Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana opened the National Skills Conference in Midrand, and took the opportunity to look back on his ten years as the national Minister.

Mdladlana was originally appointed by President Nelson Mandela when Tito Mboweni took over as Governor of the Reserve Bank. President Motlanthe is therefore his third President.

Despite the progress that had been achieved in the last ten years, Mdladlana also highlighted the problems that remain.

“Serious skills disparities continue to exist. We are still sitting on a youth unemployment timebomb that can explode at any time".

"I am very concerned about the large numbers of young people who drop out of school, further education and universities. They join a labour market that they are not prepared for. A labour market that is brutal and merciless if you don’t have skills to offer", cautioned Mdladlana.

The Skills Development Amendment Bill has been progressing smoothly through parliamentary processes and was passed by the National Assembly.

However Mdladlana notified the conference that the National Council of Provinces had added a small amendment to the Bill and this meant that it would need to go back to the National Assembly next week.

Mdladlana called for all stakeholders to prepare for implementation around the new skills landscape once the legislation has been passed into law. "We need extensive implementation plans so we can move with speed once the bill is passed," said Mdladlana.

Mdladlana urged delegates to focus their deliberations on drawing up plans to improve the roll our of skills development in the country.

"We can still do more to get thousands of young unemployed people into employment. We can still do more to get out people our of the poverty cycle. We can still do more to make South Africa a better country. As we prepare for the future I will be watching with keen interest the reports!" concluded Mdladlana.