Minister of Higher Education and Training, Dr Blade Nzimande,
Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education, Ms Connie September,
Ministers, MPs, MECs, Mayors and Councillors,
Chairperson of National Skills Authority, Ms Lulama Nare,
Members of the Human Resource Development Council,
Representatives of business, labour and the community sector,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
 
Thank you for inviting me to address this critically important conference.
 
At its essence, this National Skills Conference is about the future of our country.
 
It is about the skills and the capabilities that will enable our young people to build a prosperous, equitable and just society.
 
It is about ending the cycle of poverty.
 
It is about overcoming the devastating legacy of apartheid and colonialism.
 
We applaud you for putting skills development at the centre of our national agenda.
 
Cooperation within the post-school system is critical for the fundamental transformation of our society.
 
The cooperation is necessary between managers of institutions and students, between educational institutions and employers, between universities and TVET colleges.
 
Together, we have crafted a vision to achieve an expanded, effective and integrated post-school system for South Africa.
 
This is a vision that seeks to broaden access to skills development not only for those who have completed matric.
 
It is a national vision that addresses our peculiar challenges by giving opportunities also to those who leave school earlier or who have never been to school.
 
It is a vision about social justice and the realisation of the potential of all our people.
 
Gathered here today are South Africans from all corners of our land – people with different backgrounds, different responsibilities, different perspectives – but who share a common vision of a united, non-racial, non-sexist and prosperous society.
 
They are patriotic South Africans who spare neither strength nor effort in advancing the objective of a South Africa that belongs to all who live in it, black and white.
 
They know that this will not be achieved without a skills revolution that empowers all our people.
 
They are contributing to a future where all South African children will grow up in hope, not fear.
 
This is a future where our children will grow up knowing that hard work and lifelong learning are rewarded, not ridiculed.
 
It is a future South Africa that actively promotes human solidarity and equality, and discourages selfishness and discrimination.
 
This is a South Africa where we work together to find solutions to our challenges – where dialogue, reason and consensus triumph over insults, violence and intimidation.
 
It is a society that does not accept the kind of behaviour we witnessed last week at the first sitting of the Higher Education National Convention.
 
As we commend the efforts led by former Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke in organising stakeholders to find lasting solutions to the challenges facing higher education, we must condemn the disruption that took place.
 
Such disorder does nothing to advance the struggle for accessible, inclusive, quality higher education.
 
We must nevertheless persevere.
 
We must redouble our efforts to involve in stakeholders in a meaningful national dialogue that produces real results.
 
We must do so because access to inclusive, quality post-school education and training remains one of the most effective instruments we have to restore our people’s dignity.
 
This National Skills Conference must inspire us to act with greater urgency to implement our skills development strategies to fight the scourges of poverty, unemployment and inequality.
 
As we look to the future, we should also reflect on where we have come from.
 
Our democratic government took over a deeply divided nation in 1994.
 
This was a nation characterised by extreme poverty, severe inequality and entrenched exclusionary practices.
 
Apartheid policies deliberately denied black South Africans access to quality education and the skills required to advance beyond the most rudimentary occupations in the labour market.
 
The skills deficit that our economy faces today is a direct consequence of the racially segregated education system of our past.
 
If anything, this is the true legacy of colonialism.
 
Beginning in 1994, we have implemented policies to reverse the racial inequalities in education.
 
Working together, we have expanded access to both basic and higher education and improved the skills of all South Africans.
 
We created a single, non-racial basic education system from 19 different education departments.
 
We also transformed the post-school education and training sector and introduced an overarching National Qualifications Framework.
 
Today, South Africa spends not less than 5% of our GDP on education to expand access, improve quality and increase output.
 
To better direct our efforts, we have developed the White Paper for Post-School Education and Training.
 
This comprehensive plan is a blueprint for the future of skills development in South Africa.
 
It is our nation’s instrument to deepen the transformation of the whole post-schooling sector.
 
It articulates a vision of the type of post-school education and training we seek to achieve by 2030, in line with our National Development Plan.
 
It sets out strategies to attain this vision to support our New Growth Path, Industrial Policy Action Plan and Human Resources Strategy.
 
The theme of this conference – Skills Development for an Integrated and Differentiated Post-School Education and Training System – resonates with the objectives of the White Paper.
 
It reminds us that if the post-school system is to serve the country well, we need more places and different avenues for people to learn.
 
It says if we are to serve the needs of all South Africans better, we need more types of courses and qualifications.
 
It stresses that if we are to serve the poor and working class better, we need more financial support for students, and better quality education and training.
 
Cognisant that patriarchy perpetuates the disempowerment of women, post-school education and training must broaden access for women to skills development opportunities.
 
Cognisant that people in rural areas have fewer opportunities than urban residents, we need to direct resources towards those parts of the country that have traditionally been neglected.
 
This is a call to institutions to develop effective academic support programmes for learners from underprivileged backgrounds.
 
It is a call for schools to mainstream career guidance and counselling in their activities.
 
It is a call for greater private sector participation and investment in improving learning and teaching.
 
This is a vision of a post-school system that is responsive both to South Africa’s developmental needs and the needs of individual citizens and employers.
 
Its goal is to achieve a more cooperative relationship between education and training institutions.
 
In such a single, coherent and coordinated post-school education and training system, stakeholders consciously work to increase the diversity of provision.
 
The purpose is to foster trust in the system, avoid undue duplication and attend to the needs of all learners irrespective of age.
 
The White Paper offers concrete proposals on expanding access and improving the performance of the sector.
 
It has clear plans, targets and goals for community colleges, TVETs and universities.
 
It also addresses improved access through distance education and curricula innovation.
 
This conference must evaluate the progress we have made in implementing the policy since November 2013.
 
It must address challenges and propose practical solutions to our implementation plans.
 
In all that we do, let us ensure that we pay attention to the voices of students and employers.
 
These are the people who need the skills.
 
These are the people who know what skills are needed.
 
Industry needs to collaborate with management to improve the profile of our TVET colleges.
 
Training at these institutions needs to become an attractive proposition for any young person seeking skills for meaningful employment.
 
Industry needs to work with management to ensure that what is taught is relevant and that those who are doing the teaching are sufficiently knowledgeable and effectively equipped.
 
Above all, this conference needs to ensure that our entire approach to skills development is rooted in the future.
 
It needs to redress the injustices of the past, it needs to address the challenges of the present, and, most crucially, it needs to prepare our youth to meet the demands of the workplace of tomorrow.
 
We need an education and training system that understands and anticipates the profound impact that technological change will have on our economy and society.
 
We must develop the skills that people need now because people need jobs now.
 
But we must be working just as hard to develop the skills that our people will need tomorrow.
 
The future of our country – the prosperity of our society, the happiness of our people – depends on it.
 
I thank you.