North West Premier Lazarus Kagiso Mokgosi said that the launch of the province’s Human Resource Development Council at the Orbit TVET College Mankwe campus near Sun City outside Rustenburg on Saturday, must address the challenges of high unemployment and poverty which are bedevilling the province.
Mokgosi was flanked by the members of his Executive Council, District Executive Mayors, National HRDC Executives, senior government officials and managers of the college amongst others.
The premier said that the launch of the HRDC reaffirms his administration’s ongoing commitment to harness the provincial skills base to address the scourge of unemployment and poverty in the province.
“Today, through the launch of our provincial HRDC, we are localising the vision to ensure that the people of North West are not left behind in the national agenda for skills, jobs, and economic inclusion. The establishment of this council is part of the national strategy to align the country’s education and training systems with labour market demands,” said Mokgosi.
He recommitted the council, which he will be leading as the chairperson, to collaborate with all relevant stakeholders in the province.
“This council will be a multi-sectoral advisory and coordination platform that brings together government departments and municipalities, higher education and training institutions, Sector Education Training Authorities (SETAs) organised labour and business, civil society and community stakeholders as we launch this council at this campus which can be defined as a beacon of skills excellence in the province. We need to be mindful of the potential resilience and innovation possessed by the youth,” explained Mokgosi.
The Premier also emphatically reiterated that the HRDC will be turned into just another council but must be a strategic and a catalyst platform that will bring all the stakeholders to plan jointly and accelerate human capital development in the province.
He lamented the growing youth unemployment and poverty in the province, despite having national resources that could be used to create employment particularly for the young people.
“While we are endowed with national resources and huge economic potential our province faces deep economic challenges such as high youth unemployment, low skills levels, poverty, and inequality and without emphasis on skilled and capable workforce this potential will never be realised. Therefore, this council is duty-bound and strategically positioned to drive the alignment between the education and training needs of our province and the skills demands of our economy,” elaborated Mokgosi.
Furthermore, the Premier said that his administration has recently adopted the provincial growth and development strategy which identified key economic drivers such as mining, agriculture, agro-processing, tourism, renewable energy and green economy, including infrastructure development.
“However none of these sectors can grow without the right skills base, so the HRDC will therefore serve as the engine that must drive skills planning including coordination,” remarked Mokgosi.
The Premier explained in detail what the focus of the council will be.
“The council will focus on strengthening the artisan development and technical skills training, because I have always been convinced that a person who comes from a TVET college is solid from a practical point of view compared to someone who is theoretically sound from the University,” concluded Mokgosi.
The council comprises various members of the provincial executive council, all district mayors, national DRDC executives, North West University’s Vice Chancellor and Principal Professor Bismarck Tyobeka, renowned economist from the North West University Prof Raymond Parsons amongst others.
