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5 March 2009

Programme director
Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ESKOM Development Foundation, Ms Coretta Magongoa,
CEO of the Further Education and Training (FET) Colleges, Mrs Joy Grobler
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentleman

It is an honour for me to speak at this auspicious event. It really is an event that is close to my heart as issues of education and development are closely intertwined.

Firstly I would like to highlight that government is committed to education. To this end the Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) has initiated a career guidance programme known as the Learners Focus Week. This programme is part of the greater ideal of redressing the imbalances of the past and to play a significant role in removing the barriers for the youth to enter into the various professions, particularly those necessary within the minerals and energy sectors.

It therefore goes without saying that this effort will sustain and increase the needed technical skills in the mining and energy sectors. Such an increment of technical skills will raise the profile of the professions within the DME sectors and therefore attract more learners. This will ensure that there will be a continuation of the eradication of separation by education that was part of what we so gallantly fought against.

The mining and energy sectors are highly technical fields so I encourage the learners to study mathematics, geography and science so as to be able to take up the technical subjects at tertiary level.

To the youth here today I would like to say that opportunities abound and it is upon you to make the most of them.

I would like to name just a few of the career opportunities available within the sectors I am responsible for, and these are:
* Electrical Engineering
* Mining Engineering
* Extractive Metallurgy
* Chemistry
* Geology
* Mechanical Engineering, the list goes on.

It is the duty of the Department of Minerals and Energy as a lead agent in the mining and energy industries to ensure that critical information on opportunities within the sectors is well communicated to the youth of South Africa.

I am happy to say that we are in partnership with the provincial Departments of Education (DoE), the DMEs State Owned Enterprises, for instance the Council for GeoScience, PetroSA, Eskom, Central Energy Fund, as well as mining and energy companies, in pursuit of this goal.

During the past year the DME entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the University of Fort Hare. The aim was to assist various departments within the institution, specifically, geology, chemistry, statistics and biochemistry. This assistance was made possible by three of our stakeholders, Council for GeoScience, the Central Energy Fund and PetroSA.

As the Department of Minerals and Energy seeks to address the issue of skills shortage, we have developed schemes like the Malaysian Scholarship for students to travel to Malaysia for studies, as well as bursary schemes for students to study in the mine health and safety as well as nuclear fields. These are equal opportunity scholarships and are aimed at empowering the historically disadvantaged South Africans (HDSA).

I am therefore delighted to say we are gathered here today to hand over a very noble project to not just the schools but also the community. In November 2007 at an information session facilitated by the DME, I requested Eskom and PetroSA to assist with the provision of libraries at some of the needy primary schools, as well as science laboratories at some of the high schools and tertiary education and training colleges. I am really honoured that their request was fulfilled by Eskom and PetroSA.

May I also take this opportunity to encourage both the educators and learners to make efficient use of these facilities we are handing over today. We are handing over is science laboratories at this local FET Colleges, as well as others in the area. We will also hand over a computer centre assisted by Eskom at Inkqubela Primary school.

To Eskom and PetroSA, I would like to extend my gratitude for a job well done.

I thank you.

Issued by: Department of Minerals and Energy
5 March 2009