. Underpinning this skewed picture lies decades of Bantu education and racist labour laws.
The racist laws included job reservation for whites and preferential education and training programmes designed to assist whites into trade and management level employment.
Whatever high-paid, high-skilled fields you look to, whites outnumber blacks by a large proportion.
The majority of professionals are white, the majority of trades people are white, even the majority of clerical staff are white. Black people are dominant in the number of unemployed; the number of retrenched, the number living in poverty - be they in or out of work.
As the Minister correctly pointed out this profile represents a national waste of human resources - intelligent and entrepreneurial people are trapped in poverty. And they are unable to secure the resources or deliver goods and services to provide a decent livelihood for themselves and their families, and unable to contribute to the coffers of the state through taxation and unable to provide employment for others. This represents a critical drag on our country's growth.
How do we turn this around in order to benefit all our youth - black and white? Two words: skills development.
The Provincial Skills Development Strategy we are launching today is a new way of looking at things. It changes the old way of doing vocational training by introducing learnerships and skills programmes
It is aimed at equipping South Africans with the skills; to succeed in the global market; to offer opportunities to individuals and communities for self-advancement and to enable them to play a productive role in society.
In short it is aimed at improving skills in the country so that people and the economy as a whole produce more and better.
And to make South Africa a more equal place for everyone black and white, women and men, rural and urban, young and old.
The Skills Strategy is concerned with the development of skills for economic growth. But it also addresses wider concerns in our society. The strategy assists the unemployed and those who always find it difficult to get jobs, for example, people with disabilities.
Skills development is the mechanism for building human capital and it is an increasingly important determinant of economic, social, cultural, technological and national progress.
When skills development is linked to job creation and the productivity resulting from the employment of human resources it reduces poverty, increases economic well-being and creates the platform for sustained growth and development. The Launch of the National Skills Development Strategy, The Human Resources Development Strategy and the Provincial Skills Plan is testimony to results that can be achieved through stakeholder partnerships.
The development of the Provincial Skills Plan indicated the commitment of social partners to improving the quality of life of people in this province.
I thank the Provincial Skills Development Forum for putting together this document, which will guide us as a province when we implement the National Skills Development Strategy and the Human Resources Development Strategy.
The provincial skills development strategy is so designed and presented that the emphasis is on its implementation. The strategy sets clear priorities, numerical targets and milestones. And the responsibility for skills development extends through many departments of government.
The Provincial Executive Council is the entity that takes political decisions on human resource development matters.
In the meantime the executive council has appointed the provincial economic cluster to take care of the process.
Heads of department in the province will advise the Provincial Executive Council and myself on key human resource development issues across the province and in each department.
While citizens are at school it is the responsibility of the Department of Education but once people leave school and enter the labour market skills development is the responsibility of the Department of Labour.
Therefore there has to be compatibility between labour market, educational, and economic policies and collaboration between the institutions responsible for their implementation.
The training system cannot operate successfully without a schooling system that provides effective preparation
In some cases on-the-job training can compensate for any lack of formal education. It can also be applied to upgrade the workforce when technological change demands it.
The Provincial Skills Development Forum will be the key structure to drive this process and will report to the Provincial Jobs Summit Co-ordinating Committee on the progress made on the implementation of the two strategies.
Management, governance and support for the Strategy.
Inter-provincial forums as well as stakeholders forums need to be considered, from time to time, to facilitate and exchange of best practice and lessons learned.
A key-mobilising tool at provincial level could be the Provincial Skills Plan development by the provincial office of the Department of Labour.
This will ensure that the skills required to implement the Provincial Growth Plans are identified and developed.
As I said the launch comes at a time when we are celebrating the achievements our youth made in our struggle for liberation and the establishment of a democratic South Africa.
It is indeed a fitting tribute to the gallant youth that one of the set objectives is specifically focused on the youth.
Many may ask, where does all this fit in with the South African Qualifications Authority Act. Well, the South African Qualifications Authority Act is about the quality of learning.
On the other hand the Skills Development Act is about the relevance of that learning to existing jobs and new jobs, and to the country's economic and employment growth and social development.
The Skills Development Act fits into, and builds on, the basis of the Qualifications Authority Act. It creates the structures and framework for the skills development strategy.
My favourite hope is that all of us will put shoulder to the wheel. Let us unite in action for change. Remember nation building is not a spectator sport. It needs everyone to get involved.
I thank you