The Human Resource Development Council of South Africa (HRDC) held its 15th meeting on 15 August 2014, the first in the 5th Administration of our government at the Sefako Makgatho Presidential guest house chaired by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa.  

The meeting started by welcoming Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa as the new chairperson of the Council and expressed confidence in his leadership in the important work of the Council.  His experience and passion in the HRD related initiatives placed him in good stead to lead council and make it a success.

The meeting discussed three key issues emanating from presentations of various reports related to Technical Task Team work. The first report was a progress update from the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) related to work that council had done before. 

This work related to Skills System Review. Council had requested the DHET to look at progress made and come up with proposals on how they could be taken forward. 

After the DHET presentation, Council decided that the DHET should use the Phakisa initiative to review the manner in which SETAs function and then develop proposals of how the SETA system should look like going forward.

The other two presentations were from two Technical Task Teams of the Council namely, 1 Worker Education and 2. Technical Vocational Education and Training Colleges (TVET).   

Worker Education Technical Task Team

The task team’s report focused on how Worker Education in South Africa can be strengthened and recommended a three pillar Worker Education framework that focused on the following; 

1. Political Training Perspective – leading to citizenship building and training. 

2. Workplace Training– focusing on vocational skills training. 

3. Joint Management Worker Education – joint management and worker education which focuses on training in industrial relations for both managers and employees. This will ensure compliance with labour regulations, more informed negotiating practice and greater inclusion in decision making processes.

The decision from Council on this presentation is that the Departments of Higher education and Training, and of Labour should sit together with the Technical Task Team to develop an implementation plan for the proposed framework. The group should also focus on the budget and timeframes for implementation of the key features of worker education.

Technical Vocational Education and Training Colleges Technical Task Team

The meeting noted a report and recommendations from the Technical Task Team on Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges addressing access and improving quality of provision of education in colleges. 

Council agreed that the colleges are vital for the country’s economic development and for responding to the needs of youth that are no longer at school. 

The meeting also noted the following advances that have been made arising from the work of the Council:

1. that 24 South African students, the largest foreign group at the World Maritime University in Sweden, will be graduating with Masters degrees in the first week of November 2014. They will be returning to serve the country at the critical time when the President is also leading operation Phakisa on how South Africa can use its oceans to advance the economy of the country. 

2. Progress in the Wholesale and Retail sector. Five Hundred (500) students, on Tuesday 11 August 2014, were enrolled in five Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Colleges in the KwaZulu-Natal Province as a pilot project. The learners are going to be trained for a year in all areas of Wholesale and Retail. Two hundred and fifty (250) of them are already employed and 250 are unemployed.  This is the result of an important partnership between the TVET Colleges, The Wholesale and Retail /sector and the Wholesale and Retail Seta supported by the Durban University of Technology

The HRDC, a national multi-tiered stakeholder advisory body, established in 2010, under the leadership of the Deputy President and managed by the Minister of Higher Education and Training. 

The aim of the Council is to build the human resource development base required and to ensure a prosperous and inclusive South African Society and Economy. 

Enquiries: Ms Brenda Ntombela: Head: Human Resource Development Council: 012 312 5075 / 082 5733 716 or Ntombela.b@dhet.gov.za 

Issued by: The Human Resource Development Council Secretariat