The Human Resource Development Council (HRDC) says it supports the establishment of a small unit to track skills planning in the country.
Launched in 2010, and chaired by Deputy President David Mabuza, the HRDC mobilises various stakeholders behind the country’s Human Resource Development Strategy towards 2030. The strategy aims to develop skills in line with the needs of the country’s economy.
“Council supported the decision of Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) to establish a small unit to coordinate the work that is done by existing capacity of researchers in the collation of data and skills planning in the country,” said the HRDC in a statement.
The decision was taken at the 20th HRDC meeting that took place on Friday at the University of South Africa (UNISA) Science Campus in Florida, Johannesburg.
At the meeting a progress report was presented to the council on skills planning with a focus on the establishment of credible and institutional mechanisms.
Monitor progress on youth unemployment
To track progress in fighting youth unemployment, the council encouraged the Department of Labour to continue to be involved in the Youth Employment Service (YES) Programme to ensure the provision of statistics on the youth that are being placed.
YES is an initiative of the President to encourage business to work with government in order to empower one million young people over the next five years to become economically active.
“The department should also support those Small Micro Medium Enterprises (SMMEs) that are able to place learners but cannot afford to pay them.
“The issue of displacement of full time employees by the youth being placed was raised as a serious concern. Extensive monitoring was encouraged to avoid and address the problem,” said the HRDC. – SAnews.gov.za
