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Chairperson, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen

INTRODUCTION

I feel singularly honoured and privileged to have been invited by the National Committee on Further Education and Training to address this conference. I would like to extend my word of appreciation to all the distinguished guests and dignitaries from near and far who have sacrificed their precious time to be with us today, as we try to find a solution to problems that face education and training in this country.

With the advent of democracy in 1994, South Africa is witnessing the initiation of a number of policies and programmes designed to change our society, to reflect the new democratic spirit that pervades all sectors of the community. My Ministry is under pressure to contribute to the democratisation and advancement of the country and to create opportunities for people which were denied to them during the period of apartheid. We have already made great strides in the transformation of our general and higher education. Our transformation programme is geared at improving the quality and efficiency of our education and training system.

It was in the light of our commitment to transform all sectors of our education and training system that we set up a National Task Team on Further Education and Training (NTTFE). It was our considered view that the development of a dynamic and vibrant further education and training sector would be a key pillar of our national strategy for human resources development, within a coherent, integrated programme of reconstruction and development. This so as any meaningful investment in human capital, is bound to ensure that our human resources deliver the appropriate skills necessary for the reconstruction and development of our society.

DEFICIENCIES IN THE FURTHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING SECTOR

To its credit and to our appreciation and gratitude, the NTTFE has produced a preliminary report that provided an insightful critique of the present Further Education and Training area. The following deficiencies were highlighted in the report; lack of a strategic vision for the sector, division and fragmentation, poor quality, lack of relevance, insufficient accountability to stakeholders, inefficiency and wastage, neglect of those out of school, poor correlation between financial inputs and outputs, lack of vertical and horizontal mobility for learners, lack of information about FET programmes and insufficient analysis of labour market developments to inform planning.

THE INTEGRATION OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
ECONOMIC REGENERATION AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Ladies and gentlemen

In reconstructing the economy and education in this country, there is a need for a concerted effort to create a bridge between education, business and industry. Although there are some links between the education and the economic pressure groups, they are not often involved in addressing the overall requirements of communities. But the necessary investment in human resources can be justified and acquired only if plans for Further Education and Training are integrated with plans for community and economic re-generation and development. With approximately 15 million adults lacking basic skills in South Africa, investment in Further Education and Training is needed on a massive scale. This will become available only if education, training, economic re-generation and development are planned as three elements of an integrated whole. In order to establish full integration between Further Education and Training and the communities, it is important to create a direct link amongst communities throughout South Africa, and to encourage governments and multi-national organisations, employers and trade unions, to support Further Education, training and economic re-generation through community enhancement.

The aims of the integration of Further Education and the communities throughout South Africa would be to: create direct link amongst people living in communities throughout South Africa; obtain support for economic development through community enhancement from governments, multi-national organisations, industry etc.; provide a forum to promote policies which integrate education, training and economic development, with the emphasis on small enterprises in communities across South Africa; establish a curriculum centre, prioritising Further Education and Training to support economic development and foster links between the public and private sectors, especially to generate resources, education, training and economic re-generation.

ASSISTING SOCIAL DELIVERY

One of the most burning questions facing our government is the delivery of basic services to the people, creating a better life and empowering our people and communities with skills. The Committee's report certainly identifies a clear role for Further Education and training in skill formation for social development in South Africa. This will have to include an efficient civil service, capable of providing high quality government services. Our massive social delivery programmes in areas such as housing, water and electrification will demand skilled workers and increased attention needs to be given to capacity-building in communities.

ADDRESSING UNEMPLOYMENT

The other area highlighted by the Committee's report is the role of this sector in addressing the legacy of unemployment. As you all know, high levels of unemployment continue to pose a formidable challenge as job creation is lagging behind economic growth at a ration of 1:2 i.e. for each 2 percentage points the economic grows, the number of jobs goes up by 1 per cent. Although there is a general problem of youth unemployment, obtaining first time entry into the labour market is a major challenge for black South Africans in particular.

There is a growing demand for more skilled labour per unit of employment. Analyses of the South African labour force suggest a sharp decrease in the demand for unskilled people and an increasing demand for more sophisticated skills. Labouring and routine work are diminishing. The report urges us to pay more attention to training for the industrial sectors which are key to export performance and economic growth, in terms of skill needs, improvements in productivity and output to maintain international competitiveness.

It is important to note, however, that the dynamic parts of the economy, which are labour creating, are in the semi-formal and service sectors, including small businesses. These are not part of the formal employment statistics and levels of overall activity are therefore under-recorded. Thus programmes to prepare people for entrepreneurship, to support small businesses to train for the service sectors will be functions of FET in the future.

THE PROVISION OF PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNICAL SKILLS

It is of particular concern to us that, although the overall output from further and higher education is high, there is likely to be a shortage of management and certain professional and technical skills. The age profile of certain professions, e.g. engineers suggest imminent natural attrition without an adequate future supply. A lack of information about the labour market and development needs of the country will hamper the process of skill development. Detailed macro-level manpower planning is discredited internationally, and increasingly attention will be given to labour market intelligence-gathering and the interpretation of labour market signals. Sector studies are likely to be the best source of information about changing skill demands, and these could also benchmark the state of the sector versus best international practice.

THE URGENCY OF ACCESS AND REDRESS

The Committee's report cautions that the Further education and training sector will have to take into account, the following:

The high social costs of unemployment, especially youth unemployment, popular pressures for access and certification and strong social expectations of high participation rates in further and higher education as well as pressure for certification of programme courses in general, and for post-standard 10 qualifications in particular.

Our legacy of neglect, wastage and a total disregard for human potential and development coupled with the imperative and urgency for massive training and skilling for the future will see an increasing demand for flexible, part-time education and training. Evidence of this is the ever growing pressure for access to educational and training opportunities from marginalised groups, such as out-of-school youth and unemployed adults and rural women.

FET AND THE WORKPLACE

A primary function of FET is to equip learners for the world of work. However, the way in which this occurs differs significantly according to the age group, educational background and aspirations, and relationship to the workplace of the participants. In addition, different types of providers have established views of their respective roles, and these in turn may have established views of their respective roles, and these in turn may have different degrees of client recognition and public support. The role of formal secondary schooling for 16-19 year-olds is a particularly powerful example, not only in South Africa but also across the globe.

In addition to preparation for work, further education and training serves a range of other, equally important purposes, both socially and with respect to the needs, aspirations and interests of the individual learner. Not least of these purposes is preparation for entry into Higher Education.

Care must be taken, in seeking a closer "fit" between FET and the demands of the workplace, to take all of these factors into account. At the same time, policy needs to be directed towards overcoming the rigidity and lack of relevance of much of what previously passed for education and training at this level, in schools and in other institutions and settings.

Two implications flow from this, First, FET cannot be regarded as the sole preserve either of the education system, and its clients and stakeholders, or of the training world and its constituencies and interest groups in the workplace and the economy. The education and training worlds need to be brought together in the joint determination of policy and practice across the FET spectrum.

Second, the relevance of education to the world of work, and the educational dimensions of training, need to be critically thought through in an ongoing process of programme innovation and renewal, bearing in mind the legitimate differences in audience, delivery modes, goals, and programme contents across the FET system and within the different types of provision.

CONCLUSION

It is the intention of the Ministry to study the recommendations of the National Committee on Further Education carefully and use these as a basis to developing the Green Paper or White Paper for public comment before passing legislation on the new Further Education and Training system for South Africa. I am hoping that this process will be completed by the end of 1997 or during the first half of 1998.

I must congratulate the Committee for the job well done, however, the Committee should always remember that the fruits of good work is more work.

In addition, I ma confidence that this conference will be the culmination of concrete proposals for further Education and Training System in South Africa.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the future of Further Education and Training should be based on the core values and principles of democracy, liberty, equality, justice and peace. It is important that we develop this sector to provide opportunities to those previously marginalised, to unleash the creative potential of poor people, to improve the skills profile of this country and to ensure that we are ready for the demands and challenges of the 21st Century. The onus is on us to open learning opportunities and not prisons for our young people, I believe that this is indeed a major start, we dare not turn back.

It is my pleasure to declare this conference officially opened.

Source: Deputy Ministry of Education
Bronwyn Levy
Tel: 082 558 3786

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