Mr Danny Oliphant, Member of Parliament for Atlantis
Members of the Board of the Atlantis Economic Development Trust
Mr Wolf Von Toll, Managing Director of Ferrostaal SA Investment
Quinton Pick, CEO of the Atlantis Economic Development Trust and his staff
Mr Denver Walbrugh, Head of the Education and Training Institute and his staff
Captains of Industry of the local economy
Councillors Donne Murray, Miley Desai and Kevin Momberg
Mr Charles Wentzel, Chairperson of the Atlantis Principals Association
Parents and Students
Community Leaders and Distinguished Guests
The celebration of the opening of the Atlantis Education and Training Institute is a triumph for you as a community in your efforts not to let the Apartheid system decide your fate.
I am familiar with the history of this town, and know that the Apartheid government dumped our people here, hoping you would die silently in poverty and degradation.
Instead you refused, and with the same vigour that you fought the apartheid system, you are now one of the leading communities in the fight against poverty, and the struggle to reclaim the dignity of our people.
I am familiar with the struggles of the civic and youth organisations, and the unions during the eighties and nineties against evictions; against bosses making a quick buck and then closing the factories over night and fleeing overseas; and the struggles in the last few years against the social evils of crime, gangsterism, alcohol and drug abuse.
The establishment of the Atlantis Economic Development Trust and subsequently this training institute, is not just about providing training opportunities for the sake of training, it is also about reclaiming your right to determine your own destiny.
Premier Ebrahim Rasool put the vision of this Provincial Government clearly, when he said we need to build this province as a Home for All. In order to build this Home for All, we have adopted an economic development strategy - Ikapa Elihlumayo - which means "Growing and Sharing the Cape".
As part of Ikapa Elihlumayo, my colleague Lynne Brown has announced a new strategy to promote small business in the Western Cape under the banner of Real Enterprise Development. This is a network of one-stop-shop support hubs for SMMEs, called The RED Door, and I know that one of the centres will be established here in Atlantis as part of Government's April-targets.
I know this will be done under the auspices of the Trust, so I want to applaud you - Danny, Quinton and your team - for your efforts in the development of the community and the local economy.
To truly build this province as a Home for All, we have serious challenges in providing the human resources necessary to grow the Cape, especially in the fields of engineering, the sciences and accountancy.
The Education Department is committed to play a leading role in providing the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes for iKapa Elihlumayo. We are committed to quality education to produce the human resource personnel to grow the Cape.
The performance of our schools in mathematics, as well as the levels of numeracy and literacy among our learners in all grades, are therefor important indicators of our reversal of, and liberation from, the legacies of apartheid in education.
For this reason the Premier has instructed us to finalise our Provincial Human Resource Development Strategy with a focus on youth, to meet the demands of the new economy, by mid year.
Another challenge for us this year is to thoroughly prepare the department, our learners and parents for the implementation of Further Education and Training (FET), designed to give our children practical skills to assist them in acquiring jobs relevant to the economy.
The subjects of mathematics and science are critical to the implementation of FET in schools next year.
In this respect, we have initiated various interventions in previous years to improve learner performance in numeracy, maths, science and technology. This includes teacher training, developing support materials, regular diagnostic testing and special interventions.
And therefor I am confident that we can go a long way in ensuring the successful implementation of the Premier's call last week, to introduce maths and science as compulsory subjects for all our learners.
The establishment of the Atlantis Education and Training Institute could not have come at a better time for this community. Currently our education system has a strong emphasis on the academic stream and, as I said, we intend to balance this with FET.
The introduction of FET in our schools curriculum means that the Grade 9 learners of 2006 will qualify for a General Education and Training Certificate, with the option of finishing his or her grades 10, 11 and 12 in school or in a public FET College. At the moment we have six public FET Colleges in the province, one in every region.
This FET Certificate, which learners can acquire in school or in college, will be the basic minimum requirement for entry into University. With FET we want to give our learners more options, other than academic studies. These options are flexible, and must address the needs and demands of the local economy.
At the moment, our country has too few skilled people in the areas of the sciences and technology to sustain the long-term developmental needs of our increasingly globalised economy.
SA needs to produce between 13,420 and 15,680 engineers each year to cope with the expected development boom in the next few years. Last year, the Engineering Council of SA registered just above 3,000. Clearly we have a huge shortage of especially black and women engineers, and this is not sustainable if we want to remain competitive.
If one thinks of the 2010 Soccer World Cup, we will need to upgrade our roads, airports, harbours and telecommunications. We will have to build accommodation facilities and possibly more stadiums. But who is going to do it?
Similarly, with regard to the plans that you as a Trust have to expand the infrastructure of the town, is there any engineer from the local community who has the capacity to build the Silverstream resort? What local engineers or architects were involved in the building of the shopping complex?
Therefor, the focus of your skills training programme in the clothing and textile industry, but more especially in engineering, is truly commendable. For this is exactly what Further Education and Training is all about.
Your accreditation with Umalusi is significant, and demonstrates your commitment towards quality education for a quality future. It means your training institute is perfectly positioned to contribute to the provisioning of FET for learners in this community.
I know that, part of the discussion among principals in Atlantis, is the option of a dedicated FET band school. Obviously the discussions have only started and nothing has been finalised.
But, I certainly hope that we can utilise the expertise and knowledge base of your programmes in any future developments in education in Atlantis and the surrounding areas.
I want to express my appreciation with the attendance of the various representatives of the local industries. And I want to thank all of them for their continued commitment to the people of Atlantis, even in the face of severe economic difficulties. I think of companies like TRW, STM, Tedelex, Atlantis Foundries, Atlantis Forge, AMC Classics, Petry, Desiré, GUD Filters, Van Leer and others.
The solution to South Africa’s developmental problems lay firmly in the hands of both the public sector and industry. Successful education initiatives will bring overwhelming benefit to the poor in South Africa through increased opportunity, employment and contribution to the economy.
If indeed we are going to grow the Cape as a Learning Home for All our children, then we need partners like yourself. Given the magnitude of the challenges in education and the economy, it is clear that government cannot succeed on its own.
A sound skills base is vital for both government, business and civil society, and ultimately the country in contributing to; and supporting economic growth and development. The involvement of business in education and training creates opportunities for business to transfer skills and share ideas. It provides all of us with opportunity to strategise together.
In this respect I want you to know that I recognise and value your contributions - both the members of the community and the industry. The continued input of industry into the curriculum content of the Training Institute can add significant value to the efforts of the Trust in overcoming the challenges of the local economy.
So Ladies and Gentlemen, be assured of my continued support for the work you are doing, and the support of the Western Cape Provincial Government.
I thank you
For enquiries, contact Gert Witbooi: 082 550 3938, or gwitbooi@pgwc.gov.za.
Gert Witbooi
Media Secretary
Office of the MEC for Education
Western Cape
Tel: 021 467 2523
Fax: 021 425 5689
Visit our website: http://wced.wcape.gov.za
INtshona Koloni - iKhaya loMntu wonke
Die Wes-Kaap - 'n Tuiste vir Almal
