Statement by Cameron Dugmore, MEC for Education in the Western Cape

It is only through innovative and creative approaches that South Africa will stand any chance of significantly addressing its skills backlog, says Western Cape Education MEC Cameron Dugmore.

He was addressing an international conference attended by more than 200 delegates this morning (Thursday 12 June) at the Northlink Further Education and Training (FET) Colleges' Tygerberg campus. The conference theme is "Innovation in FET Colleges". Hosted by the Western Cape Education Department (WCED), it was made possible with the Danish funded Support to Education and Skills Development (SESD) programme, and runs until tomorrow.

The aim of the conference is to broaden the current scope of vocational and occupational pedagogical methodologies and teaching and learning experiences in our FET Colleges by exposure to local and international best practices and innovations.

MEC Dugmore said a common world-wide plight is the 21st century phenomenon of vocational skills shortages "... and nowhere is this reality more starkly experienced than in the developing economies of the world, where, compounded by increasing globalisation and the mobility of skills, the challenge to provide sufficient vocational skills training and development, remains formidable".

He said the government invested R1,9 billion on the re-capitalisation of 50 FET Colleges nationwide, and in the Western Cape, more than R150m has been spent on upgrading FET Colleges not only in terms of the facilities and equipment, but also in terms of the capacity of the staff and the content of the programmes they teach.

Said MEC Dugmore: "The mistake that is often made, is to believe that skills development is the sole responsibility of the state and its institutions. The challenge I wish to pose here today, that I will suggest to our friends in commerce and industry, is to recognise this issue as a joint priority in which we share co-responsibilities.

"We will never achieve the target numbers of successful apprenticeships or learnerships unless employers provide the indentured opportunities that are inherent in such a system."

In addition to MEC Dugmore the conference was addressed by the Danish Ambassador to South Africa, as well as Chief of Staff in the Premier's office, Dr Lionel Louw. The conference programme has strong UK representation and delegates from other countries are also attending.

For enquiries, contact Gert Witbooi:  082 550 3938, or gwitbooi@pgwc.gov.za.

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