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13 May 2008

The Gauteng provincial government has allocated some R90 million to the establishment of the Gauteng Global City Region Academy (GCRA).

The Academy, to be launched on 15 May, at the Gauteng Senior Managers Conference at the Sandton Convention Centre, aims to drive critical skills development required by the economy and the public service.

The head of the Gauteng Department of Education, Malelle Petje said the decision to establish the academy emerges from government's need to improve service delivery including the need to ensure that current projects be sustained and that new ones can be rolled out.

Gauteng also needs new knowledge and skills to drive the Global City Region project (GCR). The project, launched in 2006, seeks to promote Gauteng's development agenda by positioning the province as a globally competitive city region. It aims to reduce unemployment and poverty through promoting economic growth, integrated strategies and joint planning between the different spheres of government.

"No organisation can survive unless it is a learning organisation," Petje said. "People need to be ready to learn whether it is new technology or an improvement of efficiency," he said. Petje added that there was a definite appetite in government for learning.

Provincial government departments have already conducted skills audits based on a needs analysis. This will be followed by the development of work place skills plans and the identification of staff to fast track learning in areas of need, like information and communication technology (ICT), science and engineering.

The Academy will play an integral part in determining agencies to partner with government. Petje stressed that the academy would work with higher education institutions, high schools and Further Education and Training (FET) colleges to identify young talent.

The Academy is to identify talented learners for additional mentorship and career and life strategy guidance from grade nine on. The academy is to run a co-ordinated province-wide bursary fund, targeting 1 500 learners in the 2008/09 financial year. More information on the Academy will be made available at the launch on 15 May.

Issued by: Department of Education, Gauteng Provincial Government
13 May 2008
Source: Gauteng Provincial Government (http://www.gpg.gov.za)