Mbeki launches new skills council
03-FEB-06
"Everything we have said so far, concerning ASGISA, points to the inescapable conclusion that, to meet our objectives, we will have to pay particular attention to the issue of scarce skills that will negatively affect the capacity of both the public and the private sectors to meet the goals set by ASGISA."
"In this regard, I would therefore like to assure the Honourable Members and the country as a whole that, together with our social partners, we have agreed to a vigorous and wide-ranging skills development and acquisition programme to meet any shortfalls we may experience. "
"Among other things, we have already agreed to establish within a few weeks a multi-stakeholder working group, JIPSA, the Joint Initiative on Priority Skills Acquisition, through which government, business, labour and civil society will act jointly to respond to the skills challenge in as practical a manner as possible."
It is believed that JIPSA will be launched later this month and will be a short-term initiative to deliver skills in conjunction with academic institutions.
Leader of the Independent Democrats, Patricia De Lille, welcomed the President's references to skills initiatives which she believes will, "help South Africa greatly".
The President also announced plans to address the shortage of trained nurses. "Our future plans in this area include the further expansion of the health infrastructure, the refurbishment of existing clinics and hospitals, and the re-opening of Nursing Colleges to increase the numbers of these important professionals."
