I must say that, not only is this the fastest growing industry in the Western Cape, it also appears to be the most glamorous industry in the Western Cape. So thank you very much for bringing glamour to the Cape.
Four years ago, this was a sector that employed just about 7 500 people, today it employs about 22 000 people. We have seen a growth in numbers of 30% per annum, and I thank you very much for making this industry grow so rapidly. We expect it to grow by a further 37%. We are here tonight, particularly to speak to the Agents who work in this industry.
Your work has put out such a wonderful advert for Cape Town, the Western Cape and South Africa and the entire continent. Through your work, you have managed to put the African continent on the map for the quality of work that you do. And tonight, all these awards are not about an industry that is simply patting itself on the back. We are saying thank you very much for doing the wonderful work that you do.
It may appear to you that you are managing the telephones, that you are giving information, that you are solving people's problems, that you are fulfilling your transactions on the phone but at the end of the day if you look at how you are the front line of our marketing campaign for Africa, you can begin to understand that there are people 22 000 people, speaking to people all over the country, all over the world and giving out positive impressions about our province, country and continent.
We are not only the most glamorous but we are appearing to be the most vibrant sector anywhere in the world from the enthusiasm that we display through the work that you do. Through you, we have opened up fronts in Telecommunications, in Financial Services, in Health Care, in Marketing, in Information Technology.
Some companies have come here and they have established their Call Centers here they outsourced some their work here and they have off shored. Very soon we find them beginning to enquire about whether it is not good for the head quarters to be here, for a factory of theirs to be here and for more of their operations to be here. So you must not underestimate just how much you contribute to the vibrancy of the Western Cape and the South African economy as a whole.
I am not sure if you understand all the time when you do the work, what you contribute per annum, to the Western Cape economy. Every year, your contribution to our economy in the Western Cape, contributes from the lowest R2, 5 billion in some years which are not so good, up to R3, 3 billion a year which are excellent. That is what you bring to the Western Cape every year. Thank you very much for your efforts and your work in this regard.
This is about two and a half percent of our growth regional product. When we did the survey to find out what's going on in this industry. In 2004, only 11 companies representing 1, 500 Asians responded, this year 141 companies representing 14, 000 staff responded. That is the growth in this industry. But if nothing else, in addition to all of that, this industry is showing the way about what a new Western Cape can be and what the new South Africa can be. If any industry represents all the people of the Western Cape, in proportional numbers at Agent level, then it is this industry.
This is not an industry that is only for Black Africans. This is not an industry that is only for Coloureds. This is not an industry that is only for Whites or only for Indians. Here we have, for the first time, a new industry that represents our ideals and our aspirations as a non-racial nation. In proportional number, we represent all of those communities, we show you, in this industry that if we put together all the contributions and all the talents of all our communities, then we get a dynamic package such as what you represent here tonight.
And so, in keeping with this theme I want to say bling it on! Because we are seeing what South Africa and the Western Cape can look like, and maybe you do not know what you do, maybe it has become so natural to you, but we are in a society that needs to see that it is possible to be united, we are in a society that needs to understand that when you bring different people together you are not creating problems.
When you bring different people together, you get the best out of each culture, each community, each belief and each colour. That I think, is the additional work that you do for us in the Western Cape and for our country as a whole. And do not underestimate that because all over the world, people are struggling with what it means to be a multi-cultural society and yet as we sit here tonight, all of you, united by your work in this industry, and enhanced by the glamour that you bring to this event tonight.
We have something that is illusive in the world. And you must not underestimate your contribution and you must always nurture what this industry represents. I think, as Government, we need to continue to show faith in the ability of this industry to do more than put food on the table. This is not an industry in which people go home simply with slave way because I know all of you will probably say here tonight, you can do more with money.
I want to say to you, that this is an industry that as it grows, and as we get more and more of the big companies of the world to come here, that money will be there. But the fact of the matter is, that this is an industry that it skills intensive. At this moment, we need to overcome through Calling the Cape, through its cadet scheme and through the industry as a whole.
We need to make sure that we keep up with the skills demand because it appears as if just as we train someone, just as someone settles in a job more seats open up. So we have to get more people in and it appears as if experience is going to be one of the things that we have to force, like in the Western Cape, despite that we're doing well. And therefore, we as a government, have decided to make available a building that we bought on auction, the old building in Klip Fontein Road in Athlone.
Very soon, we will have the first Calling the Cape BPO jobs centre in Klipfontein Road, dedicated to developing skills for this industry, building the Language Skills, the Communication Skills, the Customer Care Skills, the Computer Literacy Skills, the Sales Skills, the Life Skills, the Maths and other things that otherwise unemployed Matriculants will need to enter this industry. This industry is giving young people a chance, it is giving people something to dream about, you do need undue competition amongst yourself because the industry is growing.
So when we award you tonight, and when these prizes go out, it is not simply, because the industry does what other industries do, and that is to have a great evening for the workers. This is a thank you, this is a mark of appreciation, this is an investment in the people who keep us going. From government, that is why both myself and Minister Essop are here.
This industry falls with in the work of Minister Essop. It is a pity that we have lost Luke Mills to the industry as a whole. He has made this industry an outstanding industry, and so we must also say thank you to Luke Mills for the contribution he has made towards the growth of this industry as a whole. Thank you very very much, for what you have accomplished.
