The Deputy President, Mr Cyril Ramaphosa, has called on delegates attending the National Skills Conference in Pretoria to help the country move towards the 2030 vision as contained in the National Development Plan.
The two-day conference on the theme “Skills development system for an integrated and differentiated post-school education and training sector: past, present and future,” sought to address the challenges facing post-school education.
Mr Ramaphosa gave the closing address to the conference, attended by various stakeholders from society including Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Higher Education, government departments and entities, as well as business and labour organisations.
“Our new story is open-ended with temporary destinations. We are fascinated by the scientific invention and its uses. SA has a clear vision and clear values. Our story keeps growing as if spring is always with us. It is this that makes our future worthy, prosperous and successful,” Mr Ramaphosa said.
“The conference is called upon to help the country to move towards the 2030 vision when we would have achieved all this, when our people live in a prosperous South Africa. Where poverty and inequality would be reduced and unemployment would only be at 6%. This is a South Africa that we yearn for, which all of you should help us craft,” he said.
“We need greater participation between the private and public sector in a coordinated single post-school education. Stakeholders work well together in advancing the interest of learners, irrespective of where they came from,” Mr Ramaphosa said.
“We should evaluate the progress we have made since 2013 and address challenges identified. The conference should ensure we pay attention to the voices of the students and those who will employ them in the future. Students are the ones who need the skills, and businesses need to make an input into the type of skills they need and shall have,” he said.
Mr Ramaphosa was accompanied by the Minister of Higher Education and Training, Mr Blade Nzimande.
Last night, various entities and businesses were rewarded for their efforts in placing graduates in posts that give them experiential learning opportunities. Boxer Superstores General Manager for Training, Ms Julie Nisbet, described the conference as a good platform to educate businesses on how to contribute to the radical economic transformation that government is pushing. Ms Nisbet won gold in the Best TVET Placement Programme and bronze in the Best University Placement Programme.
“We are in the retail space and in this year alone our business was able to place 88 TVET [technical and vocational education and training] graduates for a year. At the end of that, all of them were absorbed into the business permanently. The good thing is that these are people from deep rural areas and townships,” Ms Nisbet said.
She said this kind of work is possible because of the partnerships between business and the Sector Education and Training Authorities. The challenges in placing graduates from colleges can be overcome, she said.
“Thank you for putting skills development at the centre of our development. Cooperation within the post-school system is critical for the fundamental change of our society,” Mr Ramaphosa said.
Sibongile Maputi
24 March 2017
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