Cape Town – Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa says the newly proposed National Skills Development Strategy addresses national government priorities, as it supports economic growth and job creation.
The Deputy President said this when he fielded oral questions in the National Assembly on Thursday afternoon.
He said the skills strategy, which is currently being discussed at the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac), is scheduled to be implemented on 1 April 2020, once the process of consultation has been concluded and the relevant legislative framework has been finalised.
“The proposed new National Skills Development Strategy focuses on occupation that supports growth, encourages employment creation and encourages social development.
“This will allow for a development of a range of programmes and will not be restricted to scarce skills to ensure that these programmes reach a large number of people, which in the end will enable them to have access to employment and be able to embark on self-employment opportunities.
“This skills plan is aligned with many others - the National Development Plan (NDP), the White Paper of Post School Education and Training and other key documents of government that have set out important strategies and priorities for development, with an emphasis on inclusive growth as well as employment creation,” he said.
The Deputy President was responding to a question by ANC Member of Parliament, Cornelia September, who had asked how the new skills strategy addressed national priorities, and what lessons were drawn from the previous strategy and if it influenced the content of the new strategy.
“Lessons that have been learnt from the current strategy include the need to strengthen governance. The proposed plan seeks to establish credible systems for skills planning as well.
“The success of this strategy and all other programmes aimed at building our human capital will be judged by the extent to which our young people, who are the key beneficiaries of this, will gain the skills necessary to participate meaningfully in the labour market of our country,” the Deputy President said.
He said one of the most critical mandates of the Department of Higher Education and Training was to ensure that the skills development systems and all supporting institutions are properly aligned to respond not only to national priorities but to the wide range of needs inherent to the developmental state project that needs to happen in the country.
“The proposed National Skills Development Strategy specifically emphasises the need to address all these challenges that have emerged from the current strategy including, but not limited to, the production of artisans, as envisaged in the NDP and the placement of learners and graduates in the workplace.
“The role of the National Skills Authority will be restructured according to this plan and refocused with its function concentrated specifically on the monitoring and evaluation of our skills development system,” he said. – SAnews.gov.za
